Why are we expected to put up with lower standards of living? Mouldy, damp houses that we’re working minimum wage jobs to fund as the student loan doesn’t stretch far enough. Terrible landlords who never seem to want to help out or repair their own properties. These conditions are what you look forward to if you’re even one of the lucky ones who manages to find a house or apartment at all, with the rental crisis in London seeing rates rise by a fifth in two years, and maximum student loan less than the average student rent.
Recently graduated Masters student Leah Armstrong said: “I was homeless for a little while in my third year because of a nightmare with bedbugs overtaking our property and our horrendous landlord doing absolutely nothing to help us.
“He expected us to pay full rates despite pest control’s visits being completely ineffective and after we moved out refunded us nothing and we saw the flat relisted on sites within a few days.”
Those in the 2025/2026 academic year will see their student loans rise by 3.1% – the maximum for a student living away from home studying in London will now be £13,762. But considering that the average student rent is currently £13,595 (as found by a Hepi thinkthank study) and set to rise every year, that leaves less than £200 in students’ pockets to cover food, travel, textbooks and other expenses.
As a student myself from a lower income background, I am the first person in my whole family to attend university. I’m from a working class family in Bradford, my retired grandparents are my legal guardians and I would never expect them to have to help me with living costs when that is the purpose of a student loan. Working alongside studies is not something I am ungrateful for, I do appreciate the invaluable experience and actually enjoy my part-time job. What has been a struggle is when times have arisen that have meant choosing between my education and staying afloat financially by taking on more hours at work.
It often feels like the situation in the UK at present is a trap to catch students from less affluent backgrounds with additional debts beyond just student loan repayments. Save the student found that 37% of surveyed students use their overdrafts as a source of money, but I fail to find any statistics on how many of those students have an entire and competent understanding of how repayment works. Nearly 1 in 2 students have been struggling to repay their credit card balances within required times.
I reject the notion that students should be expected to ‘slum it’. We’re working tirelessly to meet deadlines whilst sometimes working multiple jobs, living in unfit conditions and falling into debt. So, I ponder – has it ever been harder to be a student in London?
Dharmi Dave
Camila Muiambo