‘I find it morally incomprehensible’: Students describe their despair after campus accommodation crisis forces them to defer places, couch-surf, sleep in the library or even register with homeless charities. So are greedy universities to blame?
Students across the UK have been left without affordable university accommodation after institutions admitted more students than they could house. Some are commuting long distances, couch-surfing, staying in hotels or considering sleeping in cars, while others have deferred their places, raising concerns about universities’ responsibilities and the impact on disadvantaged students.
At Exeter, Elena Acatalinei deferred studying neuroscience for a year after failing to find suitable accommodation, while some students face a 90-mile round trip from Plymouth. Southampton students have been directed to rooms in Winchester, 13 miles away, and Cardiff students were reportedly offered £750 to defer courses until 2027; at York, only 15 per cent of available freshers’ rooms cost under £200 a week, compared with 47 per cent the previous year.
- Universities have offered places without enough affordable accommodation.
- Students face deferrals, long commutes and homelessness risks.
- Rising rents and limited rooms have intensified the crisis.