SC Cook @s_cook
A group of students in Cardiff are planning a rent strike this month against what they’ve described as the injustice of having to pay rent during the Coronavirus pandemic, when many of them are apprehensive about returning to halls of residence after the winter break.
Ibrahim Khan is a first year student studying at Cardiff University and says that he and a group of peers are planning to withhold payment for their university run accommodation when it is due to come out on the 19th January.
They have released a statement and have launched an online petition and set up an Instagram page in order to build support for the strike among fellow students, in the hope of turning the initiative into a widespread action that will make university management listen.
Annual rent for university halls is £5,000 a year and the group of students are demanding a significant reduction in what they are expected to pay.
Whilst the students say they understand the need for studying from home, they “cannot fathom the idea of paying rent fees.”
“How can one justify paying for accommodation which most students are not even staying in?” the group write in the statement. “Furthermore, regarding students who are staying in their accommodation, it is still a crippling struggle for students to get by. For these reasons we demand for reduced rent fees.”
They say that the university hasn’t kept them updated on how or when they are supposed to return.
” [The] University is supposed to provide an environment in which students feel accounted for and cared about.” They describe feeling “alienated” and say if things don’t improve, “mental health issues will soar.”
In addition to calling for a rent strike, the students are demanding that the university “do more regarding mental health support.”
Ibrahim, who has not yet returned to Cardiff for the new term, says that he and others are worried about returning because they don’t want to catch the virus nor risk spreading it. However, having to pay full rent creates a pressure for students to return as many feel they are throwing money away otherwise.
“The fundamental reason for the strike is injustice,” he says. “We are being told to stay at home for our own safety, we are worried about catching the virus, we are more worried about spreading the virus, about breaking the rules in order to go back to Cardiff.”
He says that students have been told to return to Cardiff at the beginning of February but he is worried about infection rates and the likelihood of stay at home orders. Many would prefer to be at home instead of being trapped in halls. “Why should we be paying rent when we’re not even staying in the room, it’s absolutely outrageous,” Ibrahim explains, adding that Cardiff Metropolitan University has told the majority of its students that there will be rent concessions.
“A huge amount of students are worried about their mental health. If they go back to Cardiff and there’s a stay-at-home order, which is a very real possibility at the beginning of February…mental health of the students will be pretty dire. Students are confined to small rooms and stuck only with their flat mates.”
He says that some people will find it difficult staying with flatmates the whole time and might find it more comfortable staying at home.
“During the Welsh circuit breaker, I found it extremely difficult and would have preferred to be at home.”
Ibrahim says it’s “extremely unfair” on students who are often short on money to be expected to pay for accommodation they can’t use. “Parents who would usually be able to support their children have lost their jobs, there’s an economic crisis, and the university expects us to dish out thousands of pounds on accommodation. [They] should recognise that they are being unfair, ”he says angrily
The action in Cardiff is likely the first of its kind in Wales and comes as students from around 25 universities across Britain prepare to withhold money for accommodation.
At the end of last year, students in Manchester and Bristol led high profile and successful rent strikes.
“The reasons for the strike are very simple,” says Ibrahim. “It’s unfair, it’s unjust, it’s inhumane.”
