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= University Rent Strikes in the United Kingdom = During the 2020 academic year, in the midst of the COVID- 19 pandemic, universities in the United Kingdom experienced a growing movement of student rent strikes. A rent strike is a form of protest in which tenants withhold their rental fees, risking penalties and evictions. Rent strikes often occur in response to high rental rates or poor living conditions. Every time people willingly pay their rent, they “reproduce the demand” for it, so rent strikes are a necessary factor in breaking that cycle (rent strike n.d.). Rent strikes during the 2020-2021 academic year got university students in England £140 million at 64 universities.

Background
The first student rent strike in the United Kingdom began in 2015 at University College London. What started as 60 students in London grew to over 1000 in 2016, and students succeeded in winning hundreds of thousands of pounds from the university. Rent strikes are not only a response to high rental rates for current students, but also about removing the barrier to entry that high costs of living at university creates for poorer students. University rent strikes in the United Kingdom have continued to grow since their beginning in 2015 and were recently exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
In autumn of 2020 as a new academic year began, the conditions of student accommodation were modified in accordance with national lockdown protocols, safety measures and changes to academic modules. In December of 2020 hundreds of students prepared for the largest university rent strike in decades as students grew frustrated with the high rent they were paying for university accommodation that was heavily locked down or even empty due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Some students were even paying for empty rooms after being sent home during new lockdowns. Students participating in the strikes felt strongly that they should not have to pay rent for their accommodation when they are not able to live in the halls due to lockdowns and growing concerns over COVID 19.

Ellie Concannon from Sussex Renters Union also cited the important role student accommodation typically plays in adjusting to university life and making friends, which was not happening under the living conditions of pandemic restrictions. Larissa Kennedy, president of the National Union of Students claimed students had been lied to by universities, which are dependent on student rent fees, who pressured students to live in university accommodation, concerned only with making sure it was possible for students to continue living on campus during the pandemic, not changing the unsatisfactory conditions students were facing in their accommodation. Students felt that the reassurance given to them prior to the beginning of the term about the importance of living on campus was misleading, causing them to demand “no-contract early releases for students who wished to leave” citing poor living conditions in university halls and feeling they were only there for the profit of the university, not receiving any of the traditional benefits of living in student accommodation.

Notable Strikes
In October the University of Manchester saw a student rent strike that had not been gaining traction began to grow rapidly after metal fences were placed around accommodation buildings to keep students from leaving. Students came together to tear down the fences, beginning a month-long protest where organisers focused on targeting the university’s reputation in media coverage and withholding the student fees on which the university was reliant. In November students were offered 30 percent off of their rent by the University of Manchester.

Rent strikes saw a resurgence following a new lockdown in Britain in January 2021. Ben McGowan, who organized the Rent Strike Now campaign said that this new lockdown meant a recurrence of students paying for empty university accommodation rooms, the same reason the strikes began in autumn of 2020. More than 45 UK universities had students pledging to strike in January after being advised not to return to university campuses, along with students living in private accommodation who were also concerned about their ability to live in the places they were paying rent and what would happen if they were unable to return to university in person for the term. As the term went on and lockdown stayed in place, the university rent strike grew to 55 universities and over 15,000 students. The pressure from students on universities did lead to some rent rebates, however these agreements came with caveats such as at the University of Bristol where no rebates were given to students if they returned to their accommodation for one night to collect their belongings. Other universities have offered reduced rent rates or goodwill payments to students and Universities UK was cited as recognizing the financial burden the pandemic has placed on students and they “are actively considering what support they can offer students.”

Though many student rent strikers saw victories in reduced rent or no penalty contract termination, not all were successful. At Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), 20 students were evicted from their accommodation as a result of student rent strikes. The university cited fire safety rule breaches under the evictions, despite claims by students that the buildings themselves were not up to standards of fire safety. One evicted student said they “believe [they] were targeted by QMUL for being a vocal rent strike organiser” and their eviction meeting ended abruptly without chance for contest. Officials from QMUL held firm that they were committed to providing support for their students during the COVID-19 pandemic and only evicted students who were causing serious danger for themselves and other students.

Where Things Stand
The short term goal of these university rent strikes was to alleviate the financial strain on students during the COVID 19 pandemic, but the long term goal is “resistance to marketization of both universities and, more importantly for the working classes, housing,” as housing is a necessity and many believe it should not be a profitable industry.

There are currently no active student rent strikes in the United Kingdom affiliated with the Rent Strike Now campaign, however student activists remain involved with other organizations such as The World Transformed and The Red Square Project.

Topic paragraph:

The first UK student rent strike started in 2015 at University College London with 60 students, grew to over one thousand students in 2016 and picked up traction across other UK universities and there have been rent strikes every year since then across the UK. I chose this topic because I am interested in higher education in the UK and want to learn more about how the system here works. I want to focus my research on the past two years and how COVID has played a role in the growth of the UK student rent strike movement. I also want to look into broader student activism in the UK and how rent strikes fit into that culture and how that may have facilitated these strikes.

Annotated Bibliography: I selected my sources using news articles reporting on the university rent strikes. Some of the sources focused only on the events of the rent strikes and some input from interviewing students involved, while others offer an analysis of the current conditions facing students and the sociopolitical reasons for striking.

Burns, J. (2021, January 8). Students pledge rent strike over unused uni rooms. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55576471

Rent strikes saw a resurgence following a new lockdown in Britain in January 2021. Ben McGowan, who organized the Rent Strike Now campaign said that this new lockdown meant a recurrence of students paying for empty university accommodation rooms, the same reason the strikes began in autumn of 2020. More than 45 UK universities had students pledging to strike in January after being advised not to return to university campuses. Many students living in private accommodation, separate from their universities, were also concerned about their ability to live in the places they were paying rent and what would happen if they were unable to return to university in person for the term. In London, demands were being made to Unite Students, a private student accommodation company that houses many of the students at University College London. Universities UK was cited as recognizing the financial burden the pandemic has placed on students and they “are actively considering what support they can offer students.”

Petrescu, I. (2021, January 31). 15,000 students involved in rent strikes in 55 UK universities. World Socialist Web Site. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/02/01/rent-f01.html

In January 2021, the university rent strike grew to 55 universities and over 15,000 students. Ioan Petrescu for the Word Socialist Web Site called the government's encouragement for students to return to campuses “criminal” as it led to COVID 19 outbreaks on university campuses around the country and more and more universities returned to online learning. The pressure from students on universities did lead to some rent rebates, however Petrescu noted the many caveats these agreements came with, such as no rebates for students at the University of Bristol if they returned to their accommodation for one night to collect their belongings. Other universities have offered reduced rent rates or goodwill payments to students. Demands were also being placed on private student accommodation, some of whom refused to provide any rebates or reduced rates to students unable to return to university for the term. The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) pledged support for the rent strikes and encouraged students to continue demanding action from universities.

Rent Strike. (n.d.) Why We Strike. https://www.rent-strike.org/

The current generation of students is facing a housing crisis, among many other crises including capitalism and mental health. Students are being charged premium rent rates for poor quality housing. The average rental cost at Sussex University for poor quality student accommodation is 125 GBP per week, which is the same cost as much nicer accommodation in the city of Brighton away from the university campus. This problem may have stemmed from a transition away from government subsidies funding universities to a total reliance on student fees loans. This has pressured universities to focus on advertisements to secure students and solidifying their income in other ways such as higher rent fees in accommodation. This article claims that every time people willingly pay their rent, they “reproduce the demand” for it, so rent strikes are a necessary factor in breaking that cycle. The short term goal of these university rent strikes was to alleviate the financial strain on students during the COVID 19 pandemic, but the long term goal is “resistance to marketisation of both universities and, more importantly for the working classes, housing,” as housing is a necessity and many believe it should not be a profitable industry.

Simpson, M. (2021, January 21). Britain’s Historic Wave of Student Rent Strikes. Tribune. https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/01/britains-historic-wave-of-student-rent-strikes

Molly Simpson for The Tribune claims that universities have “failed to absorb the shock of the pandemic,” leading students to act on their growing frustrations. Students felt that the reassurance given to them prior to the beginning of the term about the importance of living on campus was misleading, causing them to demand “no-contract early releases for students who wished to leave.” Students cited poor living conditions in university halls and felt they were only there for the profit of the university, not receiving any of the traditional benefits of living in student accommodation due to COVID 19 and social distancing restrictions. In Manchester, students began protesting and occupied a university building, eventually winning them 30 percent off rent for the year. Rent strikes went national and students around the United Kingdom joined together to demand rebates and better living conditions during the pandemic.

Wall, T. (2020, December 6). ‘We won’t be cash cows’: UK students plan the largest rent strike in 40 years. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/dec/06/we-wont-be-cash-cows-uk-students-plan-the-largest-rent-strike-in-40-years

In December of 2020 hundreds of students prepared for the largest university rent strike in decades. This wave came about as students grew frustrated with high rent for university accommodation that was heavily locked down or even empty due to the COVID 19 pandemic. At the time this article was written, around 600 university students from around the United Kingdom had pledged to join the strike. Students participating in the strikes felt strongly that they should not have to pay rent for their accommodation when they are not able to live in the halls due to lockdowns and growing concerns over COVID 19. Ellie Concannon also cited the important role student accommodation typically plays in adjusting to university life and making friends, which was not happening during the pandemic. Larissa Kennedy, president of the National Union of Students said students had been lied to by universities who pushed students to live in university accommodation because they are dependent on the rent fees. The main concern of universities seemed to be making sure it was possible for students to continue living on campus during the pandemic, not changing the conditions students were facing in their accommodation.