Students who have refused to pay their rent in protest at high costs have been removed from their dormitories by bailiffs.
Some rent strikers refused to leave the University of Manchester’s Simon Building and videos emerged showing some being carried out the door.
The university said it regretted the action but the protest “has been going on for quite some time”.
Activists said the “disgraceful” eviction “shamed” the university.
The students lead the rent strike tweeted: “Shame on @OfficialUoM that they would rather do that than consider basic demands for affordable rent.”
Lecturer for the University’s Institute for Cultural Practices, Dr. Jenna C Ashton, also tweeted The action was “shameful on so many levels”.
Around 250 students canceled their payments in January, demanding a 30 percent reduction in dorm rent.
They argued that they were struggling to buy groceries given the skyrocketing cost of living.
A smaller group had occupied the building.
A University of Manchester spokesman said: “High Court officials visited the Simon building this morning to enforce a court order against a small group of students who had been illegally occupying rooms there since 13 February 2023.”
He said the action followed “several requests to residents of the building to leave the building” and the court hearing papers were served on March 15.
“The court issued a property order to the university on Monday, and copies of the order were served to the occupiers.”
He added: “We are very sorry to have to do this, but the situation has been ongoing for some time and has been causing constant disruption to students and people working in the building.”
In another November 2020 protest against “extremely high” rents, students “occupied” a university building, claiming a lack of support during the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier in the month, students living in the university’s Fallowfield halls of residence had torn down fences erected by the university on the first day of England’s Covid national lockdown.
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