{"id":53945,"date":"2022-09-02T08:25:03","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T08:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/09\/02\/bristol-student-accommodation-at-crisis-point-letting-agent-warns\/"},"modified":"2022-09-02T08:25:03","modified_gmt":"2022-09-02T08:25:03","slug":"bristol-student-accommodation-at-crisis-point-letting-agent-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/09\/02\/bristol-student-accommodation-at-crisis-point-letting-agent-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"Bristol student accommodation at crisis point, letting agent warns"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The state of student accommodation in Bristol for students starting this academic year is at a “crisis point”, a landlord has warned.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ben Giles, founder of Balloon Lets, said there are hundreds of student renters who don’t have an apartment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr Giles believes the housing market is as bad as 2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Waiting lists for accommodation at the University of the West of England (UWE) have more than doubled compared to last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In 2021, 150 students were waiting for accommodation at UWE, now 485 students are on the waiting list for accommodation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A spokesman said: “Due to a high number of applications for on-campus accommodation immediately after the spaces were made available on June 10, our on-campus rooms quickly became overbooked.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The large number of students put on hold last year because of the pandemic created \u201cthe perfect storm\u201d for student accommodation, according to Mr Giles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Adding to the shortage of university accommodation, private rents have risen dramatically over the past five years, from \u00a3400 per person per room to around \u00a3700, Mr Giles said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The current rental market in the city therefore leaves some students with no choice but to decline their offer to move back in with their parents or commute to university.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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India Pascoal-Lawrence, 21, has had to turn down her place on a unique Volcanology Masters at the University of Bristol. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms Pascoal-Lawrence said she dreamed of studying volcanoes from a young age but high rents in Bristol forced her to give up her place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“The fact that I have a place but I can’t afford to go there because there’s no accommodation or it’s too expensive is so disheartening,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jack Hughes will be studying robotics at UWE this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Although Mr Hughes began looking for a house in May, he has chosen to commute from his parents’ home in Yatton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The 24-year-old said he was disappointed with the quality of the homes on offer for the price on offer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He explained: “There was a place for around \u00a3600 [a month] and one of the bedrooms was a converted utility room with a washbasin in one corner and a front door with a letter box.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Pippa Barclay, from Salisbury, has two daughters moving to Bristol this September. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She said she found finding housing incredibly stressful, adding that the university provided little help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“That doesn’t make the transition to university easier for children,” she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A University of Bristol spokesman said it had no students on its waiting list for accommodation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Any students who are still looking for accommodation should contact our student accommodation team who can help find the best option for them,” they said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Follow BBC West on <\/i>Facebook, <\/i>Twitter<\/a> and <\/i>Instagram. Submit your story ideas to: <\/i>bristol@bbc.co.uk <\/p>\n<\/div>\n