Over 50 students at University College London’s Max Rayne and Ifor Evans halls are withholding their third term rent in protest over terrible living conditions and negligence shown by university management during their occupancy over the past year.
In Max Rayne and Ifor Evans halls, complaints from residents include ongoing rodent and insect infestations, several cases of flooding, and disruptions to hot water and WiFi - the latter of which has resulted in at least one student being unable to submit an online examination and consequently failing. Students report that issues in their accommodation have largely been disregarded or poorly managed by UCL.
In protest, the students will be withholding their third term rent until UCL Accommodation:
- Compensate all current residents of Max Rayne and Ifor Evans the equivalent of 6 weeks worth of rent.
- Address accommodation-related complaints while students are still living in affected halls.
- Guarantee that Max Rayne and Ifor Evans will not be demolished until an affordable alternative is in place.
This action follows a tradition of rent strikes at UCL, where students have taken collective action and last year won £1.2 million in an accommodation bursary and rent cuts. This rent strike has been facilitated by UCL, Cut The Rent, which also has the official backing of Students’ Union UCL: following a series of votes at our Union Council and General Assemblies, we are democratically mandated to support the group in any action it takes.
Click here to read more about the UCL, Cut The Rent campaign.