Housing Committee warns Mayor of London over student housing
The cross-party London Assembly Housing Committee has written to Boris Johnson asking him to give a helping hand to ordinary families facing daunting accommodation costs for studying in the capital.
London currently has 366,605 students, of whom 67,000 are international. This was estimated to bring in over £5.9 billion to the capital’s economy in 2011/12.
In 2012/13, average student rents were at £157.48, a rise of 26% from 2009/10. Figures also reveal that 57% of all new student accommodation was in four central London Boroughs, something the committee classes as ‘unsustainable’ both in terms of rental prices and land availability.
The Committee has warned the type of student accommodation being built is too focused on catering for an affluent market, often from overseas – and not enough on building accommodation affordable for domestic students.
They have urged the Mayor of London to take action, so ordinary British families can afford to send their children to London universities.
The letter also recommends that as the number of students living in outer London increases, Transport for London (TfL) could make fares for students cheaper.
Tom Copley AM, chair of the Housing Committee, said: “Preserving the social mix of London universities is essential: while we are rightly proud of the fact that people from all around the world want to come to study here, our universities mustn’t become dormitories for the children of the global super-rich ..