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Wanneer: 16/09/2016 - 17:30

The National Union of Students will support student rent strikes across the UK

This is just the start

The National Union of Students has just announced it'll be helping organise and supporting rent strikes across the United Kingdom. It's a radical move that could see hundreds of thousands of students withholding tens of millions of pounds. If successful, the impact of organised rent strikes succeeding could be huge on and off campuses.

Across the United Kingdom today A-Level results are dictating the future of hundreds of thousands of future students. Some will be confirming places at institutions with solid results, while others desperately scroll through the clearing pages looking for anyone who might take them on. Regardless of where you’re heading though, the cost of living will almost definitely be a problem.

According to the National Union of Students (NUS) since 2012, the cost of student accommodation has gone up an average of 18.4%. These hikes in the cost of living come at the same time as bursaries are being scrapped: the Disabled Students Allowance, bursaries for student nurses and maintenance grants have all in the past years been cut.

At a press conference in central London today, NUS Vice President Welfare Shelly Asquith announced radical proposals that will see her organisation supporting a wave of rent strikes up and down the country. Rent striking is the withholding of rent to landlords, in this case the university, until demands are met, mostly focussed on rent prices and conditions.

“The decision to rent strike is never taken lightly; reflecting the severity of the situation students now find themselves in”, she explained. “The fact so many are now involved in political action at personal risk, demonstrates a collective hope of bringing about change for the benefit of all students.”

“We demand an end to the exploitative profits from university accommodation. We fully support the actions of rent strikers, and urge universities to urgently engage in negotiations to ensure future rates are set at a level which students can afford to pay.”

This September, activists from UCL Cut the Rent (UCL-CTR), and the Radical Housing Network (RHN) will host a “Rentstrike weekend training event” – a gathering comprised of a series of workshops centred around the advancement of university rent strikes.

http://www.huckmagazine.com/art-and-culture/national-union-students-will...