Mouldy walls, poor value for money, even rodent infestations – these are all depressingly familiar for those in UK student accommodation in 2023. One third of students identified damp in their properties, according to a recent survey by money gurus Save the Student, and another 14% reported inappropriate or unannounced landlord visits. And while rents rocket, alternatives appear to be few and far between.
It is something that Hakim, 27, a Governance, Development and Public Policy MA student at the University of Sussex, does not have to worry about.
Hakim lives in Brighton’s first student co-operative, a shared home run by and for its tenants. They share chores, run their own finances and even set the property’s rent – which comes in at just £540, a fraction of the £1,281…
