Measures to reduce hall rents considered

The price of university hall accommodation has come under scrutiny as a survey is set to be launched by the Union into how hall rents could be reduced. The Union has obtained a breakdown of what makes up the rent and are debating a range of cost-saving measures. Students are encouraged to take part in the debate by filling out a questionnaire, to be released early next week.

Alex Kendall, Imperial College Union President, said that “the idea [to provide more information about hall rents] originally came up because I was surprised [to find] that first years pay for the fact that we have free Ethos membership from their hall rents”. Other costs that make up the rent include the amenities fund, cleaning, contract length and wardening, as well as other costs like heating, electricity and internet.

Scrapping the “amenities fund” that each hall spends on social events throughout the year such as event tickets, food and alcohol could save each student between £81.90 and £122.85 (based on 39 weeks of rent). This comes directly from hall rents and the exact amount is decided by each warden. The amenities fund is also used to promote Wardening vacancies. If the fund was scrapped hall events would still take place, but would no longer be subsidised, therefore costing more for the people taking part.

It could be argued that this is a fairer option as the number of places on hall trips and the amount of food and alcohol available are often limited, and so some students can end up subsidising others whilst reaping no benefits themselves.

Alex Kendall believes it “is a fundamental principle that no alcohol should be funded from the amenities fund. I’m very interested to hear what students who don’t drink alcohol, because of their religious beliefs, think about this since they’re effectively subsidising other other people to do so.”

[I believe that it] is a fundamental principle that no alcohol should be funded from the amenities fund Alex Kendall, Union President

However, Dan Read, Warden of Falmouth and Keogh Halls, argues that “removing the subsidy from events in halls would be very damaging to the communities that live there. Hall events throughout the year and particularly in the welcome weeks are extremely popular and help residents to make friends and enjoy shared experiences.” He also suggested that cutting this funding would make minimal difference to rent prices anyway as “amenity contributions only amount to about 1% of rents.”

Ben Cook, a second year Biologist who lived in Wilkinson hall last year, also commented that he “would not have gone to most events if they had not been subsidised”. Other options such as a £10 common room charge for each term have also been suggested.

Reducing the cleaning of communal areas such as kitchens from every day to just once a week, and removing cleaning of bedrooms entirely could also save students up to £195 per year. Instead, cleaning equipment such as vaccuum cleaners would be provided, like in many other universities.

Students currently rent rooms in university halls for 39 weeks each year ,which includes the Christmas and Easter holidays. It has been proposed that four weeks of rent could be saved by reducing this to 35 weeks if students vacated their rooms during the Easter holiday. The rooms could then be rented out to the public as they are in the summer period. If this were to be implemented, it would likely to be in only a few halls, giving students the choice between a 39 week contract or a cheaper 35 week contract.

These efforts to drive down costs come as new postgraduate halls in Clapham Junction costing £235 per week are set to open in the next academic year, described by Dan Read as “an unwise move especially as they will not have warden cover and thus offer no pastoral care for students.” The recently renovated Eastside and Southside halls also have deluxe single rooms costing £227.36 per week and premium single rooms costing £195.37 per week. Alex Kendall argues that there is not a problem in providing this more expensive accommodation. “According to Accommodation Services, all students get a room in the cost bracket they have identified, and so there is an argument saying that some students can afford to and want to live in more expensive accommodation.”

However, Joe Herbert, a second year biologist who lived in Wilkinson Hall, argues that there shouldn’t be as many deluxe or premium rooms as there are. “I know a lot of people who were allocated them but didn’t ask for them, and you don’t get a choice, you take it or find somewhere else to live.” Dan Read also added that “the extra features of these deluxe rooms include a ‘luggage rack’, so one might wonder if this is really for the benefit of the students who stay in halls a full academic year or for the lucrative summer accommodation guests!”

Currently, new students select five preferred choices from a range of twenty halls of residence, varying in price from £55.30 a week for a triple room in Fisher Hall at Evelyn Gardens to £227.36 per week for a deluxe single room in Eastside or Southside in Princes Gardens. However, the university website states that it is not guaranteed that students will be allocated one of their preferred options, meaning students are often left paying more than they anticipated.

Kendall also warns of the future risk of losing the cheaper alternatives currently offered by Imperial. Fisher hall, students’ cheapest option, is currently at risk of renovation and being lost as student accommodation. Kendall argues that the university should be doing “everything it can to provide a cheap hall option close to campus”.

Edit (09:22 – 18/02/11): The headline originally read "Breakdown of hall rents revealed".