Housing crunch stresses students

IMPACT: Dropout fears over shortage

A SINGLE mum-to-be who just completed her first year of study is among those who have been told to look online for housing as the University of Tasmania blames a tight rental market for its decision to prioritise first-year and regional students over those already in residential accommodation.

On the same day residents received the letter from UTAS directing them to social media and real estate sites, international students were offered the chance to “jump to the head of the accommodation queue” if they immediately accepted the housing offer and paid a deposit on a room.

UTAS has since described the wording of that letter as “unfortunate” and claimed the website aimed at future foreign students had been recalled. It was still live late yesterday.

Kaitlyn Bailey, who is 15 weeks pregnant and had been told she would be unable to stay in the university’s residential accommodation once her baby was born, said she was upset she was advised two weeks before Christmas she had a shorter than expected time frame to find housing.

“I was hoping for another six months,” the first-year Bachelor of Social Science student said. “None of us know if we’re allowed to stay. We’re in limbo.”

Thomas Dwyer, who moved to Hobart from a rural Victorian town to study agricultural business, said he would now give up on study and return to his family’s dairy farm.

“The degree was going to help us get the farm up with the times,” Mr Dwyer said.

“The dairy industry is hard enough as it is. No one wants to be in a country man’s position or support our farmers through these tough times.”

UTAS spokesman Jason Purdie yesterday said he was unsure how many people had applied for the university’s 1100 Hobart rooms.

The wait list was about 400 people, he said. Mr Purdie blamed the tight Hobart rental market for the issues with student accommodation but noted rooms were only leased for the academic year.

“We are working really vigorously to find new accommodation options,” he said.

“To deal with this in a fair and equitable way, we’ve established sets of criteria by which we’re prioritising accommodation for next year. The first criteria are those people from outside of Hobart … Another criteria is people who have scholarships, which are about supporting people who need support to study. The third is around commencing students.”

Later, he added first-year international students would also receive priority treatment.

Youth Network of Tasmania chief executive Tania Hunt said the letter sent Mon- day had had a “profound impact” on young UTAS students. “This may result in some young people not continuing their education and study, and that is a huge concern,” she said.

Greens senator Nick McKim wrote to Housing Minister Roger Jaensch on Monday encouraging Housing Tasmania to get involved but was yet to receive a response yesterday afternoon.

Premier Will Hodgman said it was “not an ideal situation” and called on planning authorities, such as the Hobart City Council, to enable the private sector to meet demand.

“We want people who go to our university to be accommodated and that includes locals across the state,” he said.