University students struggling to find a home

AS Hobart rents continue to escalate, university students are grappling to find a roof and homeless people are being turned away from the Hobart Showgrounds.

University students are feeling increasing stress in the lead up to the start of the academic year this month, says student advocacy group Tasmania University Union.

Orientation week begins next week at the University of Tasmania but TUU president Sharifah Syed-Rohan said it was clear not all students had found accommodation.

“There’s a lot of stress for students at this time of year, which is compounded by significant concerns about ac- commodation,” Miss SyedRohan said.

“Our housing forum on Facebook shows there are a lot of students still looking for housing.”

She said the students searching for accommodation were a mix of domestic and international.

Hobart rents have surged almost 20 per cent in a year, with latest data from Rent.com.au showing a jump from an average $358 per week in December 2017 to $425 in December 2018.

Shelter Tasmania executive officer Pattie Chugg said with more than one in four Tasmanians renting their homes, the combination of rising rents and low income growth had created unprecedented hard- ship for many people seeking to rent an affordable home.

Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania chief executive Scott Gadd said he was turning away homeless people every week from the Hobart Showgrounds, which became a temporary home for homeless people staying in tents and caravans over winter.

The showgrounds is trans- formed into a motorhome park over summer, with no room for the homeless.

“But I’ve been turning away about two or three a week.”

The university said it was fast-tracking plans to ensure students found accommodation as soon as possible.

The university’s latest city acquisition was the 49-room Fountainside Hotel.