University threatens to bar ‘rent strikers’
STUDENTS t aki ng par t i n a “re nt strike” at University College London have been warned they will be thrown off their courses and barred from graduating if they do not pay up.
About 60 UCL students from two halls of residence have refused to pay their rent for a month because of “unbearable” living conditions.
They claim building work
at Hawkridge House in Kentish Town and Campbell House in Bloomsbury is affecting their studies and their health and want compensation.
In the latest development, students were sent letters by the “site manager”, which stated: “If the account remains outstanding and you are a first year or returning student you will not be able to re-enrol until any outstanding debt to UCL is cleared.
“Furthermore if you are a finalist and your outstanding balance is not cleared before the end of the term your results will be withheld, your degree will not be reported and you will not be able to attend your graduation ceremony.”
David Dahlborn, UCLU Halls Accommodation Representative, said the letters were “vile and cowardly”.
Prapa Ganguly, a 24-year-old law student at Hawkridge House, said: “Right now, it’s more about receiving a fair treatment rather than more money. We want to be treated as students and not mere squatters.” A spokesman for UCL said the letters should only have been sent to “late payers” and not to those on rent strike, but it was hard to distinguish between the two. He claimed students on rent strike would not have degrees withheld, but UCL reserved the right “not to prolong their contracts in the accommodation while the rent remains unpaid”.
He said students involved in a rent strike “who are following the compensation procedure” will not be subject to any academic sanction.
Students at Campbell House are affected by noise from the demolition of Wates House. A spokeswoman for UCL said they have been offered alternative study space and some have been found bedrooms elsewhere.
At Hawkridge House, construction work was stopped during the exam period but many students refused the “meagre” £132 compensation offered.