By Felix Pitman, Second Year, Modern Languages
Housing is a constant thought in the minds of many students. Whether you are sorting out bills and problems in your current one or preparing for next year’s home, it provides a constant source of pressure.
I remember before I went to university, I was told that most students get second year housing sorted by October. I was worried: was I really meant to choose flatmates, search and then find a house in the span of a month whilst also balancing getting used to university itself? I doubt that I was alone in my worries about the student housing rush, and I do not think in the coming years less people will be either.
Price is the number one factor for most students regarding their housing: on top of tuition fees, nobody wants to tack on any more cost to that number than they can let on. 77 per cent of students answered on an Epigram poll that their accommodation was more expensive than they hoped. This is something I have personal experience with. Even with three picks to choose from for my first year accommodation, I was denied from them all and sent to Marlborough house, three thousand pounds above my budget. The fact that students get strong-armed into paying far more than they want just to have a place to live at university is a big problem. Students often have no other choices.
In addition, the growing number of students is likely to harden the yearly blow. While numbers for students past 2024 aren’t available for public use, the steadily increasing yearly influx of students before 2024 suggests similar rises in 2025 and 2026. As more students come to Bristol, more housing is needed. It also means more competition between students finding housing in their later years. For my own second year, we had multiple situations where houses were snatched up the day we went to view them. We had to do the same ourselves, and though this search is competitive, it’s not a shock to most students. 58 per cent of students on Epigram’s poll answered that finding their housing was how they expected, and 20 per cent even said it was easier than expected. It does seem that the numerous warnings shared down by past students has an effect on normalising and potentially preparing students for the rush.
Speaking of, what else can really be done to tackle the student housing rush? In light of dealing with poor housing quality, Epigram launched the ‘Break the Mould’ campaign in 2025 to call for a ‘rent review’ system. It allows poor housing to be properly called out by the students who have to deal with it. Emma Coleman, current leader of the movement, spoke to me about how the student rush often lowers standards for students. ‘You feel like everything "good" is being taken or will be gone.’ She noted, ‘when you view houses you otherwise would have said no to, you think, “well this is better than what will be left in January.”’ She went on to say how often students have little to no renting experience which also factors into choosing poor housing. Aside from the recently opened ‘Avon Point’ accommodation, the University appears to have no news on opening new housing next year. It raises concerns for first year students in light of the growing numbers of students.
As expected as the housing rush is, it remains a constant problem. Just being early enough is a less valid approach to handling the rush when you know that if it is not you, someone else will suffer from being behind the curve.
Megan Patterson
Featured: Epigram / Milena Domozetska
As normalised as it has become, should there really be this much tension among students for a need as necessary as housing?
