Students in Northern Ireland are regularly skipping meals and struggling to pay housing costs, according to a new survey from the NUS-USI.
The national union of students in Northern Ireland revealed that almost half of students surveyed have less than £100 to live on after paying their monthly rent, while more than a third struggle to find the money to keep up with rising rental costs.
NUS-USI president Ben Friel said the findings “paint a stark and worrying picture of the student housing crisis in Northern Ireland”.
“It’s simply unacceptable that so many students are struggling to afford basic necessities like food and rent,” he added.
“We’re seeing a generation of students building credit card and loan debts just to keep a roof over their heads.
“The lack of affordable accommodation is forcing two-thirds of students to skip meals, and almost one in five students are relying on food banks. These alarming rates of student poverty are not normal; no longer can we accept this as the ‘norm’ for the student experience.
“With student numbers at an all-time high in Belfast, and the expansion of Magee to 10,000 in the pipeline, there’s never been a greater need for safe, affordable and secure housing for students.
“We will continue working with decision-makers in Stormont and Westminster to bring about rent controls, greater regulation of purpose-built student accommodation, and increased investment in affordable housing options.”
The survey revealed that 44% of students have less than £100 per month remaining after paying all their housing costs, with over a third (37%) struggling to pay their rent each month.
Pressures created by housing costs are having a knock-on impact onto student food and fuel insecurity.
Two-thirds of students in Northern Ireland have skipped a meal, half have gone without heating and 19% have needed to use a food bank to survive.
This represents a 12% rise in food bank usage compared with NUS-USI research from October 2023.
Faced with rising levels of student poverty, some students’ unions have had to set up food pantries, food banks and free food initiatives to provide additional support for students.
The financial strain is leaving two in five students having to rely on financial support from family. The report revealed that more than half (51%) of students needed to take out a credit card or loan.
A street in Belfast’s Holyland, an area which currently houses a largely transient population of students (Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye)
Living with parents or guardians was the most popular living circumstances for students in Northern Ireland, with three in ten (31%) opting to stay at home.
Just over a quarter (26%) live in private rented accommodation shared with roommates.
The situation here is the reverse of wider UK statistics which reveal that 40% of students live in shared private rental accommodation and 18% live with parents.
Student renters in Northern Ireland were also more likely to encounter issues with their housing compared with their UK counterparts: 92% experienced some sort of issue in their accommodation, compared with 84% of students in the rest of the UK. Mould, mildew, heating, pest infestations, plumbing or noise complaints emerged as the most common issues.
Students also highlighted the requirement to provide a rental guarantor as a barrier to quality housing.
Student campaigners have been calling to make it illegal for landlords to require tenants to have a UK-based guarantor who either owns property or earns over a certain amount of money.
The report revealed that securing a rental guarantor can cause a great deal of stress for students accessing housing, with 35% in Northern Ireland claiming to have had difficulty with this process.
Difficulties and stress caused by the guarantor requirement were particularly prevalent among international, cross-border and low-income students, with some students pointing to the lack of family connections in the UK as a barrier to securing rental guarantors.
NUS UK president Amira Campbell said the survey results lay bare what the union “sadly already knew”.
“Students and apprentices across the UK are suffering at the hands of a housing system predicated on exploitation and profit extraction,” she said.
“We should be ashamed as a society that we are allowing policies like the requirement for a UK-based guarantor to act as a barrier to our most vulnerable students having a safe and secure place to live.
“The solutions to this problem are twofold: the Government must include student renters in the Renters’ Rights Bill to make sure that student renters are given the same protections as everyone else.
“Without this measure, dodgy landlords will flock to the student rental sector, making it more and more precarious for tenants.
“The second step in solving this crisis is for the Government to urgently reintroduce maintenance grants, uplifted to reflect the true cost of living.
“As this data shows, students are quickly being priced out of education.
“If the Government want to maintain our world-class education system, they need to make sure students can actually afford to stay in it.”