Tag: MoJo

By Nikita Vance

 

The lack of affordable private housing and spaces available in university accommodations has had a detrimental impact on the physical and mental wellbeing of students across Scotland.

Students in Stirling have been pushed to the limit trying to find suitable accommodation for the academic year, as prior to the semester starting in September the University of Stirling announced that in person attendance would be compulsory following two years of online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Facebook groups like “Rent a Flat in Stirling” have been brimming with posts from Stirling students begging for any accommodation they can get. Some have even been forced into blind bidding on flats due to the sheer demand for housing, as fourth year sociology student Matty Millar stated “There was either nothing or if we found something, it was gone within an hour,”

“We managed to get a viewing for one place and the landlord sat us down and said last year people offered to pay more and asked if we would be happy to do the same. We said yes and a couple of days later, an email went round saying they were doing a blind bid for the flat. At that point, we just backed out.”

Millar is currently having to live with his parents in Glasgow and commutes to Stirling each day via train, a debilitating and stressful task due to the ongoing train strikes since the summer which show no signs of stopping.

Nikita Vance speaks to the University of Stirling and VP of Communities, Jess Reid, to find out what they plan to do to curb the student housing issues.