We are extremely pleased to announce that the University’s accommodation proposals for the 2018-19 academic year have taken on board all of the concerns aired by Sabbatical Officers in the Student Rents Working Party, which decides the price of University-managed accommodation. We can now report that:

• Next year, Whitefields and Redfern halls will be decreasing in rent, while Westwood prices will be frozen at their current rate;
• The number of Undergraduate lets that can be paid for entirely by the minimum maintenance loan has been retained;
• A block of Westwood will be opened up to PG students, as will Whitefields.

Although campus rents increase every year in line with inflation and other associated costs, the planned increase of 3% has also been negotiated down to 2.59%.

When Officers met with Warwick Accommodation back in August for preliminary talks about campus rent prices for the 2018-19 academic year, we informed them that our key priorities were:

• Freezing at least some of the lower-rent halls;
• Retaining the number of Undergraduate lets that can be paid for entirely by the minimum maintenance loan;
• Establishing a proper housing ladder for Postgraduate students so that lower-rent accommodation is made available to them.

It is essential that students from lower-income backgrounds across all years of study have access to a range of accommodation options, and that no student is ever priced-out of taking up a place at Warwick. We are therefore very pleased that the University has proactively taken on board all of our concerns within their proposals, and will be easing the financial burden on students for whom staying in more expensive accommodation blocks is not always an option.