Newly released data reveal that rent for University of Sheffield-owned accommodation has increased by an average of 80% since 2010.
Accessed by Minesh Parekh, Labour Party Councillor for Crookes and Crosspool, via a freedom of information (FOI) request to the University, the statistics show sharp rises in fees across the last fifteen years.
The average weekly room cost is now £195.33, compared to £106.60 back in 2010, £125.85 in 2015 and £141.05 in 2020. Rises of 80%, 55% and 38% across the last 15, 10 and 5 years, respectively.
Councillor Parekh described the rises as “naked profiteering” by the University of Sheffield:
“Accommodation rents have risen 80% since 2010 and are 27% higher than they were just two years ago”.
Parekh labelled the fee increases a “betrayal of [the institution’s] founding mission to make higher education accessible to working class people”, arguing that they are a “clear result of marketisation of our universities: students treated not as learners, but as sources of income to be squeezed for every penny.”
In response, the University of Sheffield told Forge:
“Student accommodation rent at Sheffield is among the lowest in the Russell Group. Despite substantial increases in UK inflation and the current financial challenges facing the higher education sector, the University continues to subsidise our residences to keep rent prices to a minimum. We continue to work hard to keep the cost of living in our university community as low as possible.”
They went on to note the inclusion of bills, communal areas, and laundry facilities, and to clarify that a 148% increase was inaccurate. The Stephenson Gate House accommodation, labelled with the largest rent hike, was converted to a family rental in 2010, therefore increasing the cost.
This comes amidst a challenging financial forecast for higher education. Recent drops in international students, largely due to restrictive visa changes by the government, and continually rising costs of service provision are affecting institutions across the UK.
An earlier Forge investigation found that International students brought in 59% of total tuition fee revenue in 2023/24.
Between the academic years of 2022/23 and 2023/24, the University said that student numbers fell by 7%, a total of 2,200 students, many of whom were internationally based.
Councillor Parekh called on the university to reverse its most recent price hikes and stop pushing working-class students out of higher education.
He said: “Sky-high rents aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. Charging the equivalent of a full maintenance loan shuts out working-class students.
“The university must urgently reverse these increases now and make its accommodation actually affordable.”
According to the university’s website, annual rent costs between £6,271.02 and £10,649.31, with those at the lower end being 42-week contracts.
The maximum maintenance grant a Sheffield student can receive is £10,544.
