On 23rd October 2024, student leaders from across the UK will gather in Westminster for NUS’s National Lobby Day for No More Guarantors, calling for systemic changes to improve international students' living conditions. This action follows a shocking survey revealing that 29% of international students have experienced homelessness, a rate more than double that of domestic students. The National Union of Students highlights challenges such as rising housing costs, restrictive 20-hour work limits, and the burdensome guarantor system that often requires international students to pay a year’s rent upfront. The campaign aims to address these barriers and end hostile environment policies.
What specific steps do you believe the government could take to alleviate the housing challenges faced by international students, beyond ending guarantor requirements?
The Government’s Renters’ Rights bill is a strong piece of legislation, but by just going slightly further with regulation, it could be so much stronger.
Landlord practices of asking for UK-based homeowners as guarantors, and for rent upfront are not addressed by the bill in its current form. Both these practices have a devastating and disproportionate impact on students from more deprived backgrounds, as well as estranged students, students leaving care and international students. International students can be asked for as much as 12 months' rent up front, and we hear countless stories of students who have been essentially homeless for periods and have had to live in hostels or borrow money which further drives them into debt. The government must legislate to stop landlords from using such predatory exploitative and discriminatory methods - and we urge them to include this in the RRB.
How can universities, in addition to the government, contribute effectively to ensure affordable and accessible housing for international students?
There is a host of things that universities and the government could do to improve the housing situation for students. Universities can collaborate with local authorities to increase the availability of affordable housing options in the city, as well as ensure that a large enough proportion of university-owned accommodation is being leased at a genuinely affordable rate. They should also extend their hardship funds to include international students, ensuring they have access to financial support when needed. Universities should also develop more on-campus housing to reduce student’s reliance on the private rental market.
With many international students already working alongside their studies, what impact could removing the 20-hour working limit have on both students and their academic experiences?
Removing the 20-hour working limit could provide international students with greater financial stability, allowing them to better support themselves and reduce stress related to financial pressures. International students have long called for this and there is no reason for the government to deny them the same working rights as home students. International students have been using food banks at shocking rates – this must stop in one of the richest countries in the world where they have come to seek an education, allowing them to dictate their own working hours is the least we can do to alleviate this.
What role do you think student unions can play in advocating for policy changes that address the financial and housing difficulties faced by international students?
Students’ Unions play a crucial role by organising campaigns and lobbying efforts to highlight the challenges faced by international students. NUS has shown how effective this can be, and in our National Lobby Day on 23rd October, we organised for 50 students’ unions to converge on Westminster and together we met with 74 MPs and discussed with them the need to abolish the landlord practice of asking for guarantors. And our efforts don’t stop there. NUS will continue to work with Students’ Unions, and with the government, to champion students and advocate for a sustainable future for further and higher education where all students, regardless of their background, can flourish and meet their potential.
