The start of a new year university signifies change, not only in an academic capacity but also in the entire makeup in the mise en scène provided by a students living arrangements compared to their previous year. The task of finding an appropriate living set up is fuelled by an array of potentially unachievable goals. How far is my walk to campus?
Who am I going to live with? What is the perfect layout for me? A seamless outcome to every single question is not the reality for a student, and they accept this.
For the most part they begrudgingly understand as students looking for short to medium term rented accommodation that certain sacrifices may have to be made. The more intriguing conundrum for students is where does this line of compromise lie? Does this extend to damp matches, bedbugs, mould, and rats?
Cardiff’s premier student area, Cathays, home to a third of the City’s 36,300 students boasts over 1,400 student houses. “Seagulls, smelly bins and students doing the walk of shame after a night out would all feature on a morning walk from home to a lecture” all added to Cathays’ “unique brand of charm” A local resident told CPS homes. It’s no surprise then that such purposeful chaos blended with a housing market that accounts for 58% of Cardiff’s HMO’s (Houses of Multiple Occupation) causes problems in the living conditions of those in Cathays. The higher occupant density in Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) creates far more moisture, which combines with inadequate ventilation, insufficient heating, and sometimes poor building upkeep to cause significant mould issues.This combined with the absence of students for potentially four months of the years the same issues of upkeep, cleanliness and ventilation ensue.
Just last year the BBC Wales reported of Cathays students struggling with bedbugs, rats and mouldy bathroom walls. Wales Online even reported an incident in which a house of seven students faced unbearable black mould that significantly affected the resident’s health, in a story that accumulated with a large section of the ceiling collapsing and the students having to leave with immediate effect, questioning the safety and security of students living in Cathays. Such horror stories are undoubtably likely to cause distress and a feeling of anxiety amongst students’ house hunting for their coming year, as well as students who wait nervously for their first problem to arise.
What would appear as a declining of quality has not been reflected in the expense, Cardiff house prices have seen a rise of 13% in just a year. Most students now pay over £500 a month, even in houses of usually six to eight. Deio Owen, the vice president of Cardiff’s Student Union Change is a necessity, and evidently not just in the student’s housing preferences, but the entire sector.
Increased legislation on the prices landlords can charge as well as the quality and rapidity of their co-operation with their tenants. As an army of academics continue to descend on Welsh capital each year, it is yet to be seen whether Cathays will be able to provide a stronger balance between standards of living and affordability.