By George K J

Students from across the globe are struggling to find accommodation in the UK.

The situation is so dire that a number of Indian student studying in Wrexham have had to move to Manchester, more than 30 miles away.

Landlords have hiked the rents because demand is outstripping supply. The Indian students, who are on an MBA court at Wrexham Glyndwr, could not find suitable accommodation close to the Welsh university and are instead living at Clayton, Manchester.

Arun Benny, an Indian student, told UWS News that his journey to classes takes three to four hours. He is paying £400 per month for an unfurnished apartment, and bills are excluded from the rent.

Another student, Ebin Eldho, stays in Llandudno and it is more than three hours to the university. The students have called and talked to the university’s student accommodation regarding the issue., but they say the university has simply told them that it is doing its best to sort out the problem.

There have been a number of reports published recently that the UK universities are facing problems regarding the housing of students. Universities house students in locations far away from the campuses to cope with demand. The University of Bristol had to place 100 students in Bath and the University of York placed students in Hull.

“The top most concern we are observing amongst the students coming over to the UK to study is finding good accommodation. Anecdotally I can tell you we are observing that compared to previous years, this issue has certainly increased.” Arora told to The PIE

Scottish universities are also facing issues with providing student accommodation. A recent report by the BBC addressed the issue in depth. A major reason for the crisis is the upcoming COP26 summit. Many landlords and accommodation providers are willing to give space for participants of the summit rather than students as they could get more revenue from them.

According to the BBC, NUS Scotland has warned that unprecedented demand has left some students homeless and others are considering dropping out. Landlords are also demanding six months’ rent up front and some are holding off on letting to students until COP26 is over.