UCL fails to deal with pest problem at Max Rayne

At the end of last term, UCL Estates sent a Pest Control firm to eradicate a large cockroach problem at Max Rayne. However residents busy revising for their exams are still dealing with the infestation now.

With the current extermination methods seem to have been inadequate, Max Rayne residents have taken matters into their own hands and set up a Facebook group (called ‘the cockroach games’) dedicated to hunting down roaches.

The infestation has been very bad

Joshua, a first year astrophysics student told The Tab, “the issue for us isn’t necessarily just the conditions, but that that UCL Estates have waited until the end of Term 2 to do anything about the cockroach problem. Not only have we been dealing with this infestation since the start of the year, but Max Rayne has always been famous for its roaches.”

This is despite UCL stating on their website that “Appropriate control measures are taken to ensure that the University Estate is free from pests and vermin wherever possible.”

This has not been the first time that  UCL halls have had pest problems, in October 2014 The Tab reported on a mice and cockroach infestation at Max Rayne, Ifor Evans and John Tovell.

Max Rayne have been withholding rent since January

Cockroaches are a known health hazard- they carry bacteria, contaminate food and have been known to trigger asthma attacks. As a landlord, UCL is legally bound to keep their properties free from safety and health hazards as well as ensuring that tenants are never put at an unacceptable level of risk.

This news comes as the increasingly bitter rent strike rumbles on, with strikers having withheld over £1m worth of rent over the course of the strike. The halls, which cost £135 per week to live in, have been the focus of an ongoing campaign by UCL Cut The Rent to address rising accommodation prices and the poor standard of living in UCL halls.