University of Oxford students move into old bus after being ‘priced out’ of accommodation

Two University of Oxford students have moved into a double decker bus after being “priced out” of accommodation.

Leo Bevan, 20, and Kit Renshaw, 20, bought and renovated a double decker bus after their rents were predicted to increase to £9,000 and £10,000 a year.

They now pay £73 a week in parking charges to live in the bus which was previously owned by the band Sugababes.

via SWNS

Leo and Kit’s bought the bus from Facebook Marketplace, before towing it to a park and ride spot in Oxford.

Even accounting for buying and renovating the bus, the pair estimate the move will save them between £2,500 and £3,500 each in a single year – and they’ll have a 44ft Ayats Bravo to sell or keep at the end of their studies.

Leo, studying English literature and language, and originally from Penzance, Cornwall, said: “At the end of last year, I didn’t want to live with eight people in a crowded student house anymore.

“My room was alright, it wasn’t the best but it wasn’t the worst. I found it to be overcrowded for someone who likes to keep themselves to themselves.

“Not only that, but it was so expensive. I was paying £541 a month and struggling to afford it.

“Kit had an email from college to say there would be a lot of work around his student house, causing a lot of noise so he was keen to find somewhere else to live too.

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“He was paying £375 a month, and we were effectively priced out of our student accommodation; we couldn’t afford it. We knew there must be a better way to live in Oxford for less.”

Kit, a history and English student, originally from Canterbury, added: “I felt very frantic when buying the bus.

“I realised it wouldn’t be easy to sort and renovate, but I knew it was a better and more affordable option.”

Leo described Oxford as an “amazing” and “incredible” place to live, but explained how it is “extremely expensive”.

During his first year, Leo paid £7,500 a year for halls – with no kitchen – and then £6,500 for his shared student house in his second year. He was facing rent for his final year totalling £10,000.

Kit, who first met Leo at a house party, paid £4,500 in his first year for student accommodation and another £4,500 in his second year. He was going to be forced to fork out £9,000 for his rent for his final year.

Accommodation regulations meant that their rooms would likely not be available to them during the long holidays, either.

Leo then found the bus on Facebook Marketplace and snapped it up 30 minutes, for £5,000, in June this year.

Currently undriveable, they paid £1,300 to tow it from Liverpool to Oxford, and spent around £3,000 to make it habitable.

via SWNS

Kit said: “The bus has been an interesting challenge and we’ve really enjoyed doing it on a budget.”

Leo added: “I was knocking on doors around Oxford for a month asking people to park a bus in their garden, but no dice, somewhat unsurprisingly.

“I got close a couple of times, but everyone with the space always ended up needing to ask permission, either from the university or the council.

“We decided just to park it in a car park and pay by the day.

via SWNS

“It was a close shave trying to get it in, especially with the tow truck. It must have been around 70ft, getting around a tight corner, and the legend who towed it for us got it in for us.”

They spent five hours a day cleaning it and say they found dead rats, needles, and plenty of mould.

So far Leo and Kit have ripped out the passenger seats, driver’s seat, tables, upstairs walls and part of the ceiling.

They’ve removed the heating and cooling system but kept the bus’s original leather upholstery, cupboards, electronics, TV and speaker system, and vinyl floor.

The power will run off a generator and battery system, except the oven, which will run off an LPG tank.

It will be ready for them to live in full-time when they resume their studies in the coming weeks – although they admit living in the bus will be more like “camping” while they finish the renovation work.

Leo said: “The double-decker was a tour bus used by the Sugarbabes 21 years ago and is a total mess now.

“So much work needs to be done to get it moving, which is expensive, so it’s not worth it, and I’m happy with where it is.

“I bought it with money I don’t even have – I had to get a loan – and we have spent days fishing through skips to find materials.

“I buy and sell things on Facebook Marketplace, so I can fix and sell them to make money to fund the renovations.”

via SWNS

Explaining what work is still yet to be made on the bus, Leo added: “We still need to sand, oil and varnish the floors, board up the fibreglass ceilings, lay vinyl in the bathroom, strip and paper the aluminium walls, set up an inverter, generator and battery system for power, plumb in a water tank and chemical toilet.

“Then we need to set up the LPG cooker, construct upstairs walls, hook up circuit breaker, lights, electronics and sockets throughout the bus, plumb in the kitchen sink, move in my piano, build beds, cupboards and other furniture.”

They’ve yet to install a shower, so wash at a friend’s house.

Leo said: “We paid £40 for a second hand oven, but I haven’t hooked it up with gas because we’ll finish all the walls and floors first.

“In the future, we want to install a caravan-like shower.

“I’m resourceful, so I don’t doubt I can find somewhere to shower, in someone’s college or a lido.”

Kit added: “It’s taken a while and we’ve only just really made a start to it but we’ve made quite a lot of progress.

“I love working on our bus and can’t wait to see the finish product.”

The bus’ costs – including purchasing the bus, towing, materials and tools, and parking the bus in the park and ride car park for a year – total the pair £13,096. Split in half, the part will be paying £6,548 each for the year.

Leo would have paid £10,000 for his rent for this academic year. Kit would have paid £9,000. Bills were included in both of these figures.

Featured image via SWNS