Uni of Manchester’s SU say students are facing ‘crisis’ amidst proposed rent hikes

The University of Manchester’s Students’ Union says students are facing “crisis” after the university proposed a series of rent hikes for the 2026/27 academic year.

The university proposed a blanket three per cent increase on university-owned accommodation and up to five per cent increases on leased accommodation.

In a statement released on the SU website, the union’s executive officers said the hikes will have a negative impact on the student experience and graduates’ career outcomes.

Only 34.44 per cent of Manchester’s home students said their maintenance loan covered their rent in 2024, according to SU-sourced statistics.

Between 20 and 30 per cent of students were unable to cover costs such as groceries, transport, social events, course materials and societies/sports clubs, BuildYourMCR research found.

In an already precarious financial environment, the Students’ Union says a rent hike will “exacerbate Manchester’s descent into unaffordability” and contradict the university’s Access and Participation Plan, which is intended to support students from various socio-economic background.

“The outcome of unaffordability, rising rents and general inability to afford the basic essentials,” the statement released by the SU said, “is a poor student experience.”

“The university cannot control the price of bread, the university cannot control the price of a dentists’ appointment, it can control the price of its’ rent.”

Since 2004, student rent at the University of Manchester has risen 28 per cent above inflation, a recent report by The Manchester Tab shows.

With one third of UK students living on less than £50 a month after paying rent and bills, three percent rent increases in blocks like Whitworth Park would mean losing out on a significant portion of this allowance.

The students’ union said more students will be impacted by the larger increase on leased accommodation due to the closures of Oak House and the suspension of George Kenyon. These changes mean a more significant proportion of university accommodation falls under the “leased” category.

Due to leased accommodation being highly concentrated in the city campus area, the students’ union expressed fear that students will “lose out on the safety net of Fallowfield and the benefits of living in the [out-of-city] student area.”

These fears are not just linked to the student experience – the students’ union fear a lack of finacial security would prevent students from fulfilling core co-curricular opportunities. This, in turn, may lead to them struggling in a graduate labour market.

Concern also exists that students will begin entering into “precarious situations to alleviate financial hardship.”

The University of Manchester currently ranks 41st out of 58 universities for affordability in 2024.

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After being “excluded from the decision-making process” by the university, the students’ union have offered a counter-proposal to rental increases.

The University of Manchester is currently operating with a £87 million surplus, a staggering figure which the students’ union has been told is maintained for “strategic investment,” to essentially function as a “rainy day” fund.

“From where the students are standing, today is the rainy day and it is torrential,” the SU said.

With a three per cent rent increase raising an estimated £1 million for the university, the students’ union has questioned whether a 1.15 per cent decrease in surplus funds would “make such a difference.”

The SU counterproposal suggests a zero per cent increase on university-owned accommodation rents and a two per cent increase for leased accommodation.

The proposal also suggests an expansion of the university’s Accommodation Bursary to include 200 slots – with a commitment to ensuring support for working-class students over a longer period.

A spokesperson for The University of Manchester said: “We understand the financial pressures that students are facing, particularly in the wider context of the limited growth in maintenance loans and cost-of-living challenges. Ensuring our students can focus on their studies and are supported financially has, and will always be, a top priority.

“We are significantly investing in student support, such as through bursaries and the Cost of Living Support Fund, and are determined to offer even more support to our students. We are working with donors to help more students in need, and are actively engaging with government bodies to find meaningful solutions for struggling students.

“To help mitigate cost-of-living pressures, the University also introduced a new accommodation bursary in 2025–26, providing £2,000 of support to 126 students from low-income and vulnerable backgrounds. This sits alongside a wider range of financial support available to students.

“Each year our accommodation rents are carefully benchmarked against comparable UK higher education institutions, and we are confident they remain competitive and reasonable in comparison.

“This year’s increase reflects inflationary pressures, rising operational costs across our residential portfolio, and supports ongoing investment in maintaining and improving our student accommodation, for which there is no direct central government funding. Even so, our rents remain among the lowest in the Russell Group. 

“To improve the overall experience, we have invested £132m in the last ten years to build new accommodation and refurbish existing sites.

“By continuing to offer accommodation at rents below the local market, the University plays an important role in helping to keep overall student rents in the city lower than they might otherwise be.”

Featured image before edits via Unsplash