UCL, UCLU and UCL Cut the Rent agreement

UCL, UCLU and UCL, Cut the Rent (UCL-CTR) have today announced they have reached an agreement that will end the current rent strike, which has been running since January this year.

 UCL's offer, to make available £350,000 for the academic year 2016/17 to fund accommodation bursaries for those students in most need of financial support, to freeze rent for 2016/17 and to reduce rent for some rooms, has been accepted.

This new bursary is in addition to the existing bursary scheme and hardship funds operated by UCL and in the subsequent academic year, 2017/18, UCL will expand the funding for the accommodation bursary scheme to £500,000. UCL, UCLU and UCL-CTR will work together to agree the details in the coming weeks.

This also adds to the steps UCL took earlier in the year, freezing and reducing rents for its lowest priced rooms, around 30% of UCL accommodation.

Rex Knight, UCL Vice Provost, said: "We welcome this outcome, which has come about as a result of positive negotiations between UCL, UCLU and UCL-CTR campaign. From the outset we have appreciated that affordability is a big issue for our students, and a challenge for a university based in the heart of central London. The new bursaries we have announced will make a significant difference to all students in greatest need, and will help ensure that UCL remains an institution open to all".

Angus O'Brien, UCLU Halls Accommodation Representative, stated: "It is unlikely that concerns regarding access to education at UCL, as well as across London and beyond, will be entirely addressed in the short-term. Today's announcement is a welcome step forward in ensuring higher education becomes more accessible to students from all backgrounds."

UCL will waive the late payments charge on all accommodation accounts that are paid off by 24th June 2016.