Cardiff Student Union Housing Research Report
May 2023
Summary:
During 2021, Shelter Cymru completed research for the National Union of Students (NUS) in Wales resulting in the report Broken Foundations: Fix Student Housing. It sought to challenge the idea that “students should just put up with shoddy housing as a rite of passage” and shone a light on the extent to which housing issues affect students’ daily lives.
The NUS report called for transformative change to the student accommodation market with recommendations that all students must:
• be able to hold their landlords to account,
• have the same rights and protections regardless of where they live,
• be able to afford to live in safe and healthy housing.
This research builds upon our learning.
It has been commissioned by Cardiff Students’ Union with the aim of highlighting the realities of living in student accommodation in Cardiff specifically. It provides the opportunity for a more detailed look at the student housing market in this area as well as an update on our understanding of the pressures’ students are experiencing with rising housing costs and the cost of living more generally.
This report outlines our research methodology and key findings before concluding with a series of recommendations intended to inform the Students’ Union’s future advice service and campaign work.
Research Area: Discrimination, Housing, housing conditions, Renting, tenants
Supported/funded by: Cardiff Student's Union
Type of publication: Report
