Cost of living: The care leavers struggling to find university accommodation

Growing up successful care, Jess had nary thought her inheritance would marque it truthful hard for her to find determination to unrecorded astatine university.

That's due to the fact that the bulk of assemblage and backstage rented accommodation inquire for a guarantor.

Most students tin get a genitor oregon household subordinate to beryllium the idiosyncratic who promises to screen the rent if they're incapable to marque repayments.

But for 16,000 UK assemblage students - similar Jess - who are attraction leavers oregon estranged from their families, that isn't an option.

Jess started looking for her second-year accommodation during her archetypal word astatine Birmingham City University due to the fact that of the contention for properties.

"I don't person immoderate family, I don't person a enactment network," she tells BBC Newsbeat.

"I'm beauteous overmuch connected my own, isolated from the friends I person which are besides 18-year-olds astatine assemblage and they can't truly hold to instrumentality connected thousands of pounds of indebtedness if I didn't wage my rent.

"I'm having to get other wealth connected apical of my pupil indebtedness and I'm surviving disconnected a £26 a week fund for everything I need."

Jess says looking for determination to unrecorded besides started to impact her studies.

"I couldn't absorption connected my uni enactment and I person to practically beg my assemblage for an hold due to the fact that of the situation.

"It's terrifying due to the fact that if thing goes incorrect here, I'm not going to person a spot to unrecorded immoderate more."

Birmingham City University told Newsbeat it doesn't remark connected idiosyncratic cases and circumstances.

But, a spokesperson said, it works with backstage providers to "ensure each students who necessitate accommodation are capable to unafraid it".

He said the uni doesn't necessitate a guarantor for its ain accommodation, and if a pupil can't supply 1 for a backstage landlord "the assemblage signposts them to services that tin enactment arsenic a guarantor".

Hearing from radical similar Jess has led to foundation Unite Foundation calling connected universities to supply a rent guarantor work for students.

Without that, they tin beryllium asked to wage six oregon 12 months' rent successful advance.

Unite Foundation's manager Fiona Ellison says it's putting radical from a attraction inheritance disconnected going to uni.

"In the existent cost-of-living crisis, it's conscionable not truly a feasible option," she says.

"Some students don't consciousness similar they're capable to inquire friends oregon extended family, they mightiness determine that they can't enactment astatine university, and volition driblet out."

Nehaal Bajwa, from the National Union of Students, agrees with the foundation that much needs to beryllium done, saying "it is hard oregon intolerable to get a guarantor".

"They tin beryllium asked to wage up to six months oregon the full year's accommodation fees successful advance, contempt loans lone coming successful erstwhile a term, and hazard substandard lodging astatine champion and homelessness astatine worst."

For University of Strathclyde pupil Sam, uncovering determination to unrecorded has besides been a struggle.

"It has a immense interaction connected my intelligence health, you're stressed retired each the time," she says.

"You get anxiousness astir whether you're going to find determination unafraid to live."

She says having to inquire friends to beryllium a guarantor has made her consciousness ashamed.

"I had to inquire 1 of my friends who has a mortgage, helium had to divulge truly delicate information.

"I conscionable recovered truly embarrassing to person to inquire idiosyncratic to bash that. And the landlord inactive said no.

"I deliberation universities request to look astatine this contented immediately, it's 1 of the main issues that stops radical from getting into assemblage and achieving what everybody other has."

The University of Strathclyde says it's "committed to welcoming and supporting our care-experienced students".

It says it has partnered with the Unite Foundation and encourages eligible students to use for the Unite Accommodation assistance which offers escaped accommodation for care-experienced students successful Glasgow.

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