Letter: Snug scheme is unjust

Students matter to Sheffield – not just in terms of the economic and cultural value they bring to the city, but as individuals.

Their mental health matters, as does their welfare and right to decent housing.

It is high time that the local plans for areas which house large numbers of students in the city reflected this.

Case in point is the area covered by the council’s Central ward.

The area is home to thousands of students living in large blocks of purpose built student accommodation, an industry which is subject only to a voluntary code of conduct run by the council and universities.

The voluntary code of conduct in question – the Snug scheme – gives timeframes for repairs and minimum service standards but offers no compensation to students for breaches of it or any way of anonymously raising complaints or concerns about a provider.

This is a glaring omission and completely wrong.

Students housed in these areas being international students and therefore potentially not aware of their rights in relation to tenancy laws or what service levels the housing providers should be adhering to under the Snug scheme.

So it is hugely unjust and unfair to be leaving it up to individual students to raise complaints about student housing.

I have heard first-hand accounts of negative experiences in such developments and research in 2019 showed that students living in such accommodation were a third more likely to suffer mental health issues (something that one can assume could only have got worse with the pandemic).

Having no way to hold providers of student accommodation to account if for example they fail to give notice for accessing flats or bedrooms or fail to undertake repairs can be doing nothing but compounding the stress and anxiety of students who already have the stress of exams and coursework to contend with, not to mention the stress for many of them of being away from home and their normal support networks.

The Snug scheme needs expanding to include a dedicated email address for raising concerns on an anonymous basis about housing providers and for raising standards.

The councillors for Central ward could make a good start by organizing events to reach out and listen to students and by encouraging them to reach out anonymously with their genuine experiences of living in purpose built student accommodation.

The students in the area deserve no more or less.

Matthew Smith

Hillsborough, Sheffield, S6