Uni students scramble for a roof

University of Tasmania international students are staying in hostels amid rental crisis, the students union say.

Alex Berry struggled to find accommodation when he came to Tasmania to study at UTAS Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

A SHORTAGE of affordable rental accommodation in Hobart is hitting the university sector, with some international students forced to study from backpacker hostels.

The student union at the University of Tasmania is calling for greater investment in student accommodation to keep pace with a rise in international student numbers.

Tasmania University Union president Clark Cooley said students were finding it “impossible” to find secure and affordable accommodation, with some living in hostels and paying top prices for short-term tourist accommodation through Stayz and Airbnb.

“Forcing students to live in hostels and other temporary accommodation, like Airbnb while they study is completely unsustainable,” Mr Cooley said.

“If we’re going to continue to expand the amount of students studying at the university we need to seriously invest in affordable and accessible accommodation.”

International student Alexander Berry, of the United Kingdom, said he had to spend his first month in Tasmania at a hostel and he knew of other students from Europe who spent nearly six months in backpacker accommodation.

“I spent my first month in a dorm room, and I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to stay in a dorm much longer,” he said.

Though he applied to the university’s accommodation services before his arrival in June last year, nothing affordable was available.

Mr Berry is now paying $220 for shared living at the university’s on-campus Christ College accommodation.

“I’ve been fortunate because my first language is English, but I have friends from Denmark who spent all of last semester in a hostel.”

The university has added more than 700 beds across the state since 2014, including a new $65 million apartment complex in the Hobart CBD that will house 430 students when completed.

The new 15-floor Hobart apartments started filling in February, with 71 more students moving in for second semester.

UTAS deputy vice chancellor Professor David Sadler said the university had significantly increased its supply of student accommodation in recent years because access to affordable accommodation was crucial to ensuring access to higher education.

“Since 2014, we have added an additional 711 beds around the state with student accommodation developments in Burnie, Newnham, Inveresk and Hobart,” Prof Sadler said.

He said the developments were delivered under the National Rental Affordability Scheme to ensure options were available with rents below market rates.

He said there was also residential colleges and homestay, where financial support was provided to Tasmanian families who host students.

“As demand increases, opportunities exist for private providers, and the university stands ready to work with governments and all relevant stakeholders to ensure the future needs of our students, our cities and our state are met,” Prof Sadler said.

Mr Cooley called all levels of government to work with the university to establish a long-term plan for the future accommodation of students.

“Without a long-term plan for student accommodation, the university will not be able to continue to attract international students and risks losing its high standing global reputation,” Mr Cooley said.

The university’s growing student population includes about 6000 international students, of which more than 4000 are studying in Tasmania.

Research released by Anglicare last month exposed a dramatic shortage of affordable rental properties in Tasmanian, especially the south of the state – with Hobart rents rated as the second least affordable in the nation after Sydney.

Homelessness services have also noticed a spike in demand because of the lack of affordable rental accommodation in the state.

Hobart City Council alderman Damon Thomas said accommodation was a “pivotal” issue for the international student sector in Tasmania.

Ald Thomas said the university was doing well providing new facilities but he suspected more communication was needed to find people in the community with spare rooms for students.

“I have every confidence that there is capacity out there but there is not the level of communication between those who want accommodation and those who might offer it,” he said.

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