UTAS international students weighing up a return home amid housing squeeze

International students studying at the University of Tasmania say they are considering leaving the state if they are unable to find a place to stay in Hobart.

Some of the students who have been affected by the University of Tasmania’s proposed changes to its accommodation outside the university’s Melville Street apartments. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

INTERNATIONAL students studying at the University of Tasmania say they are considering leaving the state if they are unable to find accommodation in Hobart.

Students living in residential accommodation were this week advised first-year students and people from regional areas would be prioritised for the university’s 1100 Hobart rooms.

The student union has argued this has left many students in limbo. In previous years, residents were told they were guaranteed ongoing accommodation if they were enrolled at UTAS, had historically paid their rent on time and had a record of “satisfactory” behaviour.

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A second-year law student from Sri Lanka, who asked to remain anonymous, said she could not afford to rent on the private market. She lived in a hostel before moving into a UTAS-owned room.

“We’re beginning to think it’s a mistake to come here,” she said. “Most of us are thinking of just going back. There’s no houses to rent, and the houses they have now, they’re putting the prices up.”

One first-year nursing student from Indonesia said she was considering going home.

“My experience in studying at the University of Tasmania is not good from the very start and now I have this issue with accommodation and now I feel it is not worth studying at UTAS,” she said.

“It is really ridiculous.”

A second-year engineering student from China said international students struggled to obtain private rentals as they did not have a local rental or financial history.

“I’ve been thinking about transferring to another uni, which is really disappointing,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about living in a van … I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, I want to be creative but it’s pushing me into this situation.”

About 6000 of more than 30,000 UTAS students are from overseas.

University communications director Jason Purdie this week said the institution had been impacted by the tight rental market and the wish of more students to stay in residential accommodation. He pointed out leases were awarded on a year-long basis.

First-year international students were among those afforded priority placement, Mr Purdie said.

“The international education market is very competitive in Australia and it would be very damaging for Tasmania both economically and educationally if the international market thought we had the shutters up and we were closed for business,” Mr Purdie said.

Hobart’s vacancy rate was lower than 1 per cent as of late November.