Student loans not rising to manage rents increasing

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What are families supposed to do?

£400 rent shortfall this term when we’re already having to pay £300 a month so he can eat. It’s a grotty tiny terraced shit heap with mold up the walls. The loans don’t cover living expenses, now they’re not covering rent.

We have 2 other children. What do they expect families to do?

is He able to work himself?

You’re right OP, student rents are ridiculous as are how their loans are calculated.

I imagine it will lead to more and more student commuting, and/or less students altogether. Although what they’re then going to do with all the houses converted to student flats is anyone’s guess.

Why is he spending £300/month on food? That seems excessive for a single person. He could budget better and put that money into the rent increase.

He is on a full time course with masses of work so can’t during term time.It’s nigh on impossible to get work in the shorter holidays. He has used up the savings he earned before.

This isnt sustainable for families. It’s harder for students to get work than other low income sectors. Why isn’t the government doing anything?

I'm dreading it. I'll have 2 next year who are only entitled to the £4,500ish maintenance loan, so we'll already have to make up £13k difference between them to take them up to the £11k each previously recommended.

No it’s £300 for everything, food, bills, going out etc.

Loans just cover fees and was covering rent. Now it doesn’t.

He has the cheapest accommodation this year. We checked and he was pro active in getting cheap. If the loans don’t cover living expenses and the cheapest rent in a cheap area of the country the system isn’t working.

Well, he’ll have to get a part time job or find somewhere cheaper to rent. Most students have always worked, haven’t they?

£400/term doesn’t sound too hard to make up in a very part-time job.

Oh, I cross-posted on the accommodation. He’ll have to find a part-time job, in that case.

My DS will have to work whilst at uni. I am a single parent and absolutely cannot afford to give that kind of money. He will get a full loan but if he falls short he will need to work himself.

YANBU but the whole thing has got so bad that I think they're just silently making it so fewer children can go to uni from average households and only high earners can get a degree that way.
See also, the student loan changes coming into force soon.
It will all reinforce class divisions and ensure we all have much less social mobility and that we can only do degrees in things that have linked apprenticeships.
Academic study and top professions are fast becoming the preserve of the wealthy again.

He can’t. He has full time lectures, masses of course work and is ND so has to put in extra studying to keep on top of things. He’s at college all day and most of the evening in the library. He looked for jobs that fitted round his hours and there weren’t any.

What needs to happen is the government need to up the loans.

Weekend job? Study skills sessions so he can work more effectively, not needing to spend so much time in the library? Drop to part time and work part time?

I actually agree that higher education funding needs to be looked at - but that isn’t going to happen while he’s still there, so trying to make practical suggestions if you can’t afford to increase what help you give

It's a nightmare my dd gets 779 and the halls are 1050 a month. She's tonight starting a part time job but she also has placements as she's training to be a nurse.

Agree with you op.

DS2 is at uni in a very expensive part of the UK, lives in a shared house and been told their rent is going up next year.

They've found somewhere else for September and he has a pt job but it's still a nightmare.

Many won't be able to afford arbitrary price rises.

She also has adhd and dyslexia so took alot to even get her there.

I’m confused.

Has his rent gone up part way through a contract?
Is he is shared accommodation?

Only rich students are going to be able to do the intensive courses. But I guess the government would love that.

I also agree OP. Also it's a LOAN. So there is no reason why it can't be more, except for the government's creative accounting policies. It was different when it was a grant - then it was reasonable to say you can work - but it covered basic living costs anyway.

No, students haven't always worked, not in term-time, anyway. Maybe in the bars in the students union or the hall of residence. But it was beer money, not rent money.

No this terms loan, doesn’t cover this terms rent. It’s simple as that. I think his savings paid the shortfall last term. He is in the shittiest cheapest accommodation in a cheap part of the country.

No, students haven't always worked, not in term-time, anyway. Maybe in the bars in the students union or the hall of residence. But it was beer money, not rent money.

You must have gone to university in more privileged times than I did. Most students that I knew worked in term time, including those on intensive courses.

When DD was at uni (2019. -2021) she saved £3k before going by working during A levels but we said that was for her social life and we payed the shortfall in rent ( fully catered first year) but I understand rents have gone up wildly. Ian 2020 was about £500pcm in Durham.She worked every holiday.

Going back 15-20 years I had a shortfall in my rent so I worked 12-30 hours a week depending on the time of year to make it up as my parents couldn't. Out of my 5 choices I went with the one with the cheapest accommodation as I knew I would struggle otherwise. It's not ideal but not sure it s a new issue?

15 years ago we didn’t have a cost of living crisis.

The 'system' has NEVER been that loans cover rent and living costs. Never. The expectation has always been that parents top up the loans according to their means.

Now I wholeheartedly agree that loan amounts are woefully behind where they should be - at least 10% too low given inflation, probably more. But parents really need to understand that they have always been expected to contribute. This isn't a case of the system being broken.

I feel you pain though - I had two years with two dc at uni. Was hard!