University students forcefully evicted after striking.

The University of Manchester has been receiving public backlash for hiring private bailiffs to forcefully remove student strikers from the occupied Simon building.

 Students in the ‘UoM Rent Strike 2023’ group had been occupying the Simon building since February 13 as part of the ongoing protest over rent costs and poor living conditions in university-owned accommodation. Back in January of this year, rent strike organisers claimed that 350 students had cancelled their direct debits meaning that a total of £500,000 was withheld from the University.

The strikers were demanding a 30 percent reduction in their rent for the remainder of the academic year as well as a 30 percent refund on the payments that had already been made.

Manchester University takes students to High Court.

As the occupation of the Simon building reached its 40th day, a judge in Manchester High Court granted the University of Manchester a possession order for the entire South Campus. This allowed the University to legally hire bailiffs to evict the protesting students from the lecture hall in Simon building.

It does not permit the removal of rent striking students in university halls.

Two days after the University of Manchester was granted the possession order, bailiffs arrived at the Simon building at 5:21 a.m. and began evicting students. Videos on social media show the ordeal as students refused to leave. In the end, the video shows student strikers being carried or dragged out.

Freedom of Information requests sent by The Manchester Tab reveal that the University spent £38,000 on the private bailiffs.

The National Union of Students share their disapproval.

NUS responded to the news of the students’ eviction and displayed their disapproval for the university's actions.

 NUS Vice President Higher Education, Chloe Field, said:

 “We are disgusted but sadly not surprised that instead of meeting the occupiers and addressing their entirely reasonable concerns for affordable rent, the University decided to move straight to taking their own students to court and then engaged and wasted students’ money on private bailiffs to brutally evict them.”

 The UoM Rent Strike protest group has also slammed the University, saying: “Shame on University of Manchester that they would rather do this than consider basic demands for affordable rent.”

The University has defended its decision.

 A spokesperson for the University of Manchester said:

 "This morning officers of the High Court attended the Simon Building to enforce a court order, on a small group of students who had been illegally occupying rooms there since 13 February 2023."

 He adds that the University “very much regrets having to do this, but the situation has been going on for a significant amount of time and has caused ongoing disruption to students and the people who work in the building.”

Manchester is not the only University dealing with the threat of student rent strikes.

King’s College Cambridge Student Union announced a rent strike in April 2023 in response to rent increasing by 8.1 percent. The strike would entail participating students cancel their planned direct debits and transfer their bill to an escrow account managed by the Cambridge SU.

 As of the 1st of April, over 90 students had signed the letter.

The University of Oxford offered a 60% discount after the threat of a rent strike.

 In October 2022, students at the University of Oxford threatened to go on a rent strike over a cockroach infestation. After moving into their University halls, students were told that their communal kitchens on the first and second floor would be closed for a few days due to a “maintenance issue.” But the timeframe got extended well into October and, as a result, up to 90 students were forced to use one kitchen.

On the 11th of October students were informed that the “maintenance issue” was in fact a cockroach infestation in the air vents. By this point, the insects had invaded several bedroom’s as well as the kitchen and bathrooms.

 Students threatened to stop paying their food and accommodation costs and the University responded by offering a 60 percent discount on accommodation as well as new rooms to students who found cockroaches in their bedrooms.

 If you would like to comment or contribute to this article email support@accommodationforstudents.com