UCL announces 2.5% rent reduction for 2016/17

UCL has today announced that it will reduce the contract length for its rooms across its owned student accommodation from 40 to 39 weeks a year, effectively reducing the annual rent payable by 2. This decision has been taken to align the start of the academic year with arrival of students into halls. The change will take effect from the academic year 2016/17, and comes in addition to the rent reduction and freeze on over 30% of UCL's owned accommodation, announced on 4th March for 2016/17. UCL has also published a ten-year cost assessment of its halls of residence, which indicates that between 2009/10 and 2018/19,  the university is projected to make an overall loss of £9.7m on its accommodation budget. The schedule sets out income generated through rents against spending on running costs, refurbishment, and the acquisition of new residences. The figures vary from year to year, reflecting fluctuations in the level of capital expenditure on large projects undertaken by UCL, and do not include provision planned at UCL East to meet demand from students who will be studying at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park campus from 2019/20. In addition, UCL is publishing FAQs to answer questions that include why rents are set at the level they are at, what UCL is doing to keep rents as low as possible, and clarifying the rate at which rents have increased since 2009/2010.