Fairfax House rent prices are causing discontent among residents as catering and accommodation standards do not currently meet expectations for a second-year running.
Students currently pay £101 a week, including breakfast, but this does not take into account holidays and weekends when breakfast is not provided. Students at Fairfax House therefore pay a higher than average rent compared to other non-catered blocks in Vanbrugh College.
In addition, the supposedly continental breakfast consists of only three items with a choice of a piece of fruit, a yoghurt and a small variety-pack cereal box, including milk. From the University pricings and on average for the whole year, students effectively pay £2.34 a day for this breakfast. A comparison using the same items from Tesco home brand products showed that a typical student breakfast can be bought for only 74p before wholesale.
Although some kitchens at Fairfax House are shared between 18 students, it is priced at ‘Rent Band 2’, a ranking which is not reflected by the standard of accommodation.
Matt Stephenson, Vanbrugh College Chair, said that “whilst I appreciate that commercial services have to make a profit in order to survive, it is blatantly unfair that Fairfax House residents are being charged such extortionate sums of money.”
The sentiment was reiterated by Fairfax House Chair, Mat Newman, who commented that “For too long Fairfax has paid too much for too little. It needs to change now”.
With 91 student rooms, almost a sixth of Vanbrugh College’s first year students live at Fairfax House.
Resident Livvy O’Neill said that, “As a resident of Fairfax House it seems to me that the facilities are not only substandard compared to the amount of money that we pay, but also unhygienic and unhealthy. For instance some of the toilets in the middle floor do not have sinks and residents have to wash their hands in the kitchens”.
Bob Hughes, YUSU welfare officer, told Vision that he would “welcome a decrease in prices, so long as that money doesn’t end up being added to other accommodation blocks’ rents to even it out.”
However, when asked by Vision, the University claimed there are “no plans to reduce charges at Fairfax House. Discussions are continuing over breakfast provision – we hope they will be fruitful.”