More than 40 residents of a UCL hall filed compensation claims to the Accommodation Office as part of a campaign to end the “normalisation” of maintenance issues.
Residents of 109 Camden Road, a block of five buildings including Ann Stephenson House, Denys Holland House, Ifor Evans Hall, Max Rayne House, and Neil Sharp House, alleged persistent maintenance issues alongside delays and failures to fix them.
Nearly 3,700 maintenance issues were reported at 109 Camden Road in 2023/24, a Freedom of Information request has revealed. On average, that’s 14.5 reports a day and over six for every resident over the academic year.
The Cheese Grater can also reveal that it took the University an average of 11 days to resolve maintenance faults on 109 Camden Road, with the worst offender being Neil Sharp House, where it took almost 16 days on average.
“The goal of this mass group claim is to apply more pressure to UCL Accommodation to improve standards at 109 Camden Road and other accommodation sites where the standards are too low”, said Oskar Barltrop, the 109 Camden Road Hall Community Officer (HCO) and initiator of the campaign.
Speaking to The Cheese Grater, the Officer hopes that students from other halls would join the initiative and send out similar claims to pile more pressure on UCL.
The HCO seeks to draw on the reimbursement Ramsay Hall residents are soon expected to receive, amounting to 15% of their catered fees since November. Residents were forced to use disposable plates and cutlery for months after the dishwasher broke down.
Barltrop said UCL Accommodation has so far failed to act upon these grievances, adding: “We’re hoping that by suddenly putting a much brighter spotlight on this, they will feel much greater pressure to act upon these issues which are entrenched, embedded and normalised.”
Maintenance issues faced by 109 Camden Road residents include persistent mold, ant infestation, both the lack of heating and overheating depending on the building, unusable toilets and showers, and frequent Wi-Fi, electricity and water outages.
The campaign has received the backing of Union Accommodation & Housing Officer Ben Scanlan, who said: “I hope that these claims will provide some compensation and comfort for the students in 109 Camden Road, and that they will set a precedent for subsequent claims for other students in other UCL halls who feel that standards this academic year have been insufficiently met.
“From the evidence I’ve seen, it appears as though a lot of basic and major maintenance work either isn’t happening, or is taking too long to happen in UCL Accommodation.
“This is a situation which is leaving students living in inadequate conditions, especially given the large amounts of money they pay in rent.
“The compensation claim for 109 Camden Road is an important step in both holding UCL estates accountable, and fighting for the rights of students against an organisation that, in my view, sees them as an inconvenience.”
How to join the group claim
- Visit https://student.engage.ucl.ac.uk/faqs/home?rl=1&ulsrc=00002
- Click log enquiry
- Select UCL Accommodation and Halls in the category
- Write ‘[Your hall] Compensation’ in the subject box
- Write claim
Claim template
I am claiming compensation because the accommodation has failed to provide key services on multiple occasions; often I am not informed of the duration of the failure; if there is an alternative provision, it is often inadequate; if the service is reinstated, there is often a significant delay.
Example
Complaints (feel free to copy and paste parts, but also personalise it!):
(Also feel free to comment other suggested complaints)
My radiator did not work for 2 months. For a while I couldn’t collect a portable radiator from reception and when I finally got one, it was not an adequate alternative – my room was still too cold. I was not informed of the duration of the failure.
Someone broke into my room and stole valuables. The security is inadequate.
My corridor’s bathroom is usually locked and the toilets are blocked. It is never fixed.
The heating turns off often (for more than 36 hours) and there aren’t always enough portable radiators. They are also not an adequate alternative – my room is still too cold.
My pipes are burning hot and uninsulated, I reported the issue but it is still unresolved.
The Wi-Fi crashes regularly. There is no alternative provision.
There was an ant infestation in my kitchen, which there was a very delayed response to.
My room is moldy, damp and smelly. I reported the issue but it is still unresolved.
There is a general lack of cleanliness, which has been reported but is still unresolved.
My mattress is very uncomfortable/too short/dips down a lot in the middle. There is no alternative provision.
Generally, issues that I report are not fixed for a long time or at all, so I am less likely to report faults now compared to when I first moved in.
For evidence of my reports please see all earlier enquiries and emails. I have also reported things in person numerous times.
Thank you for taking the time to read this compensation claim. I look forward to hearing its outcome.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
A UCL spokesperson said: “Our accommodation services provide a wide range of rooms and facilities to cater for and assist our diverse student community.
“We are enhancing the campus experience for everyone who works, studies and visits at UCL through our ambitious UCL Estates 2050 Vision masterplan, which is bringing long-term improvements particularly regarding accessibility.
“We are aware of a high number of maintenance issues being reported in parts of our estate. In some cases, multiple reports relate to the same issue.
“Maintenance calls are prioritised based on the level of urgency and any issues should be flagged with the relevant halls of residence team in the first instance. If issues are not resolved in a timely manner, they can be referred to our accommodation complaints process.”
