MLA Sinead McLaughlin supporting NUS-USI's call for a Student Renters bill 

Foyle MLA, Sinead McLaughlin, has voiced her support for a Student Renters bill to be passed at Stormont. 

The bill would ensure all student accommodation is ‘safe, affordable, good quality and guaranteed.' 

McLaughlin tweeted: “If the housing horror stories being shared by NUS-USI don't convince you of the need for a Student Renters Bill, nothing will.”  

This was followed by the hashtag “NoKeysNoDegrees”- a hashtag used by students protesting for their right to safe and affordable accommodation.  

McLaughlin said: “It is about building more accommodation but it’s also about protecting the accommodation that already exists within the supply. 

“That’s where a Student Renter’s bill actually comes into play, because you put in legislation in and around the supply of student accommodation to ensure that it is affordable and flexible for the students.” 

Grian Ní Dhaimhín, a representative from NUS-USI, said “Across Ireland, students are deferring courses because they have nowhere to live while they study.  

They’re sofa surfing, paying for hotels, hostels and Airbnb's, or commuting for a total of three to five hours to get to their classes.” 

People Before Profit Councillor Maeve O’Neill also supports the Student Renters Bill and will bring a motion to Derry and Strabane Council this week calling for support. 

Councillor O’Neill said: “The National Union of Students – Union of Students in Ireland, alongside other student and housing campaigners descended on Stormont on October 18 protesting the growing housing crisis, rising rent costs and the fact that hundreds of students have been left without accommodation. 

“They are calling for a Student Renters Bill which ensures all student accommodation is ‘Safe, Affordable, Good Quality and Guaranteed’. 

“People Before Profit is giving our full backing to the campaign. The Stormont Executive says it wants to invest in students, however, the conditions by which students need to live and thrive are often an afterthought – unless it's about exploiting profits from the student population.”