King’s Affordable Accommodation Scheme (KAAS) is about enabling undergraduate students to access accommodation priced below market levels. The scheme was the brilliant achievement of a successful campaign that KCLSU Officers ran in 2014. Every year your elected Officers have the chance to make your voice and needs be heard. This year, Officers sat at the table with King’s to review the scheme and ensure that as many students as possible can access suitable accommodation while they study.
Due to the housing and cost-of-living crisis in London, King’s announced an overall 5% increase in rent to address the rising costs of operating King’s Residences.
As your elected Officers Team, we want to ensure your needs are represented so you can make the most of your university experience. After some negotiations with King’s Residences, we are happy to announce that we have managed to secure:
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A continued provision of 1,168 rooms at the affordable rate of £169 per week or below, including 1,039 KAAS rooms reserved for undergraduate students from low-income backgrounds (21% of total rooms).
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Reduced rent increase for 1,821 ‘mid-range’ rooms so to maximise affordability.
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Commitment from King’s to consider additional instalments for rent payments.
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Commitment to conduct a review of KAAS in the 2023/24 academic year to discuss the possibility of including postgraduate students in the KAAS, involving KCLSU Officers at an earlier stage of the discussions, and increasing affordable rooms accordingly to any increase in rooms.
As KCLSU is led by students for students, we believe that this review must be fully informed and guided by students’ experiences to be effective. We plan to work closely with King’s Doctoral Students’ Association (KDSA) and other student representatives to ensure all students’ financial needs are addressed by King’s Residences moving forward.
Our aim is to continue working to support you in response to the cost-of-living crisis – you can check our President’s All We Need Campaign webpage to find out more. We also encourage you to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions or feedback.