Student Housing

That the Parliament acknowledges the reported difficulty that students are facing in sourcing affordable rented accommodation; recognises what it sees as the profound effect that a reported housing crisis is having on students' mental health and wellbeing; understands that students are being forced to live far outside of the city in which they are studying to find suitable and affordable accommodation; recognises research that reportedly shows that students are considering dropping out of university due to high living costs and housing stress; understands that international students are being told to pay up to six months of rent up front to secure accommodation; further understands that students have avoided reporting serious issues with their property out of fear of not being able to obtain a landlord reference; believes that the time and effort that students are having to put into finding suitable accommodation is detrimental to their grades and ability to study; further believes that legislation should be introduced to ensure that students are treated equally to other tenants in terms of protections and accessibility of accommodation, and considers that the Scottish Government must act to address what it sees as a student housing crisis.