gair rhydd Monday March 19 2012 | freeword – Est. 1972 | Issue 974
A new Horizon
gair rhydd reveals the results of the 2012 housing survey Matt Jones News Editor A gair rhydd survey has indicated that only 40% of students are satisfied with the service that their letting agent or landlord supplies. The survey, carried out during the first four weeks of the Spring semester, asked students in their second year of study or later to rate their housing experience on topics such as the condition and quality of their house, and the helpfulness of letting agencies in resolving problems. Over six hundred students living in rented accommodation replied to the online survey, representing a wide range of letting agents and years of study. The survey has provided information about the student satisfaction achieved by different letting agents as well as showing differences in students’ experiences based on whether their property is managed by agent or by landlord. As stated above, only 40% of students gave a positive response to the question of whether they were satisfied with their letting agent. However, for individual letting agents this fell much lower. CPS Homes, tenants of whom made up 11.7% of respondents to the survey, achieved the lowest number of positive responses with 15.5%, very closely followed by Keylet with 15.9% (see table). At the other end of the scale, 63.4% of Horizon tenants and 52.6% of Cardiff Student Lettings tenants gave a positive response. Asked about the results of the survey, CPS Homes suggested that they did not recognise the findings of the survey, saying: “We are surprised and disappointed with the outcome of the survey, especially as they [sic] appear to contradict our own findings. The current lettings period for the 2012/2013 academic year has seen us house a record number of students - over 2,000 in total - and conduct viewings with in excess of 10,000 students.” Equally, Keylet denied that they had a problem with student satisfaction. They said: “Though we are disappointed with the results, our own in house surveys, customer satisfaction levels and retention of tenants, supports and better proves our ongoing and dedicated efforts toward the highest level of customer service.” Both claimed that they would be receptive to any students who brought forward complaints.
Above: gair rhydd 2008 survey results
Welfare Officer Chris Davies presents the wooden spoon after the results conclude that Keylet comes out bottom of those letting agents included in the survey Chris Davies, Welfare Officer, said: “The Union is committed to tackling housing issues for our students and this survey will undoubtedly shape our strategy going forward. It is disappointing to see two of the biggest letting agents perform so badly and we hope this acts as a wake up call for them. Of course it is great to see Cardiff Student Lettings perform strongly in all areas and equally it is pleasing to see that previously poor performing agents have improved.”
The survey also brought up interesting results around the relationship of student, agency and landlord. Students were asked whether their property was managed by landlord or letting agency on a day-to-day basis. This refers to the party that students would contact in case of a problem or query with their house. The question showed overwhelmingly that students in properties managed by landlords had had far better experiences with their resi-
dences. For example, only 26% of those managed by the letting agency responded positively when asked about the speed of the resolution of problems with the property, compared to 54% of those managed by the landlord. This trend continued for all other questions, suggesting that generally, students whose property is managed by a landlord have a better experience.
Elections hustings
Henry McMorrow News Editor
The annual elections hustings took place on Thursday March 15. Candidates for part-time elected officer and sabbatical positions were given the opportunity to present their campaigns for student scrutiny. The occasion proved popular among campaign teams but failed to garner the support of the wider student body, and turnout did not reflect levels of participation. The format was regimented which prevented the evening from running into its fourth hour. Candidates were allowed one minute to introduce themselves and a précis of their campaign. Afterwards, the part-time officers were subjected to two questions from the floor and the full-time officers were given three. The part-time candidates were largely uncontested with the exception of the LGBT+ position with two candidates. The first of the three full time positions brought to the floor were the Athletic Union President, Education and University Affairs Officer and Head of Student Media with three candidates standing for each post. The questions posed to the candidates were all fairly unchallenging and responses were generally strong. The position of President proved more contentious with five candidates standing and with a trio of more taxing questions. Marcus Coates-Walker, Students’ Union President posed a galling question about leadership and how candidates plan to build a rapport with the prospective Vice Chancellor. The question was met with uncertainty among candidates but was eventually answered to a certain degree by all five. The Societies Officer candidates, numerous in number, all presented convincing presentations. Their first question, posed by Edmund Schlussel, President of the University’s Socialist Party related to the role of societies in activism and left all candidates in bewilderment, not receiving any adequate answers. The final two were the Welfare and Community Officer and Union development and Internal Affairs Officer, the latter being a newly created post. Audience numbers were dwindling by this point, all candidates answered questions well although Chris Davies’ question proved challenging to candidates, but, by his own omission, it was intended to test them. Voting for Elections remains open until Tuesday March 20.