Oversubscription leads to quarter-million pound pay-out for Manchester freshers

Over 100 University of Manchester freshers have taken £2500 pay-outs from the University after Halls of Residence for the 2022/23 Academic year were oversubscribed, with students being offered alternative accommodation in Liverpool to manage the issue.

On September 1, the University released a statement saying they offered “all students holding an offer of University accommodation a payment of £2500 to be released from that offer”. This was despite the University’s own Accommodation Guarantee, which guarantees university accommodation to almost all first-year undergraduates and international students.

The article continued, stating that over 100 students took the pay-out. Assuming that all the students were given the full amount of £2500, the University made pay-outs of over a quarter of a million pounds to first-years at the University.

As a result of these payments, drop-outs, and the re-opening of old accommodation, the University was able to update the article on the 16^th September, writing that they had offered accommodation in Manchester to everyone who had applied for it.

Despite these offers, there are still University of Manchester students who are living in Liverpool. The Mancunion spoke to one first-year biomedical science student who moved to Liverpool and has not moved out, despite the offer of relocation from the university. She commented that “when I first got the email, I was so upset, because I thought it’d like ruined the social aspect of uni”, and cited concerns about transport.

While the student was relieved about the £100 per week transport expenses provided by the University, she was nonetheless concerned by the logistics of it. “They don’t have my bank details, so I don’t actually know how the transfer is happening […] I don’t actually know how I’m going to receive this money”.

When contacted for comment, a University spokesperson said: “All students who applied for University accommodation under the Accommodation Guarantee have now been offered accommodation in Manchester. This is good news, following us writing to a number of students to outline alternative accommodation options, due to a national unprecedented demand for University-provided accommodation.

We understand that this has been an incredibly anxious time for our students and their families and thank every one of them for their patience and understanding.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, you can contact our Accommodation Office on [email protected] or +44 (0) 161 275 2888 (phone lines are open Monday – Friday from 9-5pm).”