Stop Increases to ANU Campus Rent

On-campus rent is already unaffordable for most students, especially those from low-SES backgrounds, and these increases will only deepen unequal access to the on-campus experience.

In addition, scholarships for residential mentors are being decreased. This deprives many students of the financial support needed to stay on campus, and leaves younger and incoming ressies without the guidance and cultural continuity that makes on-campus living so life-changing of an experience.

This requires action as soon as possible, especially given so many students move to Canberra from elsewhere, and this blatant disregard for the financial impact of these rent increases, which have become progressively larger for years, cannot continue.

There are legal limits to how much landlords can increase rent for tenants. However, under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT), ANU students are classified as occupants. This does not provide limits on rent increases, but that does not mean we do not have power in numbers.