STUDENTS at Farnham’s University for the Creative Arts are facing something of a housing crisis.

On Tuesday, September 20, a group of first year students camped out in the university quad overnight, having spent the first few weeks of the term homeless.

The students in question have found themselves ‘sofa-surfing’ for a number of weeks after unsuccessful attempts to find accommodation on campus and around the town.

Those without a place to live had been told that the waiting list for applications would open on Wednesday September 21, and 9am, so decided to spend the night on campus.

Jorge Latter, who himself has been staying with friends until his house becomes available this month told The Herald that the list works on a first-come first-served basis and that initially “they were told to leave by the UCA security, but were eventually allowed to stay with the supervision of teachers and Student Union bouncers”.

Students on UCA message boards and social media feeds have pointed towards the government’s new funding rules that allow universities in England to recruit an unlimited number of home and EU undergraduate students, meaning many universities around the country, have offered more places than ever to students for the academic year.

The University for the Creative Arts has also enjoyed continued growth over the last few years through academic results and improved teaching quality.

The result however, is the mini-housing crisis currently facing freshers.

Those without accommodation on campus have been forced to look towards landlords around town. While many have proved successful in their search, there are still a whole host of students being rejected by landlords who refuse to let their homes to students.

In some instances, students are staying in hotels or travelling from their homes around the country, including one student who is doing six hours of travelling a day for her course lectures and another who has had to defer a year due to not being able to find a stable living situation.

UCA, which has been accused of a ‘lack of judgement’ and ‘biting off more than they can chew’, has said it is looking to resolve the situation quickly and it is an issue the board of governors are paying close attention to.

Angela Chadwick, head of communications and campaign management at UCA, said: “UCA has experienced significant growth in recent years and we are actively looking at creating more accommodation through on campus developments and residential partnerships, with the aim of increasing capacity from 2017.

“Unfortunately, residential letting in the region has seen a downturn in available private accommodation for student tenants, although all campuses do continue to benefit from private landlord accommodation for students.

“We strongly recommend that students seek support and guidance from our Accommodation Office if they are concerned about their situation.”