Sasco calls for probe into student accommodation price gouging

SOUTH African Students Congress (Sasco) president Vezinhlanhla Simelane has expressed concerns over the high prices of private student accommodation and said landlords were taking advantage of the money students receive from the government in the form of the NSFAS.

This comes after allegations emerged that landlords were substantially increasing accommodation prices, which some students could not afford. Students in various higher institutions across the country have complained about high prices and claimed that they were paying more than enough for student accommodation.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) also said last week it will refer student accommodation providers to the Competition Commission for price gouging. The scheme claimed providers were involved in price collusion and the Competition Commission was the appropriate authority to deal with this matter.

The Competition Commission has in the past slapped a number of big firms from various sectors of the economy with stiff penalties for collusion.

In an interview with Newzroom Afrika, Simelane said thorough investigations into the allegations should be done to get a clear indication of why prices kept increasing.

He said there must be standardisation in terms of prices for student accommodations, irrespective of where they are located and applauded NSFAS for taking the matter up.

"We are happy that they have taken them to a competition court so that there can be a standardised pricing for accommodation in this country," he said.

Simelane said they would not allow anyone to take advantage of students' money for accommodation simply for their own benefit.

"We as the organisation, are not going to be quiet in cases where there must be a contribution from the scheme, but in the main, there's no corruption which we are going to accept," said Simelane.

When asked about the current situation of students who were without accommodation, he said students were still stranded and he hoped they could be speedily assisted.

He said the department and universities should have their own accommodation, instead of renting so that the pricing issue could be easily dealt with.

He also highlighted that NSFAS has engaged in taking the accommodation process across the country and “if that process can be fast-tracked, I think it should be able to deal directly with the question of price hiking”.

He encouraged institutions to have accommodation that is decent and student-friendly, so that students can excel in their academic lives.

Simelane agreed that the crisis was not a new thing as it has been going on for a long time.