CCR HT Week 7 2026 Motions

University Providing Guarantor Service for International Students

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This motion mandates the Student Union to lobby the University of Oxford to establish a rent guarantor service for students lacking a UK-based guarantor by the 2026–27 academic year. The proposal aims to mitigate the impact of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which will ban upfront rent payments and remove the primary method international students currently use to secure private accommodation. 

Purpose: 

  • This motion mandates the Student Union to lobby the University of Oxford to establish a rent guarantor service for students lacking a UK-based guarantor by the 2026–27 academic year.  

  • The proposal aims to mitigate the impact of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which will ban upfront rent payments and remove the primary method international students currently use to secure private accommodation. 

This motion hopes to achieve the following aims:  

  • Provide student-led direction for the Students’ Union work. 

  • Gather the views of students and determine positions deemed to be representative of wider students at the University of Oxford.  

Conference Notes:  

  • That from 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will prohibit landlords from requiring more than one month’s rent in advance as a condition of tenancy.  

  • That while this provision is designed to protect tenants, it removes the primary workaround (paying rent quarterly or upfront) for students unable to provide a UK-based guarantor.  

  • That this issue disproportionately affects international students, who constitute around two-thirds of Oxford’s graduate population (University of Oxford, 2024).  

  • That a significant proportion of Oxford’s graduate students rent privately due to limited university/college accommodation, affordability, or personal circumstances.  

  • That UCL, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen, and the University of Edinburgh operate in-house guarantor schemes, while Durham University and the University of Bristol partner with private providers like Housing Hand.  

  • That Oxford currently provides no such service.  

Conference Believes:  

  • That without the ability to pay rent upfront, there is a real risk landlords will decline to let to students who cannot meet guarantor requirements once the Act is in force.  

  • That the guarantor requirement is already a substantial barrier, and legislative changes will make this considerably more acute.  

  • That without institutional intervention, this issue will affect Oxford’s ability to attract and retain the best international talent.  

  • That the current situation places affected students under significant financial and psychological strain during their studies.  

Conference Resolves:  

  • To mandate the SU to formally write to the University requesting the establishment of a guarantor service available to all students who lack access to a UK-based guarantor, aiming for operation by the 2026–27 academic year.  

  • To mandate the SU to request that the University undertake a feasibility assessment of both models (in-house scheme vs. third-party partnership) and report back to the SU on its findings by the end of Trinity Term 2026.  

  • To mandate the SU to work with college common rooms in the interim to compile and distribute guidance on alternative options available to affected students ahead of the Act’s rent-in-advance provisions coming into force on 1 May 2026.