When I was in my first year of university, I lived in halls that cost £83 per week. For London’s zone three, that’s a good deal. My university owned and managed the buildings and, although they were basic, they were affordable for my budget. That same room now costs £150 per week and is run by a private provider.

In the last 10 years student halls of residence have been sold off to private companies for hefty sums, with universities profiting at the expense of student debt. Rents in the capital have doubled in the last 10 years, and in Scotland they are rising faster than anywhere else.

With student finance failing to take account of the growing cost of living, we are now at a point where the average price of purpose-built student accommodation represents 95% of the maximum student loan. The situation is at crisis point, and institutions and the government need to act to introduce rent controls – otherwise we face a situation in which higher education becomes increasingly closed off to anyone other than the rich.

At the NUS this year we will be campaigning for rent controls and more protection for student tenants. In the private rented sector, this means more regulation and enforcement by local authorities; and in universities a progressive rent structure where 25% of beds in halls are maintained at a level of 50% of the maximum student loan.

Just like campaigns over tuition fee increases, students are now mobilising on housing. Just recently, at two institutions, students withheld their payments in a dispute over prices and conditions and won huge payouts. The message from campaigners to the government and universities is clear: introduce rent controls or rent hikes will lead to rent strikes.

Shelly Asquith is vice-president of welfare at the National Union of Students

