Written by Jack Baker
Following an exclusive Freedom of Information request sourced by the LSE Renters’ Collective and shared with The Beaver, LSE’s internal data suggests plans to hike annual rental fees in LSE accommodation from September 2026. This increase varies by room type, with the five cheapest rooms seeing annual increases of over £370 per year on average.
The following data for the cheapest rooms does not include postgraduate rooms in Butler’s Wharf, which is seeing its cheapest rooms rise by around £250 for a 42 week contract. Postgraduate students do not receive maintenance loans in the United Kingdom.
Of the five cheapest rooms that LSE offers, the largest increase is for a 38-week double room in Rosebery Hall — set to increase by £465.50 from September 2026 to £7,579 per annum. In comparison, the smallest increase is for a triple room in Passfield Hall, rising by £328.60 per year to £4,718, but for a contract that is only 31 weeks long.
In their response to this article, LSE blamed “significant cost pressures, including a 20% rise in food costs and a 12% rise in water costs”. They also announced that from 2026, laundry fees will be included in rent, with “one wash and one dry per week” for all students, whilst the Accommodation Bursary is being reformed to give support to all students with an income of less than £50,000 per year.
These fee increases bring the average weekly rent across all LSE-owned accommodation to £280.99, with the five cheapest rooms rising to £184.87. Average maintenance loan receipt for 2024/2025 was £8,210, or £256.60 per week for 32 weeks of term time. As such, rents for the five cheapest rooms now take 72% of an average home student’s weekly loan income.
These increases are consistent with trends across London, with data suggesting that on average, rents in university-owned student accommodation have risen by 31% between 2021/2022 and 2024/2025. Transport costs are also set to rise from March, with tube fares increasing by 6%, placing further burden on student finances.
LSE’s ‘London on a Budget’ website, which gives advice to students managing their finances, states that students should allow £1,550 per month for all living expenses. This is far more than the average student loan receipt of around £1,024 per month, therefore suggesting that the vast majority of home-students must receive additional funding, whether from working part-time or from family members, in order to cover this shortfall.
Serena Feng, a second-year Passfield resident, said these rent rises were “really unfair, particularly considering certain accommodations haven’t been renovated in years”. She felt she was “paying more as the ceilings of my rooms are actively leaking or as the only lift in the accommodation has stopped working for five days. I’m definitely not paying for a higher quality living experience.”
In response to this article, LSE said that they “understand that any increase in accommodation fees has a real impact on students, particularly those who rely primarily on their maintenance loan or who receive limited financial support from home.”
They placed blame for the increase on “significant cost pressures”, including a 20% rise in food costs, a 12% rise in water costs, and the recent National Insurance increase, which added 100k per year to payroll costs.
In order to limit the financial impact of these rises, the School informed us they were “taking steps to mitigate the impact of rising costs on students by expanding the Accommodation Bursary scheme for 2025/26, widening eligibility to students with a residual household income of up to £50,000 (previously £42,875) and increasing individual awards by up to £250 per threshold. So far this year, 148 bursaries have been awarded — already an increase of 20% on 2024/25 — totalling £305,450 in support.”
They remain “committed to ensuring lower cost options are available within our portfolio”, including the opening of Robeson House with the cheapest single rooms they have on offer.
They also explained how they had worked with the LSE Renters’ Collective to “secure agreement from the School for the expansion of the Rent Guarantor Scheme” to include home students in receipt of an LSE bursary. In response, the Renters’ Collective informed us of their ongoing campaign to expand eligibility of the Accommodation Bursary to all students from low-income backgrounds — not just first year undergraduates.
