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The student representative councils (SRCs) of four of South Africa’s biggest universities have joined forces to call for the immediate scrapping of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) accommodation cap, saying it is leaving poor and working-class students unable to afford housing, graduate or continue with their studies.
In a joint statement, the SRCs of the University of Cape Town (UCT), the University of Witwatersrand (Wits), the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and Stellenbosch University (SU) said the student accommodation crisis was worsening because of high rental costs and what they described as the “catastrophic failure of the NSFAS accommodation cap”.
The SRCs said accommodation was essential for students to succeed and should not become another burden for those already struggling financially.
“Student accommodation and tuition go hand in hand. They are fundamental to academic success and cannot continue to be weaponised to exploit our students.”
The student leaders said the NSFAS announced in February 2023 that it would report providers to the Competition Commission over possible collusion and price gouging while introducing an accommodation cap to control rising housing costs.
However, they said students have not seen any results from the process.
“To date, the NSFAS has never provided feedback on the outcome of its reporting to the Competition Commission. Instead, students have been left to suffer under skyrocketing accommodation prices, whether in privately owned or university-owned residences, while bearing the brunt of the consequences of a flawed cap.”
The SRCs called on the department of higher education and training (DHET) and the Competition Commission to step in. They said university-owned residences should be subsidised instead of being used to generate profits and private student accommodation prices should be regulated.
They argued the accommodation cap has failed to solve the problem because housing costs differ across the country.
“The department’s stance that implementing a cap will automatically force accommodation providers to lower their prices is false and misguided. This crisis of exorbitant housing costs affects all students, not only those funded by the NSFAS, which means an accommodation cap cannot be the overarching solution to a systemic problem.”
The SRCs also criticised the metro and non-metro classification used to determine accommodation allowances. They said Stellenbosch is classified as a non-metro area despite having rental prices that are often higher than those in some metro areas, leaving students uncertain about how much funding they will receive each year.
According to the student leaders, the gap between rental costs and the NSFAS cap has had serious consequences over the past three years.
They said some students complete their degrees but cannot graduate because they owe universities money linked to accommodation shortfalls. Others are unable to register for postgraduate studies or additional qualifications because of fee blocks, while many face pressure from landlords demanding monthly top-up payments they cannot afford.
The SRCs also warned students have been left vulnerable as they look for ways to cover accommodation costs or graduate.
They said students are waiting for certainty over this year’s funding.
“If that was not enough, we are now in July, yet the NSFAS has failed to announce the meal and rental allowance rates for 2026. Students are being forced to survive on last year’s rates while inflation and the cost of living continue to rise.”
The four SRCs said they “refuse to accept a system that structurally excludes poor and working-class students”.
They called for:
- the immediate removal of the NSFAS accommodation cap;
- urgent intervention by the DHET and the Competition Commission to regulate student accommodation prices in the public and private sectors; and
- the immediate announcement of the 2026 NSFAS meal and rental allowance rates.
TimesLIVE
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