UCT students sleep in SRC offices and lecture halls as university faces housing crisis

As the academic year at the University of Cape Town (UCT) looms, many students are without accommodation and forced into overcrowded or makeshift spaces such as lecture halls and Students’ Representative Council (SRC) offices. The housing shortage has sparked a wave of frustration, with students and the SRC hitting out at the university’s administration for its failure to address the issue and provide adequate support.

In a statement released by the SRC on 3 February, the student body condemned the administration for its failure to address this pressing issue and creating a hostile environment.

“Many students are without accommodation and are forced to sleep in lecture rooms and even SRC offices while the university fails to provide adequate housing and support for its students,” read the statement.

Same story, new year

The issue of housing is not new as similar protests and grievances have arisen in previous years. In February 2016, the Shackville protests occurred as Rhodes Must Fall (RMF) activists erected a shack on Residence Road, between two residence halls, to highlight the pressing need for more on-campus housing at UCT.

In 2021, students protested against financial exclusion, demanding that the university address issues such as the withdrawal of residence offers for students facing financial hardship. In 2023, further protests erupted on campus as students again called attention to the university’s failure to provide adequate housing and address the systemic problem of financial exclusion.

Read more: UCT protests: ‘Clearly something has to change; there is a bigger story to this’

UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola told Daily Maverick that UCT had about 8,200 beds available, both on-campus and in leased off-campus residences. This allows the university to accommodate 71% of eligible students who applied for 2025 housing (8,200 out of 11,500 applications). Notably, half of UCT’s first-year students will be housed on campus. 

Many students, particularly those affected by the NSFAS accommodation cap or who are in their N+1 year of study, are left without temporary housing as they await financial or academic resolutions. Historically, under previous leadership, it was a key part of UCT’s ethos to offer transit accommodation (temporary, dormitory-type accommodation in a residence) to students facing financial challenges, including unresolved fee debt. 

“This neglect directly contradicts the university’s previous commitments and undermines the wellbeing of our students [...] The University Council’s commitment to this initiative was clear and was intended to ensure that students would not be left in precarious situations while they worked through their financial or academic challenges,” read the SRC’s statement.

On 1 February, many returning students arrived at UCT only to discover they had no residence offers. Despite multiple engagements between the SRC and executive management, no provision had been made for transit accommodation.

Moholola said the university offered transit accommodation for eligible students, prioritising first-years. Earlier in the week, about 25 students were without accommodation, but arrangements have since been made for them, alongside others already accommodated through the transit system.

The SRC, however, says hundreds of students are affected.

Voices from the ground

A postgraduate student, who wished to remain anonymous, described the situation as overwhelming. 

“It’s been intense. It’s so hard to settle down and get ready for academics, it’s terribly hard. We cannot shower anywhere, we do not have beds. It’s just hard and we are basically homeless,” he said.

The student said many students had been sleeping in the SRC offices on the upper campus, with some residents donating food a few days ago. However, basic needs like showers have become a struggle, with students having to finesse makeshift solutions, making the situation even harder to endure.

The postgraduate student was told by student housing that his application was on the waiting list and would be reconsidered only after the end of the week.

Without the assurance of accommodation, many students, especially those who can’t afford off-campus housing, fear they may have to leave the university and return home.

“It’s inhumane and it would be much better if they just said, ‘You know what guys, just go back home because there is nothing we can do’. We don’t know what’s actually going to happen. We don’t even know if we have a future in this institution currently. It’s just cruel and the uncertainty is anxiety-inducing,” the student said. 

SRC secretary-general Ayabulela Nkwankwa said they attempted to engage with UCT management but had been met with resistance. 

“We had no choice but to take the students and house them in the SRC offices. We also had to place some in the library and lecture halls because there were too many students. At one point, there were over 100 students in the SRC offices,” she said.

Nkwankwa said UCT had instructed students’ residences willing to assist with food not to provide anything, leaving the SRC to handle the situation. 

“We had to call on the students to come to help us with donations. We still have … more than 100 students who are still sleeping in the offices and UCT has not given us an update on what is going to happen,” she said. 

Students evicted 

Vacation accommodation, which allows students with deferred or supplementary exams to return to Cape Town, has also been an issue. 

Historically, vacation accommodation has been provided until the day before residences officially reopen. Students with confirmed residence offers could return directly to their residences, while those without confirmed offers were placed in transit accommodation. But this year, students who had relied on vacation housing were unexpectedly evicted on 25 January, just 72 hours after the last supplementary examination.

“For the majority of these students, their residence offers were either withdrawn due to fee blocks or they were unable to travel home and return within the specified time frame. In these eviction letters, the university used threatening language to expel these students without providing alternative accommodation,” read the SRC’s statement.

Moreover, these students were denied food and faced cumbersome administrative barriers in their attempts to secure basic sustenance, compounding their already difficult situation.

Moholola said a small group of students failed to vacate their temporary rooms by the contractually agreed deadline of 20 January 2025 and were given legal notices to vacate by 27 January. He said UCT continued to provide meals during the additional stay and offered transport support to those who became academically ineligible for 2025.

SRC denounces UCT leadership

The SRC condemned these actions as part of the university’s ongoing failure under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Mosa Moshabela to act in good faith. They argued that these decisions perpetuated the exclusion and alienation of black and poor students, leaving them without housing and access to basic resources. 

“Prof Moshabela has disregarded the resolutions put forward by the IRTC commission, particularly those aimed at resolving financial exclusion and the housing crisis, leaving students to fend for themselves in an environment that is not conducive to success,” read the statement.

The SRC also called out Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Transformation, Student Affairs and Social Responsiveness, Prof Elewani Ramugondo, for failing to champion the transformation agenda and improve conditions for poor students.

They criticised her for consistently refusing to engage meaningfully with the SRC, noting that her office had regressed in fulfilling the commitments outlined in the Institutional Reconciliation and Transformation Commission (IRTC) resolutions.

“We are left questioning why, under her leadership, transit accommodation is not being provided when she is fully aware of the current challenges students face with NSFAS funding,” read the statement.

If police are brought on to campus to suppress unarmed students, the SRC said it would be at the forefront, defending students’ rights and dignity.

“We will not stand idly by and allow UCT to become a militarised space where students are brutalised for demanding basic rights,” the SRC said. DM