Being locked out of your room? No hot water? Paying high rents for shoeboxes?
Welcome to the world of the first-time, student renter. What should be an exciting time in your life, moving away from home and living independently alone or with friends, often turns out to be not the very best of experiences.
Students as first-time renters do often not get a great deal for their money. Landlords seem to think that students do not like nice, clean rooms with fully functioning everything and that we are happy with a bed, virtually no storage space and 1990s décor. But we are really not. Students are often exploited, being a captive audience, all competing constantly for the same mediocre places. And landlords know students have no real choice as courses start and almost anywhere is better than commuting from home (if even possible).
Student housing seems to be a constant cycle of students unhappy with their accommodation and landlords relying on estate agents to solve any of the housing issues and maintenance. There is – was – no clear marketplace to match students and landords. But in come HYBR, aiming to solve the student housing misery. Cooked up by Bristol student Hannah Chappate and her flatmate when they were students and set up by Hannah directly after graduation.
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