Some residents of Curtin University’s on-campus student accommodation are enraged following the announcement of new rental rates for 2025.

The students living on campus do not think the increased rates are justified based on the facilities and services provided.

Mansi Mattoo, a resident at Kurrajong Village which is one accommodation complex on campus managed by Unilodge, says she would be happy to pay the increased rent if she was provided with appropriate facilities.

“We are mostly international students and we do not get a lot of benefits already,” says Ms Mansi.

“Even when we work part time, we have restrictions on how much we can work, it just becomes really difficult to keep up with the expenses,” she says.

The rent to share an 8-bedroom apartment at Kurrajong Village has increased from $210 per person in 2023 to $245 in 2025.

This change has been consistent with other housing facilities run by Unilodge at Curtin such as Guild House, Vickery House, Erica Underwood House and Twin Dolphins Hall.

Another resident at Kurrajong Village, Arya Bhat, had to move from a 6-bedroom apartment to an 8-bedroom apartment due to the rent increase.

“Even for shifting from the 6-bedroom to 8-bedroom, I had to pay $700 and this was a huge financial pressure for me and my family,” says Ms Bhat.

A spokesperson from Curtin University says the demand for on-campus accommodation is at its peak and has a vacancy rate of just 1% in 2024.

“Curtin University is keenly aware of the financial strain impacting everyone in Western Australia due to cost-of-living increases, a constrained rental market and high demand for housing,” says the spokesperson for Curtin University in an email statement to the Western Independent.

The average increase for all Curtin accommodation will be 5.9%.

Curtin University encourages students who are residing on-campus and facing financial hardships to apply for the ‘Curtin On-Campus Accommodation Equity Bursary’ .

This scholarship provides students facing financial hardships with a $3000 housing support.

Unilodge referred a request for comment to the Media Team at Curtin University. Another provider of on-campus student accommodation, Saint Catherine’s College, declined to comment.