Close Menu
Honi Soit
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Where is the outrage?: National protest against gender-based violence
    • Battling personalities and deadlines: The spectrum of characters in group assessments
    • Another Election? Why the USU Election Matters
    • HackWatch: Who Wants to be a Board Director?
    • 2025 USU Board Candidate Profile: Archie Wolifson
    • 2025 USU Board Candidate Profile: Layla Wang
    • 2025 USU Board Candidate Profile: Annika Wang
    • 2025 USU Board Candidate Profile: Cassidy Newman
    • About
    • Print Edition
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    • Writing Comp
    • Advertise
    • Locations
    • Contact
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok
    Honi SoitHoni Soit
    Monday, May 12
    • News
    • Analysis
    • Culture
    • Opinion
    • University
    • Features
    • Perspective
    • Investigation
    • Reviews
    • Comedy
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    Honi Soit
    Home»Analysis

    Poor conditions in USyd housing

    By Nina Dillon BrittonOctober 17, 2016 Analysis 3 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    The Queen Mary Building (QMB) has come under fire by its residents for consistently failing to meet adequate living standards. This is despite the fact that the QMB’s fees are roughly similar to the University’s expensive catered colleges, amounting to as much as $322 per week.

    Most recently, and without warning, students had a $65 fee added to their accounts. QMB management told students that it was a “standard cleaning fee” detailed in their contracts, despite the fact this fee should have only been payable at the termination of their contracts.

    Students were also frustrated by the various responses they received when they tried to clarify why the additional fee had been charged. First they were told it was possibly a “mistake”, while others who had accepted a 2017 accommodation offer were told they would have to pay for it. The University’s Student Accommodation Centre also refused to help, saying the fee was from QMB administration.

    Students also allege the administration has not done enough to keep public spaces clean. Residents told Honi that piles of vomit have been left in elevators, music rooms and other common spaces, sometimes for more than a day. On top of this, students report many shared facilities and utensils are either faulty or missing, including sinks and ovens.

    Despite the fact that non-resident students are not allowed to stay overnight in the building unless authorised, residents claim they have often been disturbed by parties during the week. Management has allegedly not enforced the QMB’s “Party Policy”. As part of the residential agreement, this policy stipulates that gatherings must end at 10pm on weekdays and midnight on weekends. Resident Ricardo Wu said that even though these parties occur on the lower ground floor, he finds it almost impossible to sleep on the fourth floor.

    Students have also reported that their bonds are frequently not returned until long after the termination of their contract, and not returned at all when they swap rooms with other students.

    Staff are commonly reported as aloof or rude when residents raise questions. One student, whose laptop was delivered to the QMB some months ago, found them particularly difficult: she is yet to receive her laptop despite repeated requests.

    As most of the residents are Chinese international students, some have raised concerns that they feel powerless to lobby the QMB management for change. For the most part, management has sought to reconcile with residents. After consistent pressure to act, the QMB held a Chinese students conference where the manager spoke with students. While management has committed to addressing issues, students remain unsure if this will lead to substantive change.

    contracts fees Queen Mary Building Student housing

    Keep Reading

    Another Election? Why the USU Election Matters

    HackWatch: Who Wants to be a Board Director?

    No Changes to USU Governance: A Rundown of the SGM

    We Fight With Sex Workers Or Not At All

    What if anything? Why radical feminist critique for its own sake isn’t enough.

    Feminist, inclusive, and post-binary language in French and beyond

    Just In

    Where is the outrage?: National protest against gender-based violence

    May 12, 2025

    Battling personalities and deadlines: The spectrum of characters in group assessments

    May 12, 2025

    Another Election? Why the USU Election Matters

    May 10, 2025

    HackWatch: Who Wants to be a Board Director?

    May 10, 2025
    Editor's Picks

    We Will Be Remembered As More Than Administrative Errors

    May 7, 2025

    NSW universities in the red as plague of cuts hit students & staff

    April 30, 2025

    Your Compliance Will Not Save You

    April 16, 2025

    Remembering Khanh Tran: How Activists Won the Fight for a Disabilities Room on Campus

    April 9, 2025
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok

    From the mines

    • News
    • Analysis
    • Higher Education
    • Culture
    • Features
    • Investigation
    • Comedy
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Misc

     

    • Opinion
    • Perspective
    • Profiles
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Social
    • Sport
    • SRC Reports
    • Tech

    Admin

    • About
    • Editors
    • Send an Anonymous Tip
    • Write/Produce/Create For Us
    • Print Edition
    • Locations
    • Archive
    • Advertise in Honi Soit
    • Contact Us

    We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The University of Sydney – where we write, publish and distribute Honi Soit – is on the sovereign land of these people. As students and journalists, we recognise our complicity in the ongoing colonisation of Indigenous land. In recognition of our privilege, we vow to not only include, but to prioritise and centre the experiences of Indigenous people, and to be reflective when we fail to be a counterpoint to the racism that plagues the mainstream media.

    © 2025 Honi Soit
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Accessibility

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.