The King’s 4 Change (K4C) society has launched its ‘Guarantor Guarantee’ campaign. This advocates for the university to act as a rental guarantor for its international and low-income students. This scheme has already been implemented by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), University College London (UCL) and Imperial College London.
Campaign Demands
The campaign demands three key things from King’s College London (KCL):
1. Act as a guarantor for students who need it.
2. Set a fair, inclusive eligibility criteria that reflect real market conditions.
3. Establish an internal scheme that avoids costly third-party providers.
Roar spoke to K4C President, Frances Doyle, about the society. She stated that K4C was re-established to “give students access to facilitating the social change they want to see through training, community and action.”
The campaign has been approved and ratified by the King’s College London Student Union (KCLSU) and K4C is partnered with Citizens UK, a charity working to improve standards of living across London and the UK.
Surveys
In a recent survey conducted by Adrian Lo, the head of the ‘Guarantor Guarantee’ Campaign for K4C, 70% of participants answered ‘Yes’ to the question: ‘Have you experienced challenges renting accommodation because you didn’t have a UK-based guarantor?’
Furthermore, 15% of participants answered that they were denied housing because of their lack of a guarantor. A common alternative to having a guarantor is paying several months of rent upfront, which 46% of the survey participants did.
In Conversation with Adrian Lo
In an interview with Adrian Lo, he discussed his frustrations at seeing KCL fall behind the other London universities in providing beneficial services to their students in the context of the city’s cost-of-living crisis.
When renting in London, many international students, or low-income home students, can face challenges due to the criteria for UK-based guarantors.
In March 2025, Roar revealed that four King’s students reported homelessness, demonstrating the struggles students are facing in the London housing market.
Frances Doyle said, “The Guarantor Guarantee Campaign is KCLSU’s first fully inclusive student housing initiative, aiming to help all students in accessing affordable and safe housing.”
While a similar project was attempted by the KCLSU Vice President of Welfare and Community last year with a working group. However, due to unknown circumstances, the project did not move forward after March 2025.
If you want to support or follow the campaign, you can follow the K4C society on social media at @kings4change.
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