the drawing board

I was wrong. So it was back to the drawing board, telephoning agents. In Norwich there is an

area euphemistically called the Golden Triangle. The only thing golden in this part of the

city is the lining of the private landlords’ pockets.

We found a two-bedroom terrace house, rather grubby and in need of a coat of paint but

otherwise sound. We did not have to pay for July, which was a bonus, but we did get stung

for 75 per cent of the rent for August and the whole amount of £600 for September, even

though the house was not occupied until the end of the month. There was also a further £600

deposit to stump up and we had to sign a contract until the end of June, when, no doubt,

some other poor student will be forced to take on a 12-month lease to make sure of having

somewhere to stay for the following term.

I hope that in future, when applications drop — and I believe they will because of the

sheer expense — universities will respond by shortening their courses and trying to control

the spiralling costs of having somewhere to live.

Until then, how many other individuals will fall prey to private landlords and experience

the frustration of having to pay through the nose for their children to live in sub-standard

digs?