The LSE has announced this week that it will pay for all of the damages caused to the basement of Bankside Hall, the largest of LSE’s halls of residence.
In an email to all residents, Debra Ogden, hall Warden, said “the cost of repairs will be met by the School and will not be passed on to residents”.
The damages in question were caused on New Year’s Eve when a sink was ripped off the wall in the men’s toilets causing a “major flood” throughout the basement area. Both the bar and computer room were affected by the water damage which, according to Ogden, “was more substantial that first thought.”
In her email to residents, Ogden suggests that “additional work is now being carried out” before going on to say that, “I assure you that work is being completed as quickly as possible and we hope to have the facilities open from the middle of next week.”
It is rumoured that the cost of the damages is around £10,000, though this figure still has not been confirmed by the Bankside management.
The news comes in light of last week’s concern among students that the cost of the damages may be passed on to residents of Bankside Hall. Under the Residents Code of Conduct section 11, an “unattributable damage fee” may be levied on students if the culprit is not identified.
Ogden further highlighted this issue in her email, saying “as outlined in the Code of Conduct, the cost of repairing unattributed damage to communal areas may be passed on to all residents.”
Alistair Duncan, a first year Government and Economics student criticised the nature of the contract Bankside residents signed, saying “its an incredibly unfair contract since we need to sign it so we can go to university.”
However, this week’s news has been welcomed among many residents at Bankside. Alex Haigh, a second year Environment Policy and Economics student, said that “residents should not be forced to foot the bill for those irresponsible few who caused this damage.” On the other hand, some students have raised concern about using LSE money to pay for these repairs.
Ogden ended her email stressing that the investigation into the basement damages has not yet been concluded saying, “despite our investigations, it has not yet been possible to identify those responsible, however the matter is not closed and I urge anyone with information to come forward.”
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