24.08.2023, 11:05

[es folgt die englische Übersetzung. Eine deutsche Version wurde bereits verschickt]

Dear supporters,

We have not yet received any feedback on the results from the Board of Directors. We would like to make up for that herewith:

What happened?

- The Administrative Board of the Student Union [1] held a regular meeting on July 21, 2023. In this meeting, unfortunately, as some of you have surely noticed, the rent increase was decided. The two votes against by the student representatives were clearly outvoted with five votes in favor. Arguments of the student representatives, which were directed against the rent increase, were fended off in the run-up as well as during the discussion or were not even taken note of.

-> At the suggestion of the students, a committee has been convened to deal with the underfunding of Stud*werk, among other things. Specifically, it is to work on a strategy that is to be implemented by the represented status groups of the Board of Directors. In doing so, the different representations will benefit from the different competences with regard to the common emergency.

- We were not aware of the planned rent increase until two weeks before the impending decision - and in the middle of the exam period! That is, at the end or after the lecture-free period. This circumstance alone is not a good start. Nevertheless, the petition and the short-term protest have created networks between the dormitory representatives and the residents, which can be used for further exchange in the future. In this sense, we would like to draw attention to the public WhatsApp group: chat.whatsapp.com/CAgYrDDQeBsAmnokjwnQzh

What are further possibilities for action?

- Some fellow students have reported deficiencies. These should be reported directly to Stud*werk. If they are not remedied within a reasonable period of time, the tenants have the right to reduce the rent [2]. If you have any legal questions regarding this matter, the free legal advice of the AStA is at your disposal: www.asta-marburg.de/service/rechtsberatung/ (will be available again from September 6th, so it will be closed for the next two weeks).

- Another possibility to become active is the political level. The decision of the Stud*werk to increase the rent happens in the context of the underfunding of educational institutions, like the university and the student unions. We, as the housing department of the AStA, will work to bring this issue to the state political level and to continue the networking of the residents of the dormitories as well as the protest against the price increases. If you are interested in supporting us organizationally, please contact us: wohnen@asta-marburg.de

If you have urgent problems, please contact the social counseling of the AStA: www.asta-marburg.de/service/sozialberatung/

In spite of all this we wish you a nice lecture-free time!

Solidarity greetings
The student members of the administrative board and the department for housing of the AStA

[1] The administrative board of the Studentenwerk consists of seven persons with voting rights: two students, two employees, one manager, one professor and the chancellor. It makes binding decisions on the individual areas as well as on the overall budget.
[2] www.mieterbund.de/mietrecht/ueberblick/wohnungsmaengel.html