On 3 November 2024, a 3rd floor student living in the University of Sussex on-campus accommodation, Norwich House, reported cockroaches in their flat. They reported that their flat first spotted cockroaches since their move in, in September. Despite the University being aware of the issue since November, the pest issue continued until students were finally moved on 10 March 2025. Throughout the ordeal, students have expressed their dismay at the way the University has treated them, and have reported feeling discriminated against for their race, and financial position. The Badger spoke with an anonymous student from Norwich House, as well as the Students’ Union Student Living and Sustainability Officer, Elena Southard, to hear about the issue.
After initially reporting the issue with both cockroaches, and mice, the University moved 3rd floor students into Swanborough flats in order for pest teams to treat the space. However, the students moved back in to find the cockroaches still there. The process of student complaints, pest control treatments, and no success, repeated over and over for 7 months. During this time, students were offered sticky traps by the University- which the student stated were “disgusting” and “still left me to deal with the dead cockroaches.” In October, a Housing representative visited the student’s flat to apologise- during their initial move-out in September, pest teams had forgotten to treat 3 rooms.
From December to January, the entire building was moved once again to Swanborough, in order to fix the heating. Aside from the pests, the students reported problems with heating, mould, damp, plumbing, and ceilings caving in. During the time that the building was empty, the Housing Office did not carry out any further pest control. Upon moving back into Norwich House, the student alleged that the heating was still not fixed, but this was the least of their worries.
Cockroaches were getting into the kitchen cupboards and groceries, leaving feces in the tenants’ dishes. The anonymous student told The Badger that they were once half-way through eating a bowl of cereal, and were horrified to discover a cockroach floating in the milk.
On 22 January, the student reported the final pest treatment. However, they alleged that this had the opposite effect, and the cockroaches were worse than ever until March.
In early February, the student had a meeting with Elena, and 2 members of Sussex Estates and Facilities (SEF). SEF is a partnership between the University, and Mitie, which provides management of the accommodations, alongside other buildings and maintenance. During this meeting, a member of SEF staff allegedly remarked that the cockroaches are not native to the UK, and therefore, must have been brought in by international students when packing their luggage, claiming that this was the reason why the pest control efforts were not successful. The staff member allegedly went on to tell the asian student that cockroaches are common in their culture, so they must be used to living with them. The student was dismissed when they tried to challenge the comments, with the SEF manager allegedly suggesting that cockroaches are a problem at all universities.
On 6 March, a housing manager came to the SU to report that pest control had found cockroaches in the entirety of the building- despite students only spotting them on the 3rd floor. The following day, Friday 7 March, all students in Norwich House received an email stating that they were being moved out of their accommodation. Undergraduates would be moved to Northfield, with postgraduates being moved to Bodiam. The Housing Office was then closed for the weekend, leaving the students without further communication, or anyone to reach out to for support. When moving day came around, the students did receive support in the form of a moving van, and boxes. However, they allegedly received one small box each, and the Housing Office receptionist reportedly told students to stop coming to the reception, so they could do their job.
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While the cockroach issue may finally be over, the affected students have reported feelings of frustration with their new living arrangements. After 7 months of forming friendships and relationships, many say that they have now been placed with new flatmates, despite sharing utensils and kitchenware in their previous flat. Some students have also stated that they feel uncomfortable with the people they now live with. The University has offered food and laundry vouchers for the students.
A University of Sussex spokesperson said on the matter:
“The University is concerned to read the number of issues raised by The Badger in relation to recent circumstances in Norwich House. The University was not previously aware of these points and is now looking into the matters raised and will act accordingly.
“We have been actively monitoring and treating evidence of cockroaches in Norwich House since the autumn term. Unfortunately, despite repeated attempts to eradicate the problem – where we sought to minimise disruption to students – we determined that the best option would be to move all Norwich House residents to alternative, upgraded campus accommodation until the end of their tenancy agreement. This is at no additional cost to our students and will help to avoid any further disruption.
“In order to give us the best possible chance of completely eliminating the problem, and to prevent reoccurrence , a full building treatment is required. For this to be effective it must be repeated over several months and the building closely monitored. Therefore it would not be appropriate for residents to remain in the building.
“We take the wellbeing of our students extremely seriously and would not have made this decision unless it was absolutely necessary, and all other options had been exhausted. Residents are also being offered a goodwill payment in recognition of the disruption caused. Residents were notified of the plans by letter on 7 March, with the expectation that the building would be vacated by Sunday 23 March. Packing boxes and access to an Estates vehicle were provided to help residents move their items. The Housing Office has been engaging with students throughout to ensure that students are supported and any requests in relation to their new accommodation are being met, wherever possible.”