ON the door of undergraduate Howard Tang's single hostel room are two names.

One is Mr Tang's.

The other is the name of his friend, labelled 'legal squatter' in brackets.

For his friend, Mr Tang keeps an extra pillow and a thin mattress under his bed.

Mr Tang, 23, an engineering student at Nanyang Technological University, moved into an on-campus residence hall last July.

He was fortunate enough to get a single room. His friend, however, wasn't as lucky.

So they agreed to share the room under an NTU housing scheme.

Under the 'temporary sharing' scheme, NTU students are charged a lodging fee of $20 a month to bunk in with their friends. The host pays the same rate as before.

Students are eligible to apply for this arrangement if they have applied unsuccessfully to stay in the halls.

They are allowed to stay as long as their friends allow them to, or until they are offered their own accommodation in a hall.

The additional occupants - commonly known as 'legal squatters' - are not provided with furniture.

Mr Tang's friend stayed for six months before he got his own room and moved out recently.

SHORTAGE

An NTU spokesman said the scheme has been in place for many years.

'It was started to help students who are on the transitional waiting list, and who have friends who are already residing in the halls, who are willing to accommodate them on a temporary basis until they are offered a place of stay in the halls.'

Recently, the university began exploring the possibility of converting some of its twin-sharing hostel rooms to triple-sharing rooms.

Triple-sharing 'showrooms' were set up in two residence halls, and the university is seeking feedback.

Said Mr Tang: 'The shortage of hall spaces seems to have worsened recently, especially after the university introduced new degree programmes.

'Building new halls would be the long-term solution, but it won't solve the problem in the short-term.'

He said he experienced very few problems with his roommate, whom he got to know during high school in Malaysia. He said: 'The main inconvenience was that there is only one Internet cable in the room, so only one of us could use the computer at a given time.'

His roommate would spend minimal time in the room, and used the computer in the hall's lab.

'He usually came back to the room between 10pm and midnight every day, just to sleep,' Mr Tang recalled.

He said most of those who bunk together are friends.

'Having a stranger in this arrangement could pose problems. You're more likely to get along with a person you already know,' he said.

Mr Tang felt triple-sharing would be better than temporary sharing.

He said: 'I've seen the showrooms, and they're not that bad compared to triple rooms I've seen at universities in Taiwan and France.'

A hall accommodation officer at NTU's student affairs office said just five students were sharing rooms under the temporary sharing scheme, as of 29 Feb.

But the number of students who are 'illegally squatting' in their friends' rooms is likely much greater, going by what some hall residents told The New Paper.

Unlike Mr Tang's former roommate, many share rooms without submitting an application to the university.

These students do not pay the $20 lodging fee, choosing instead to stay with their friends for free.

Mr Tang said he could name at least five rooms with 'illegal squatters'.

He said: 'My roommate chose to pay the $20 because he said it was the 'right thing' to do.

'He figured it was only a matter of filling in a few forms. But many others would rather do it illegally.'

Another hall resident, a second-year undergraduate who declined to be named, said illegal squatting was 'rife' in her hall.

She said: 'I don't really see the point of an official (temporary sharing) arrangement, because the students are paying less than $1 a day for lodging.

'The university doesn't stand to gain anything from it.'

She added that rooms in the air-conditioned residence hall were especially popular with 'squatters'.

DIRTY

She said: 'Guys don't seem to mind it (hosting a squatter) that much, especially since they go back to their rooms only to sleep.

'But I'm more particular about it. It inconveniences the host and the 'squatter' as well. It's okay if it's just a few nights, but not for an extended period.'

She added that having too many people in the halls would also inconvenience other residents.

She said: 'Common areas get really dirty when there are too many people using them, especially when food is not properly disposed of.'

CONVENIENT

The NTU spokesman said students who squat illegally in their friends' rooms will be charged $40 per day for a minimum period of a week if they are caught doing so.

Some students have accepted 'squatting' - whether legal or otherwise - as a necessary measure.

Said a third-year undergraduate, 25, who wanted to be known as Jimmy: 'It's a convenient solution, especially for those who have friends who don't mind putting them up.'

He hosted a friend as a 'squatter' for six months.

'But perhaps the university could look into some alternative housing options, such as flats near NTU which seem to have been vacant for a while,' he said.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Mar 17, 2008.