Boris Johnson’s announcement of another UK-wide lockdown has created uncertainty amongst those currently renting student accommodation.
National guidelines currently state that students should study from home ‘where possible,’ in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19. However, a 2020 survey undertaken by UCAS and Knight Frank revealed that approximately 70% of all first-year students choose to rent purpose-built student accommodation during term time, and often with fixed-term contracts. This means that a significant number of students who have returned home for Christmas will be obliged to stay at home whilst paying rent for accommodation which is essentially empty.
The lack of a cohesive government policy on refunds for these students, as well as the fact that tenancy laws vary between the devolved administrations, has meant that individual universities and accommodation providers have determined their own approaches.
When contacted for comment, many university accommodation providers cited the Coronavirus (Scotland) (No.2) Act 2020, which gives students in Scotland the right to cancel fixed-term contracts with twenty-eight days’ notice, as informing their policies. The University of Edinburgh currently gives students in their accommodation the opportunity to apply for rent rebates and cancel their fixed-term contracts, which has been welcomed by first year students, one of whom commented ‘I heard it was relatively easy to get the refund and come back home.’
However, outside Scotland, the picture does not appear to be as clear. Daniel King, a first-year student at the University of Bournemouth, feels frustrated by the situation he is experiencing. He has remained at home in London, thus following government guidelines, and says that he ‘would expect a refund,’ from his accommodation providers since he cannot stay in his accommodation, yet he has not received any indication of any rebate. Due to social distancing measures he was also unable to fully enjoy his experience in student accommodation in his first semester. He comments, ‘the only facility at university that I’ve been able to get much use out of is the washing machine.’
Inconsistencies can also be seen in the responses of private student accommodation providers. Some providers, such as iQ and StudentRoost, have stated that they will offer a six week rent free period for students affected by the lockdown, whilst others, such as Sanctuary Students, have not made such adjustments to their terms.
Ali Bukhari is a student at the School of Oriental and African Studies who is clinically vulnerable. As he has been able to spend just four weeks in his student accommodation since September, he contacted Sanctuary Students requesting a refund, but was simply told to provide medical evidence for this and says that he feels ‘cheated.’ He has rescheduled his rent payments until he gets a response.
This uncertainty has led other students from across the UK to begin direct action. A petition calling for the government to ‘enable all students to end university tenancy agreements early due to Covid-19,’ has received over 65,000 signatures, but has yet to receive a response from the government.
Additionally, it is estimated that over 15,000 students from over 40 universities have joined rent strikes, many of which have been successful, such as those at the University of Bristol which resulted in the granting of rebates to students.
When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for the University of Bournemouth said that ‘many of the student accommodation options for our students are not owned by BU so the individual providers will be making decisions around contracts and refunds. We are continuing to work with these providers to ensure our students are supported and we provide a range of support and guidance for students who are struggling financially.’
A spokesperson for Sanctuary Students said, ‘at the present time we are monitoring the situation and the response from Government. We have reassured our students that we will continually review our position to consider any new guidance that is released.’
Image: Chris Downer via Geograph