LATEST: Students at two private halls of residence begin landmark rent strike

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What is thought to be the first official rent strike within the student private rental market since the Coronavirus crisis began has been announced at two large properties in the centre of Preston.

A group
of University of Central Lancashire (UCL) students living at private halls of
residence in Preston have gone on rent strike.

The students, from Foundry Court in Brook Street (pictured) and Trinity Student Village in Great Shaw Street, are angry at being charged rent, despite not occupying their accommodation during the third term due to lockdown.

It follows protests at the Universities of
Sussex and Warwick where hundreds signed up to withhold rent.

Third year UCL student Natasha Riaz says: “There
is no possibility of me being able to return to my accommodation this
term due to Government imposed lockdown rules, yet the landlords are
charging £1,267.71 for a room that will have zero electricity consumption, zero
water usage and zero use of the gas supply.”

In an email to Natasha, property managers Homes for Students said the decision to continue charging rent had been made by the owner of the building who had significant fixed costs to meet.

Refund progress

According to student
housing charity Unipol, 80% of universities and 30% of private sector landlords
have refunded or waived rents for students who’ve left accommodation early. 

It says £98,762,400 still hasn’t been refunded by
universities while £392,578,800 hasn’t been refunded by the private sector
purpose-built student accommodation providers for the third term.

While the Government has
again reiterated that it won’t be offering financial help to students, the National
Union of Students (NUS) says the Scottish Government’s recent announcement is
far more practical. 

There, students currently tied into contracts in
institution-owned halls of residence or privately-owned purpose-built student
accommodation are now able to give seven days’ notice before ending their lease
for Covid-19 related reasons.

An NUS survey found that
while about a third of students in England are keen to be released early from
their rental agreements, less than a tenth have been given that opportunity.

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