Students rent and tuition fees - reimbursement due?

rhubarb1

Just wanted to know if anyone has approached Universities to ask about reimbursement of rent or tuition fees?
To explain - my daughter pays £9k pa. In February lectures were disrupted because of tutor strikes. Then the lockdown and they have been told all lectures for this academic year will be online with no 121 tutor support. They have not been told what will happen with timetabled exams.
My daughter also signed a contract until the end of August for student accommodation managed by the University. She came home for Easter and cannot now return to her shared house. This means she is paying £97pw for a house that she is unable to use. I am sure lots of students are in the same situation and I wondered if anyone had enquired about this and what the official line was?

gary83

is the shared house owned by the university or is it owned by a private company/landlord unrelated to the university ? Is the house still available to her?

rhubarb1

Hiya, it is managed by the University but owned by a private landlord. The house is still available but due to the lockdown (which I know is out of the control of the University or the landlord) she is unable to return this academic year. Likewise she is unable to return to the University campus to use any of the facilities, which includes the library, research facilities, etc. 

Jeremy535897

There are lots of similar questions in this forum. Unless there is some sort of break clause in the tenancy agreement covering the current situation (most unlikely), it appears that the rent remains payable.

afis1904

Unless your daughter has paid those £9k upfront she is unlikely to ever pay them so it really doesn't matter at all tuition fee wise.

rhubarb1

Thanks all, I thought as much but wanted to check. The rent is a painful cost to bear. She can't get a job now, is paying £97pw for a house she cannot stay in and for a student that's just hard to bear. Plus since my husband is furloughed, our income has gone down as they don't take into account overtime or bonuses. We're using more energy as we are all in the house and we're having to pay more for food to be delivered because for the first 2 weeks we were isolated (I caught the virus and am still recovering) and the only food we could get to be delivered was farm food boxes which cost a fortune.
I guess everyone is in the same boat.

garryt1

Hi ,

Yes same situation, my son is in Belfast and has 5 months rent to pay even though he is not living in the house. The renting agency sent out a cold stark email stating all rents must be paid in full, no real surprises there but its unfortunate the government haven't stepped in to at least cut the payments or even offer advice. In Bristol i see last night that 120 students went on rent strike, refusing to pay the remainder, i would rather not go down that road. I am a single parent and have been cut back in hours and salary, next step is laid off, never been in this situ before so not sure what lies ahead with work and finances.