Student Accommodation Nightmare

iamconfusion

Hi,
Firstly, I would like to apologise if this is not in the correct place. I am new to this forum so please re-direct me if I have accidentally broken any rules!
Secondly, this is the situation: 
I booked a room with Unite Students for the 20/21 academic year in February, pre-covid for £216pw. Due to the pandemic, my university will be completely online for the next year and I would like to preferably stay at home. However, Unite Students do not allow a termination of contracts unless I can find another replacement. I would be okay with this but for my exact room, the prices on the website have now decreased to £206pw. So no one in their right mind would ever let my room, than go straight through their website. They refuse to price-match my room to the current price, and also to cancel the contract, so I am essentially stuck. I really don't know what to do...
Last academic year (19/20), they did allow students to not pay rent for term 3 due to covid (as no one could have expected it to happen). I just find it so unfair that I booked my room well in advance of covid, but yet I have to pay for a room I won't use.  Can anybody offer any advice on this? Thank you.

silvercar

Welcome to the forum!
You are posting in exactly the right place.
I'm surprised Unite aren't being more accommodating, given they were one of the first private hall companies to release people from their tenancies earlier in the year. I would keep on to them, they may change their mind. If you want to get another student to take over your contract, you may have to consider subsidising them. If you paid £16 a week, you could sell it on at £200 a week, so undercut the market. Though if all students are being offered online learning only, I imagine take up is going to be small.