Government Response

The Government responded to this petition on Tuesday 23rd February 2021

We do not currently have plans to legislate in this area. University and private providers are autonomous but we encourage them to be fair and consider students’ interests in their decisions.

The Government recognises that this academic year has been incredibly difficult for students. As a result of the current exceptional circumstances, some students are facing financial hardship, with some now incurring additional costs at their alternative address.

We will be making available an additional £50m of hardship funding, on top of the £20m made available to higher education providers in December. This support targets students with the greatest need.

Providers will have flexibility in how they distribute the funding to students in a way that will best prioritise those in greatest need. Support might include help for students facing additional costs arising from having to maintain accommodation in more than one location or assistance to help students access teaching remotely.

We will continue to work with the Office for Students to allocate these funds and will set out further detail.

The Government is also encouraging universities and large-scale private accommodation providers to refund a proportion of the rent they would usually charge for the term and welcomes the news that many universities and large accommodation providers have already offered rent rebates for students that have been asked to stay away from their accommodation.

Maintenance loans are available as a contribution towards a student’s living costs while attending university. The system targets the most living cost support at those from the lowest income families, who need it most.

Students undertaking courses that would normally require attendance on-site, but for which learning has moved either fully or partially online due to COVID-19, will qualify for living costs support in the 2020/21 academic year as they would ordinarily, provided they continue to engage with their higher education provider. This means that students who qualify are still receiving the same level of support for their living costs, including rent. This also applies when the student is prevented from attending the course physically and is required to study online due to shielding.

Tenants, including student renters, should continue to pay rent and abide by all other terms of their tenancy agreement to the best of their ability. The Government has a strong package of financial support available to tenants, and where they can pay the rent as normal, they should do. Tenants who are unable to do so should speak to their landlord at the earliest opportunity.

Tenants are able to end or surrender their fixed term tenancy early if they reach an agreement with their landlord. If tenants have a joint tenancy agreement, all tenants will need to agree to the surrender. Even if a tenant’s circumstances have changed due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, they still will not have an automatic right to leave early.

The Government encourages landlords to take a pragmatic, flexible approach and have a frank and open conversation with their tenants at the earliest opportunity, to allow both parties to agree a sensible way forward.

Tenants should note that a property has not been fully vacated if they have not removed all of their belongings, and it is at the discretion of their landlord to agree to end the tenancy.

There is further information for tenants and landlords in the context of Coronavirus (COVID-19) available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities.

If students think their accommodation provider is treating them unfairly, they can raise a complaint under the accommodation codes of practice as long as their provider is a code member. The codes can be found at: https://www.thesac.org.uk/, https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain and https://www.rla.org.uk/about/nrla-code-of-practice.shtml.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds) on consumer contracts, cancellation and refunds affected by the coronavirus. This sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers understand their rights and help businesses treat their customers fairly.

Students may be entitled to refunds from certain accommodation providers depending on the terms of their contract and their particular circumstances. If students need help, organisations such as Citizens Advice offer a free service, providing information and support.

Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

This is a revised response. The Petitions Committee requested a response which more directly addressed the request of the petition. You can find the original response towards the bottom of the petition page (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/553285)