Hundreds of students join coronavirus rent strike (Picture: Tama Knight)
Many students had to vacate their halls of residence and return to their family homes (Picture: Tama Knight)

Student accommodation providers are being urged by the Government to do the right thing as they are locked in a standoff with students refusing to pay their fees for the summer term.

Many had to vacate their halls of residence and return to their family homes as universities closed down amid the coronavirus outbreak. Students rushed to fly overseas as more and more countries began to close their borders as a precautionary measure.

While some providers including the Universities of Portsmouth and London, have agreed to waive summer-term fees, some private providers including Sanctuary Students have refused to release students from their contracts. Now hundreds have joined a rent strike which has had the blessing of Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan.

LSE masters student Tama Knight, from Toronto, Canada is one of the main organisers of the protest of 314 students. She told Metro.co.uk: ‘We’ve been told that we have to negotiate directly with the company, but since Sanctuary Students has done almost literally nothing in terms of communicating with the students, we felt the need to organise on our own.

Stephen Morgan MP Member of Parliament, Portsmouth South
Morgan said: ‘If we are all in this together, then student accommodation providers have a responsibility to put public health, student safety and financial stability first.’

‘I think that the overall concern is that under the circumstances, we should be allowed to make decisions that keep ourselves safe and our families safe, but we’ve basically been told that we have to suck it up and stay in our contracts which is going to be financially crippling for a lot of us.’

She added: ‘Sanctuary Students’ decision has the potential to financially devastate students, essentially punishing them for making decisions about their safety in a global situation completely outside of their control. It is morally wrong to expect students to bear the economic brunt of the challenging times by taking a position so devoid of empathy and solidarity.

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Ms Knight, 24, who is studying gender, development and globalisation, claimed Sanctuary Students is likely to be eligible for government support, which is ‘largely unavailable to students’, particularly international ones.

She added: ‘It is ridiculous to expect students to fulfil their contracts as normal in such abnormal times.’

Co-organiser and SOAS Student Union welfare and campaigns officer Valeria Racu added: ‘Students really had to make very hard decisions in a very short amount of time.

Have just attached a picture of LSE rent strike organiser Tama Knight and her accommodation with Student Sanctuary, who are insisting students carry on paying the normal rate for their accommodation despite the lockdown.
Organiser Tama Knight said it is ‘morally wrong to expect students to bear the economic brunt’ of Covid-19 (Picture: Tama Knight)

They’ve left stuff behind they’ve spent a lot of money on last minute flights. I think that’s not being acknowledged at all and that should be accommodated for.’

Valeria, 25, originally from Moldova but raised in Spain, said some providers are ‘choosing to prioritise business over the welfare of students’.

Labour MP for Portsmouth South Stephen Morgan, 39, has voiced his support for students stuck with paying rent for properties they cannot use.

He said: ‘If we are all in this together, then student accommodation providers have a responsibility to put public health, student safety and financial stability first.

‘I will continue to lobby all major student accommodation providers, that have failed to offer this release so far, to take steps to support students and act in the interest of our community.’

Have just attached a picture of LSE rent strike organiser Tama Knight and her accommodation with Student Sanctuary, who are insisting students carry on paying the normal rate for their accommodation despite the lockdown.
Residents at Sanctuary Students accommodation are refusing to cough up (Picture: Tama Knight)

Meanwhile the Department for Education spokeswoman said: ‘We encourage universities and private hall providers to consider students’ interests and fairness in their decisions about rent charges for this period.

‘A number of providers have waived rents for the summer term which will be a relief for students in this challenging time.

‘Students will continue to receive scheduled payments of loans towards their living costs for the remainder of the current academic year.’

A spokesperson for Sanctuary Students told Metro.co.uk: ‘We continue to house a significant number of national and international students in our properties in various locations and for many of these, our accommodation is their primary home.

‘Without our accommodation these students may become homeless, while others have informed us they are in self isolation. It is therefore absolutely essential we can keep our buildings open, and our support staff in place, so we can continue to provide our students with access to safe, secure, managed accommodation.

‘While we realise our decision not to terminate contracts early will be disappointing, we have been informed by the Universities Minister that students will still be receiving their tuition fee and maintenance payments for term three as scheduled, whether or not campuses are closed, or learning has moved online.

‘The Government has also outlined information encouraging tenants living in rented accommodation to pay their rent as normal, while accessing the new financial support packages it is offering if needed.’

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