Universities, Students’ Unions urge landlords to scrap student contracts

07 Apr 2020

Universities in Greater Manchester have come together to encourage landlords of private rented accommodation to release students who have vacated their accommodation due to the coronavirus pandemic from their contracts

The Vice-Chancellors and Students’ Union officers from the Universities of Manchester, Salford, Royal Northern College of Music and Manchester Metropolitan University have written to landlords saying:

We are all finding ways to navigate through these incredibly uncertain times brought about by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Whilst we are doing our utmost to support the education of our students during the pandemic, their wellbeing is just as much a priority.

As teaching and assessment is now being conducted online, we have offered to release students who have already vacated their accommodation from the fees they pay for their Hall of Residences for the summer term. We are aware other accommodation providers have also made this same commitment.

The students who attend our universities make Greater Manchester one of the largest and most vibrant centres of its kind in Europe.  The fact private rented accommodation is available helps our students live in, and contribute to, communities across the region.

As leaders of the main Higher Education institutions and Students’ Unions in Greater Manchester, we are writing to landlords to ask if there might be a way to release students who have already vacated properties from their rental contracts.

These are exceptional circumstances, and we appreciate what we are asking may be a significant act on a landlord’s behalf, and one that may be entirely dependent on their own financial situation.

However, we believe this act of generosity would make an enormous difference to our students, many of whom are experiencing hardship, and ensure that they do not suffer as a consequence of this unprecedented situation.