This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition Students should not pay last instalment of halls rent due to university closure.
University students are having to move out due to the spread of COVID-19, during this universities have closed for an indefinite amount of time and do not look to be opening again before the final semester ends. It is safer for most to go back home and should NOT pay rent or cancellation fees.
More details
Both UK and international students are having to move out of their halls and go back to their families while still being expected to pay rent for empty rooms during a worldwide pandemic. University closures also mean that a lot of students are paying to live somewhere they do not need to be as they cannot access university resources that they pay minimum of £9000 a year for.
Rent should only be paid for the time spent left living in their residence.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
Suspending payments or providing refunds for tuition fees and rent are a matter for individual universities and landlords, and not the UK Government or Parliament.
If you want the Government to refund university rent and tuition fees due to coronavirus, you may wish to sign this petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/302855
If you want the Government to encourage lenders, landlords and utilities to freeze payments during lockdown, you may wish to sign this petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/302256
If you have concerns about your university's arrangements for teaching and assessment you should raise these with your university or the Office for Students, which regulates the higher education sector.
We understand that the current situation is stressful for many people. Student Minds, a mental health charity for students, is collating guidance and developing resources to support students experiencing stress as a result of the current situation, which you may find useful: https://www.studentminds.org.uk/coronavirus.html
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.