Victoria Mckeown-
University students in Britain have described feeling at the “bottom of the pile”, having lost thousands of pounds on accommodation they have been unable to stay in during the coronavirus pandemic.
The complaints come in the wake of the British Government’s announced that in-person teaching in England will not return until May 17 at the earliest.
Many students have already spent several months away from the properties they have been paying for, with little recourse for compensation or additional support.
The Press Association spoke to students across the UK, and found a number of student complainants.
One student by the name of Johnny Jenkins told PA:“I’m incredibly disappointed that the return to universities has been delayed. Universities are safer than pubs and the Government are neglecting us yet again,” University of Warwick student Johnny Jenkins, 20, told the PA news agency.
“They’ve told me when I can go back to a nightclub. They haven’t told me when the classrooms open, which I think is really quite telling.”
Mr Jenkins told the Press Association that he left his accommodation before Christmas and has stayed at home for four months.
In total, he has paid around £3,000 to a private landlord for his unoccupied room.
I remember crying on the phone to one of them as I literally had no means to pay the rent at that time
“University really does seem to be the bottom of the pile,” he added.
“There are over a million students in university in the UK, and there’s no support there for either their fees or their private accommodation costs in it. It does seem to be a big black hole in Government policy.”
An estimate two-thirds of students were unable to return to their term time accommodation following the Christmas break, according to an NUS study, and more than a fifth (23%) were unable to pay their rent in full over the past four months.
Although some accommodation providers have offered to fully or partially refund students unable to return, not all students across the country compensation scheme.
Landlords of privately owned properties have been less likely to compensate students who have lost out on thousands of money in unused rent payments.
Emily Braeger, 20, an English literature student at Nottingham Trent University, has paid full rent of more than £3,300 since March 2020 on a property that nobody is living in.
“Financially, it has been a huge blow,” she said. “I already find myself at a disadvantage as I am only eligible for the lowest maintenance loan which doesn’t even cover my rent.
“The fact that they have chosen for students to return to university on May 17 is ludicrous to me, as my last taught class before I graduate is May 13.
“Having an empty flat that I can’t return to at this moment in time, and knowing that I am paying so much for it, is disheartening.”
There is now a need for the Department of Education to intervene and address the issue.