Landlords urged to ‘do the right thing’ by councillor

THE campaign has the full backing of Portsmouth city councillor Cal Corkery.

Cllr Corkery said: ‘I fully support the students’ campaign. It cannot be right or just that people are having to pay for accommodation they are now legally unable to get to and make use of. Whatever time is missed then students should receive a rebate on this.’

With thousands of the city’s students staying in private accommodation, Cllr Corkery also believes the university ‘has a role to play’ in pressurising independent landlords to ‘do the right thing’ and allow students to escape contracts and be refunded for periods of non use.

Cllr Corkery added: ‘Landlords should still be entitled to the mortgage holiday scheme so they don’t need to keep this money from the students’.

Responding to the situation a university spokesman said: ‘The health and wellbeing of our students remain our top priority.

‘We recognise the financial impact of this situation on our students and are looking for an equitable solution. This includes working with the Students’ Union to make sure students are informed about the University’s Student Support Fund which provides help for those students facing financial hardship.’