Families forced to dig deep for student flats

FAMILIES are being forced to pay thousands of pounds for student accommodation that is now sitting empty.

Many young people fled to their family homes when universities closed due to the pandemic.

Some accommodation companies and most universities are now offering refunds to students.

However, other private firms are still billing tenants in full, even though the national lockdown means they are not living there.

One in three students has encountered issues with their housing during this pandemic, according to campaign group Save the Student.

And when Money Mail contacted 34 companies which provide private student accommodation to ask if they would be offering tenants refunds, just five responded and only one confirmed it was waiving the full rent.

Unlike some tenants renting from private landlords, those living in purpose-built student and university accommodation do not have 28-day notice periods to end their tenancies.

It comes as the Scottish parliament is expected to approve a bill today that will allow students affected by lockdown to end their leases early.

Zamzam Ibrahim, National Union of Students president, says: ‘We need governments across the UK to follow suit and bring in a safety net for all student renters without delay.’

Student Bethany Wade’s parents had to draw from their savings to help her pay her £2,295 bill.

The 22-year-old was living at a block run by Mansion Student while studying for her one-year English Literature Masters degree at Newcastle University.

She had already paid two of her three £2,295 instalments for the year-long tenancy of her studio flat.

Bethany had worked part-time job at a fish and chip shop to help pay the rent, but she was let go when customers began to dwindle in March.

When her university announced her course would be taught online, she was already back with her family in Wolverhampton for the weekend.

But even though she may not return to Newcastle, Mansion Student insisted she would have to pay her final instalment earlier this month.

It meant her parents, Lynn and Pete Wade, both 57, had to dip into their savings to give her the £1,295 she needed.

Lynn says: ‘It seems unfair the firm is asking her to pay for accommodation she isn’t living in.’

Mansion Student did not respond to requests for comment.

A Department for Education spokesman says: ‘We urge universities and private hall providers to put students first and be fair in their decisions about rent.’