Private landlord offers half-price rent to students
WELCOME FOR FIRST FIRM TO CUT COST OF UNUSED ROOMS
A PRIVATE accommodation provider for students in Nottingham has announced it will charge students half price for unused rooms.
Unite Students, which runs Riverside Point, St Peter’s Court, and Curzon House accommodation blocks in the city, announced the support measures for students who have been asked to stay at their permanent homes.
Only courses linked to health and social care, and some to education, have gone back to universities this term with all other students learning remotely until February 13 at least.
Unite Students says those not in their rooms from January 18 until February 14 will be given a 50 percent discount in line with policies both Nottingham universities have brought in for rents in their own halls of residence.
Unite Students chief executive Richard Smith said: “We recognise that this is again a particularly challenging time for all students which is why their health, safety and security has been our priority since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are now providing a 50 percent rent discount for a four-week period and an additional complimentary fourweek contract extension at no extra charge, in recognition of the challenges and disruption that students face following the Government’s latest lockdown announcement. “We feel this is the right thing to do.” Lewis Tibbs, a third year broadcast journalism student at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), said: “This is absolutely something I welcome. Unite are one of the first private providers to do this too.
“Thousands of other students live in private accommodation where this hasn’t been offered. We want to see NTU continue to try and help bring in.
“Other providers may be less sympathetic, but hopefully Unite will set an example.”
Rebecca Hyde, co-founder of the NTU Rent Strike campaign, and also a student at the university, said: “We are really pleased that the universities are finally on board with the needs of students, but this is not enough.
“NTU openly advertises and endorses private accommodation to students, so they must pressure private providers to provide students with a fair rent reduction.”
To be eligible, students in Unite Students properties will need to be up to date with their rent payment as of January 31 and not live at the property between January 18 and February 14.
Mr Smith added: “Working through this decision has had its challenges as there are a range of varying circumstances to consider in different parts of the country and across different universities.
“Some students studying specific subjects have already returned to university and more will be returning for face-to-face tuition during February as per Government guidelines, while for other students our accommodation is their only home.”
All Unite Students’ customers, in common with customers of other private landlords, signed legally binding lease agreements for the academic year against a known backdrop of Covid-19.
Nottingham’s universities are looking to encourage other accommodation providers to take similar action as Unite Students.
A statement from NTU reads: “We are mindful that NTU can only waiver rents for the accommodation that it controls, and that this only supports around 5,000 of our students. “We will continue to lobby private providers and landlords and work with Government, local councillors and MPS to do the right thing for our students.”
A University of Nottingham spokesperson said: “We are liaising with private and third-party accommodation providers to see if they are able to support students in a similar manner.”
This is a particularly challenging time for all students. We feel this is the right thing to do
Richard Smith, Unite Students