COVID-19 has resulted in a worldwide pandemic affecting all sections of society. This petition aims to try and resolve one of those: students being made to continue with accommodation rent payments despite having to return home. The U.K. government has been advising the public to reduce human interaction as much as possible and to remain at home. This has resulted in students having to return home from tightly populated student accommodation buildings to reduce their risk of becoming infected with the virus. 

A large number of students cannot run the risk of remaining in these accommodation buildings due to either underlying health conditions or the high chance of bringing it home to family, especially those who also have underlying health conditions or are of old age.

With this put into perspective, I believe it is unfair to be expected for students to pay hundreds a month for a room they are not using, considering most students are already facing other bills every month. With hundreds of people being told not to come back to work due to the pandemic, students are going to be left financially unstable and unable to pay for their rent, regardless if they are living there or not. 

Contract or not, student accommodation companies must realise that their cancellation policies DO NOT cover scenarios such as the unforeseen pandemic we are facing now and it is categorically unfair and greedy to charge students for rent if they are unable to live in their accommodation.

Host Student Accommodation has repeatedly denied any attempts for early termination, and will only do so if you receive a letter from your GP to exempt you from the tenancy agreement. This further highlights how poorly this is being handled, opting to take away precious time from doctors, who are the only ones to send off these documents, to settle petty disputes. This proves that Host Students Accommodation has chosen money over morals, so, therefore, I implore them to reconsider their handling of this situation and instead terminate the contracts of all students.