As a student studying away from home for university, this is an incredibly stressful time. Universities have been suspended, placements have been postponed and many part-time employment opportunities have ceased. Despite this, students are burdened with the cost of their tenancy agreements even though their need for accommodation no longer exists.

Most student tenancy agreements contain a clause whereby a student can terminate the contract early but only if they are able to find a ‘suitable replacement person’ to continue the contract. This is a particularly challenging task regardless, but the current COVID-19 pandemic is making this nearly impossible. With face-to-face teaching suspended and access to libraries restricted, many students will want to ease the financial burden and spend time at home with family, however they are faced with the impossible task of finding a replacement person to be relieved of this burden.

My university is in central London, and I am currently living in rented accommodation on the outskirts of the city, like many students do. Due to the proximity to the city and the exorbitant rates that student accommodation providers charge, I am faced with over £3,000 rent for the remainder of this semester. Normally this would not be an issue, but this pandemic means that the situation we face is anything but normal. I have lost my job and my chance of a paid placement, which means I have to rely on my savings and my payments from Student Finance England, which are simply not enough for me to pay this rent and live on. 

In these exceptional and unprecedented circumstances, students should be allowed to either terminate their tenancy agreements, temporarily halt their rent with a view to remain living at the accommodation or have an agreement which reduces the rent which is due. Given that access to communal or study areas and facilities such as gyms have been suspended in many accommodation buildings, it does not seem fair to have to pay full rent for a reduced service. Furthermore, students in self-isolation or any potential future lockdown are not able to use these facilities anyway. Why should students have to pay full price for a substandard service?