Petition · past parliament

Suspend Student Accommodation rent for people who have moved out due to COVID-19

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

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 UK 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.

Why it was rejected

It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.

Suspending payments or providing refunds for tuition fees and rent are a matter for individual universities and landlords, and not the UK Government or Parliament.

If you want the Government to refund university rent and tuition fees due to coronavirus, you may wish to sign this petition: Reimburse all students of this year’s fees due to strikes and COVID-19

If you want the Government to encourage lenders, landlords and utilities to freeze payments during lockdown, you may wish to sign this petition: Encourage lenders, landlords and utilities to freeze payments during lockdown

If you have concerns about your university's arrangements for teaching and assessment you should raise these with your university or the Office for Students, which regulates the higher education sector.

We understand that the current situation is stressful for many people. Student Minds, a mental health charity for students, is collating guidance and developing resources to support students experiencing stress as a result of the current situation, which you may find useful: https://www.studentminds.org.uk/coronavirus.html

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/

Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/

Timeline

22 Mar 2020 Petition opened for signatures
31 Mar 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21
Status Rejected
Rejected 31 Mar 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.