Petition · past parliament
Ensure student accommodation fees from the start of COVID-19 crisis are refunded
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
Due to UK universities closing as a result of COVID-19, many students have returned to family or rented accomodation where they will have other costs to pay. While some accomodation providers have agreed to refund or not charge fees for the duration of this period, not all have.
For many students their utilities are included in their rental instalments, therefore they would be being overcharged as these utilities would not be in use. In addition to this, students are not able to use communal spaces or services offered by their accommodation providers which they pay for. If some students are not charged for their accommodation for the remainder of this year but others are, this creates an unfair situation.
Why it was rejected
It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.
Suspending payments for rent is a matter for individual landlords, and not the UK Government or Parliament.
The Government has published an FAQ for university students on Covid-19, which includes advice on accommodation costs: https://dfemedia.blog.gov.uk/2020/04/09/university-students-covid19-faq/
You might like to sign these petitions, which call for similar actions:
Enable private tenants early release from tenancy agreements due to Covid-19: Enable private tenants early release from tenancy agreements due to Covid-19
Refund university rent and tuition fees due to coronavirus: Refund university rent and tuition fees due to coronavirus
Encourage lenders, landlords and utilities to freeze payments during lockdown: Encourage lenders, landlords and utilities to freeze payments during lockdown
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
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 can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
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: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/
The Government has published an FAQ for university students on Covid-19, which includes advice on accommodation costs: https://dfemedia.blog.gov.uk/2020/04/09/university-students-covid19-faq/
You might like to sign these petitions, which call for similar actions:
Enable private tenants early release from tenancy agreements due to Covid-19: Enable private tenants early release from tenancy agreements due to Covid-19
Refund university rent and tuition fees due to coronavirus: Refund university rent and tuition fees due to coronavirus
Encourage lenders, landlords and utilities to freeze payments during lockdown: Encourage lenders, landlords and utilities to freeze payments during lockdown
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
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 can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
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: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/
Timeline
| 6 Apr 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 28 May 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
28 May 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.