PLYMOUTH STUDENTS COVID-19 RENT STRIKE
Due to the Corona Virus outbreak, Plymouth students are asking for a cancellation of rent payments for tenants of university owned accommodation, privately owned student halls, and any property let by student letting agencies (such as shared houses and apartments) until the end of the 2019/20 academic year.
Why are we striking?
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, Plymouth students are facing a reduced capability to manage the rent payments on our student accommodation. For many students, the April student loan payment is absolutely necessary to support themselves and family members that may be suffering from job loss, financial difficulty, illness, and certainty during this time. Every single student who signed an accommodation contract before the Coronavirus outbreak did so with the full expectation that they would be able to remain in their student accomodation for the full academic year, and that they or their family members would not suffer any significant financial difficulty in the coming year. All of our circumstances have changed massively since we signed our accommodation and we are asking that for compassionate reasons, the contracts should be reviewed under the circumstances and that the final rent payment should be waived by ALL student accommodation providers in Plymouth.
Who does the strike affect?
We are asking all students, whether or not you've chosen to remain in student accommodation or not, to participate in the strike.
By 'student accomodation' we mean:
- All university owned halls of residence
- All privately owned halls of residence (eg. Host, iQ, Becklet Point, Etc)
- All accommodation let by student accommodation providers or advertised as student housing (E.g, shared houses and apartments)
What are our demands?
Some tenants may have given a specific list of demands to their accommodation providers, but the overarching list of demands for the Plymouth Student Rent Strike Group are as follows:
- ALL student accommodation providers in Plymouth, including University owned halls of residence, privately owned halls of residence, and any accommodation provider advertising their properties as for students (eg. shared houses and apartments) cancel the final rent installment for the 2019/20 academic year.
- Accommodation providers must offer a no-penalty release from tenancy contracts for this and next year.
- Any students in rent arrears be given a payment break of at least three months from 1st April 2020, to be reviewed at the end of this period, and not be liable for any payments owed as part of their final rent payment for the 2019/20 academic year.
- No accommodation provider should forcefully take money from strike participants or thier guarantors using direct debits or any type of automated payment or bank transfer
- That the universities and private accommodation providers make no attempt at punishing or reprimanding the strikers legally or academically
