Student halls company calls in debt collectors on students who can’t pay rent

A private halls company has sent debt collectors after students who are unable to pay or withholding rent.

Hundreds of tenants at Sanctuary students, which run halls for students at unis including LSE, Liverpool, and Manchester, have been on a rent strike, refusing to pay for rooms they cannot use.

However, one student who lost his job and was unable to pay has been told to pay £1,736 within a week to “to avoid the possibility of further action being taken”, reports the FT.

SOAS fresher Tomasz Jablonski, who lives in Sanctuary’s Dinwiddy House, said: “I don’t have money to pay right now.”

Jablonski moved back to Poland in March and has been unable to work. “I don’t know where I’ll live next year . . . It’s making me very anxious,” he told the FT.

Their actions stand in contrast to a number of other private halls providers who waived rents for students not living at uni after lockdown. Unite, one of the country’s largest providers, took a hit of up to £120m to give students rent relief.

Student Roost, which operates in 20 uni cities, also allowed students to cancel rent payments for unoccupied rooms.

The website for the Sanctuary rent strike says the possibility of legal action is one the group has prepared for: “We have spoken with a law firm who has agreed to represent us in this matter should the need arise.”

Sanctuary told the FT that without the halls “these students may become homeless. It is essential we continue to provide them with support staff and access to a safe, secure, managed place to live.”

The company argues that student loans are still being paid, and say it is offering “flexible payment options through an agreed payment plan” for students in financial difficulty.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Private halls companies take £120m hit to let students out of contracts early

• Meet the students fighting to get out of paying thousands for halls they can’t use

• Private halls companies tell students to break lockdown rules or pay thousands in rent