The £400 ‘goodwill’ payment window has been extended as the rent strike continues

Lancaster University announces a further extension in the window of application for the £400 ‘goodwill’ rent payment


In recent weeks, many students have been supporting the rent strike at Lancaster University. These students have campaigned for rents to be decreased. This led Lancaster University’s Vice-Chancellor Andy Schofield offering a one-off £400 goodwill payment for students who have not been able to return to their on-campus accommodation in the Lent Term because of Government COVID travel restrictions.

Initially, the deadline to apply for the £400 goodwill payment as 21st January 2021. However, this deadline was then extended to 25th January, and now has been extended again to 31st January. It was stated in the most recent extension that this will be “the final extension that will be given”. This second extension has come after the student-led rent strike has continued to put pressure on the university as they call for a larger increase in rent reduction than the university is currently offering.

Therefore, this further extension of the application window could have risen from students not accepting the £400 goodwill payment, believing that it is not sufficient for the amount of time they have been unable utilise on-campus facilities or unable to return to on-campus accommodation.

There are also disparities between various forms of university accommodation, as £400 for a Basic Standard room currently costing “£94.99” a week will pay for a longer period of time than a Single Self-Contained Studio currently costing “£172.90” a week, showing some students would benefit less than other from this £400 goodwill payment.

As a result, this action from the university moves towards what the rent strike is campaigning for, however, the strikers are campaigning for the goodwill payment to be rejected because they believe it does not give enough support to Lancaster University students.

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