Rent to be cancelled or reduced for students in Leeds Beckett and Unipol accommodation

The cancellation is in response to COVID-19 concerns


Students in some Leeds Beckett accommodation or Leeds Beckett students in Unipol halls will have the next instalment of their rent cancelled or reduced by 50 per cent.

This is in response to student uncertainty as university closures and the COVID-19 lockdown has forced many students away from university, leaving them to pay rent for accommodation they are not living in.

Charlie Hind, Leeds Beckett University Union, announced this development earlier today, stating on Facebook:

The FaceBook post cleared up student uncertainty.

Hind insists the university have agreed that students for whom Leeds Beckett University or Unipol is their landlord, will have adjustments made to contracts. Students that have already left their accommodation will be released from their contracts, meaning they will not pay their final rent instalment. Those who have not yet left will be given a 50% reduction to the remainder of their rent fees.

Leeds Beckett students received the following email from their university regarding the matter:

Some of the contents of an email sent to students

This comes as a response to national student concern regarding paying rent for unused accommodation as universities close and governments enforce lockdowns in light of the unprecedented consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.

Hind says “it’s great to see that the University has listened to student concerns and taken this action to protect students at this time. We’re still working on private letting agents but will keep you updated.”

Students at Leeds Beckett are pleased with this outcome, with one student telling The Tab Leeds “they’re not charging us fully for next term even though all my stuff is there which is actually amazing.”

Unipol are following the likes of Unite accommodation, owners of liberty Living, who have already made similar offers to students.

At present, this just refers to students in some university halls, however there appears to be an ongoing effort to include students in other halls and Unipol houses.

The students concerned should have been emailed regarding this matter, and are encouraged to get in touch with Leeds Beckett Union if they have any queries.

More information on what students should do in order to benefit from this is expected to be announced by Unipol on April 3rd, but students are advised to keep checking emails and the Leeds Beckett University, LBU, and Unipol websites.