Salford Uni offers students £1,000 in rent rebate even if they have a private landlord

Salford University has worked with the Students’ Union to put together a Covid Assistance Fund to support those students living in both halls and privately owned accommodation, with up to £1,200 up for grabs per student.

Students living in private accommodation or private housing will be eligible for £1,000 each out of the support fund to help them pay their rent during the third lockdown.

The University of Salford’s Covid Assistance Fund “has been established to support students living in halls and in privately owned accommodation with the cost of rent, as well as for students with financial issues not related to rent.”

The university has made an agreement with Campus Living Village, the university’s main accommodation provider to provide a payment on behalf of all students in the halls. For the time being, CLV has paused all rental payments until a later date.

For those students living in John Lester and Eddie Coleman accommodation, the value of £1,000 per student will be added to their account and for students in Peel Park Quarter, they will receive £1,200.

Students living in private accommodation will also be able to apply for support funding up to the value of £1,000. The applications opened on the 18th January and will remain open until the 29th.

Students will also be able to apply for the Covid Assistance Fund for all other financial needs that need support at this time.

Dr Sam Grogan, Pro Vice-Chancellor Student Experience, told The Tab: “We know that the current government guidance is frustrating for students, and we hear and share those concerns. By launching this fund, we hope to provide some financial support during these incredibly challenging times.

“We have worked as quickly as possible to deliver this support, in a fast-changing situation with no advance warning of recent government announcements. The issue of student accommodation and rents is a sector-wide concern, and one that needs to be urgently reviewed by the government.”

The eligibility for the fund can be found below:

A spokesperson for the University of Salford said: “The Rent Relief Fund is provided by the University and is used to assist students who are experiencing financial difficulties relating to term-time accommodation rental costs as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and January 2021 national lockdown.

“The University of Salford Students’ Union has worked in partnership with the University of Salford, to identify and address the needs and concerns of students in rented term-time accommodation. This joint work has led to the financing, development and delivery of this fund.

“The Fund provides non-repayable awards to students. Each application is assessed against set criteria and is based on evidence provided. There is no guarantee that an applicant will receive funding and there is no automatic entitlement to payment from the Fund.

“The Fund is cash limited. No awards will be made until the application window has closed, and first payments will be issued from week commencing 1 February 2021.

“We expect the Fund to be in high demand and it could take until early March 2021 to process all applications and awards. If applications exceed the value of the fund priority will be given to those deemed to be in greatest financial need.

“Note: applications open on 18 January 2021 and close on 29 January 2021. The application link will be provided when applications open.”

For more information about the fund click here.