The University of Manchester is paying students £2.5k to give up their places in halls

 Any remaining students will receive an offer for accommodation in Liverpool


Manchester University has been offering £2,500 to anyone within commuting distance to switch to living at home in an attempt to increase the number of spaces in halls. The number of UoM freshers without accommodation has dropped from 75 to three in the past three days.

Last week there was still more than 350 students waiting for confirmation of their place in halls.

The number of students that have been provided accommodation in the last three days suggests quite a few people have taken the university up on this offer.

A spokesperson for the University of Manchester said: “There are now three students covered by the Accommodation Guarantee who have not yet been offered a room in Manchester, and we are working to find them accommodation as soon as possible.

“To help release rooms, we offered students the option to cancel their accommodation in return for a payment of £2,500. This has directly enabled us to allocate further rooms in Manchester over the past days. Any remaining students will receive an offer for accommodation in Liverpool, along with £100 per week to cover travel expenses.”

The university said there has been “unprecedented demand for university accommodation across the UK this year” due to pandemic A-level results and a high number of deferred places.

Refurbs on alternative accommodations in Manchester are being completed and the university thinks it is “very likely” that students will be able to move in in the next few months.

The university told The Tab, “We are working to reopen a hall of residence, and throughout the first semester there are always a number of rooms which become available. We have updated the FAQs on our dedicated webpage to provide further information.”

Since the accommodation shortage in Manchester has also affected MMU freshers, some have also been offered £100 a week to live in Liverpool and Huddersfield.

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