The Scottish Government has issued guidance advising all university students to refrain from returning to their residences until the end of January. We are calling on the Scottish Government to cancel all rent due over this period where students would have otherwise returned to their places of study.

 

We all saw what happened to Glasgow in September, when the return of students helped drive the ‘second wave’ of the virus which ripped through the city, forcing it into tight restrictions which remain in place. The worrying new strain of Covid-19 identified in England will surely spread further upon students’ return, and the real possibility of “many, many more deaths” is stark, according to Professor Andrew Hayward, Director of Epidemiology at UCL.

 

If the Scottish Government is serious about curbing this strain, and expects students to stay away from what is for many people home, not just term-time accommodation, then it must cancel expected rental payments for January. We are not asking for public money to cover these costs, nor do we expect universities to shoulder the burden. We are simply asking that, in the interest of public health, the government relieves all student tenants, in halls and in private accommodation, of their responsibility to pay rent for the month of January and until public health experts deem it safe for them to return.

 

The reality of asking students to stay away from their own homes is not simple. Many students have left their homes, lives, and livelihoods behind to spend time with loved ones for Christmas (in line with government advice), and keeping January’s rent will be necessary for coping with the displacement which they must undertake for the sake of slowing the spread of the virus. For many, the places visited by students over the festive period are not somewhere they had planned to be for such a long time. Remaining in place will likely cause many students stress and discomfort as we commence our second semester of virtual learning away from the materials and the conditions in which we had fostered a working environment for study over a tumultuous first semester. The strain on mental health caused by time in family homes is a reality, ranging from distressing and cramped conditions to abusive and unsafe environments. Expecting rental payments on top of this is too much to ask, and relieving this pressure on students will assist them in staying away from their cities and towns of study until a safe return is possible.

 

The University of Glasgow has already set a precedent by issuing a rent rebate for the entire month of January and beyond to all students in its University-owned halls. This move has been taken with an understanding of the real risk posed by students’ return, and the necessity of guaranteeing that students stay away has seen them in their capacity as landlords shoulder the burden. Not only does this precedent represent medical expertise and the necessities of a public health response, but it also represents the capability and willingness of landlords to relinquish a small period of payments at a time when theirs is one of the few income streams which has not been interrupted by the collective efforts of society to curb this virus. Landlords have received substantial support from the Scottish government while making no contributions to the public health effort.

 

We ask that the Scottish Government pledges to extend the University of Glasgow's commitments to its halls residents to all student tenants. One month’s rent for landlords across the country is an inconsequential but vital contribution to the public effort at a time when so many people are making the greatest sacrifices for our public safety.

 

September’s calamity will be repeated (and potentially eclipsed) unless the Scottish Government disincentivises any return to term-time homes for students studying in Scotland by cancelling all rent until such date as students return.