Lancaster University agree to waive rent for students who have moved out due to coronavirus

The move is a u-turn on an earlier decision to continue charging students their full fees, whether they were still living on campus or not.

Many have vacated their accommodation and moved back home as a result of the ongoing government lockdown.

And students had complained that they were continuing to be charged in full for empty accommodation, despite other universities having made the decision to drop or reduce fees.

But the uni today announced updated information which means that until July, students will either be charged a reduced rate if they have not emptied their rooms, or no rent at all if they have fully vacated the accommodation.

Students can also choose to remain on campus and continue to pay their fees in full if they prefer.

A university spokesman said: "As part of our plan to support students through Covid-19, Lancaster University has taken the decision to offer reduced accommodation fees to many of our students in university–managed accommodation this term.

"We appreciate this is a very challenging time for our community and we hope our decision to waive accommodation payments helps ease the financial burden for our students."

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