Image: Mike Peel [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Protests lead to accommodation rebate, as university recognises Covid-19 impact on student experience
University of Manchester students have won a 30 per cent rent reduction for their first term following a high-profile protest.
All students in University of Manchester halls of residence will receive a rebate of 30 per cent of their rent costs for the autumn semester, which the university said equated to more than four weeks’ rent.
In a statement published on 25 November, the university said the 30 per cent rent refund “acknowledges that the limited availability of some facilities due to national COVID-19 restrictions has had an impact on the student experience and the ongoing uncertainty about the return to campus arrangements in January”.
Accommodation block protests
Students had initially refused a refund offer of two weeks’ rent after a group of protesters occupied Owens Park Tower, a disused accommodation block, on 12 November. The protesters—who had called for a 40 per cent rent reduction—took over the block after a security fence was put up around Fallowfield halls of residence on 5 November, only to be torn down by protesters 24 hours later.
Following the agreement for a 30 per cent rent reduction, students have now left Owens Park Tower.
As well as the rent rebate, the university also promised to improve reporting around maintenance problems, create behaviour pledges for students in halls during the pandemic and open more Covid-secure study and social areas in accommodation.
‘Huge win’
The agreement followed discussions with the University of Manchester Students’ Union. In a separate statement published on 25 November, the union said the rebate was a “huge win”.
“The university have [sic] made mistakes, they have been open and honest about this in recent communications, and we have been working as student officers to make sure clear actions are agreed to support all students in this difficult year,” the union wrote.
The deal comes after University of Manchester vice-chancellor Nancy Rothwell was forced to apologise over an error she made during a BBC Newsnight interview on 19 November. In a video for students and staff published on 20 November, Rothwell said she was “devastated” after it became clear she had not apologised to the student at the centre of an alleged racial profiling row—despite telling the BBC she had done so.
In the video, Rothwell said she had since written to the student and informed Newsnight of the mistake.