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The Student Housing Company under fire for handling of requests for rent cancellations
Students at the University of Bournemouth have rounded on one of the institution’s student accommodation partners, claiming that they are being made to divulge sensitive information in order to have their claims for rent release assessed.
Across the UK, students who are spending the coronavirus lockdown away from their university are reluctant to hand over money for student accommodation while it remains unclear if and when they will return to continue their studies.
Several students at the University of Bournemouth have contacted Research Professional News after being asked for what they believe to be unnecessary, personal information in order for their rent appeals to be processed. The students have also complained of frustrating waits for responses to their requests.
They are all residents of Bailey Point, a residence operated by The Student Housing Company, described on the University of Bournemouth’s website as its “private accommodation partner”. Research Professional News has made several attempts to contact The Student Housing Company for a response to the allegations.
Research Professional News has seen correspondence apparently sent from the company to individual students which says loan information and employment details—both for the student and their parents—along with medical documentation, including prescriptions and parental hospital letters, are needed in order to proceed with rent appeal cases.
Jasmine Morris, a first-year law student at Bournemouth, says she moved out of Bailey Point on 8 March—before the ongoing coronavirus lockdown had come into force.
“I went back because the first case of coronavirus had been confirmed in Bournemouth, and that was enough for me,” she told Research Professional News.
“I had to go home because my dad had cancer a few years ago and still doesn’t have a brilliant immune system, like many after chemotherapy. It was either I go home and isolate with him as quickly as possible to reduce the risk of bringing it home or stay in Bournemouth.”
Morris says she emailed The Student Housing Company to tell them she had left, and ask if a reduction in rent was a possibility.
“I emailed them again two weeks later telling them if they didn’t reply I wasn’t going to pay the rent because I’ve had no contact at all,” she told us. She says the firm responded with a request for detailed information about her situation.
“They wanted my medical records, my dad’s medical records, my ID, proof of student finance, proof of financial hardship. My family and I live in and run a pub, so as you can imagine they are not earning any money at the moment.”
Morris emailed again, asking why such “sensitive information” needed to be obtained when due to the coronavirus pandemic she was “not allowed to go to the doctors unless it is an emergency”.
“They said they couldn’t answer my question and directed me back to Bailey Point’s support team.” Morris was then asked again to upload the documents that had originally been requested, she said.
“With rent being due in a week, and no other way they were going to consider me for rent release, I uploaded those documents they asked for,” Morris said.
“I sent them a picture of my dad’s first test results which are proof that he’d had leukaemia, but they wanted another document that had a name, address, date and an official stamp,” she added.
“I’m currently at a loss for words as to how they are treating me.”
As Research Professional News has covered previously, some universities and halls of residence owners are letting students break their contracts if the coronavirus outbreak has forced them to return home.
Hannah Shone, a first-year psychology student also living at Bailey Point, said she was also uncomfortable after being asked to provide details about how much she receives in student loan payments as part of her rent appeal.
“[The Student Housing Company] will not explain why they need to know how much student loan we get,” she told us. “My student loan is being used to ensure I can buy food and pay rent to my parents, as I am now living back at home. I do not have a spare £2,235 to be given to The Student Housing Company when I am not even living there.”
A third student, who asked to remain anonymous, told Research Professional News she had asked The Student Housing Company if she could reclaim her possessions, move out, and not be liable for rent for next term—a total of around £2,300. Her self-employed parents—who are classed as vulnerable to the virus because of existing health conditions—had lost a significant amount of income as a result of the Covid-19 fallout, she said.
In response, she was asked to upload proof of her student loan status, and evidence that her mother and father were self-employed and had applied for the government’s income support scheme. After providing as much information as possible, she said she received another email requesting that she provide similar information again via an online ‘portal’.
The email, seen by Research Professional News, said: “We recognise there may be uncertainty regarding your current lease with us, as your plans for education this year have been disrupted. We have been working hard to ensure that we can support each of our residents and understand their unique situation to assess how we can best support them.” It went on to say that the firm could “reassure you that we are still open for business” and that students should complete requests on the portal no later than 15 May 2020.
On its website, The Student Housing Company says it has created a ‘student support programme’ to support students over the impact of Covid-19 on issues including tenancy agreements.
A statement on the website says: “We recognise there is a lot of uncertainty regarding the plans you have made this year for your education, and we have been working hard behind the scenes to best support you…We understand that everyone’s situation is different, so we have put a programme in place to support each of you on an individual basis.”
A spokesperson for the University of Bournemouth said the situation with its halls of residence was “complicated, as many of our halls are owned and run by external accommodation providers and only a few are managed by [the university]”.
“We are in discussions with the accommodation providers and our legal team to see what can be done in terms of rent payments for the third term,” he said. “For that reason, we have put a temporary halt on issuing any further invoices for rent in university-managed accommodation until we have reached our final decision.”
He added: “Along with other universities, we are talking to the government and other sector bodies to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on student accommodation. It is a complex issue, but we are working hard to come to a solution to support our students as soon as possible.”