Frustrated Luton students still charged for accommodation despite moving out due to coronavirus pandemic

Outraged University of Bedfordshire students living in Campus Living Villages accommodation in Luton have criticised the company for making them pay full rent term, despite most of them moving back to their homes over a month ago.

In line with government guidance and to help stop the spread of COVID-19, the University of Bedfordshire suspended all face-to-face teaching from Monday, March 23.

Many students returned to their homes around the country, including one student who was staying in accommodation at Fitzroy Court, Luton, run by Campus Living Villages.

Emily Cole has been living in Fitzroy Court since September and returned to her family home in Wiltshire when the university announced it would be closing. She contacted the Luton News after she received an email from Campus Living Villages informing her she would be charged the full year's rent.

She said: "My room has now been cleaned, emptied and the keys handed back to reception personnel. Campus Living Villages were informed and I signed appropriate paperwork.

"All Luton students have now been emailed informing them that they will be charged the full year's rent despite many not living there.

"This is in contrast to the Campus Living Villages students at Salford, Manchester who will not be asked to pay the last term's rent instalment if they have moved out and are now living at home."

Emily said she was told by Campus Living Villages that she was still being fully charged due to the company's requirement from the UK Government to stay open to provide a safe and secure home for international students and those who could not return earlier. They also told her the firm's ongoing costs, including paying staff, fixed utility costs, plus financial and structural commitments meant the only way they come meet these overheads was through rent.

She said: "I feel the reasons they've given are inadequate. The yearly rental for my accommodation includes an on-site gym, communal areas, social events run by Campus Living Villages, electric and water costs as well as room and kitchen maintenance.

"Campus Living Villages has since closed the gym and communal areas and have cancelled all social events, meaning that a substantial part of a service we are being made to pay for is no longer being provided.

"Furthermore, a large number of students, including myself have cleared out their rooms and handed in their keys, and therefore Campus Living Village's utility bills have drastically decreased since mid March.

"Additionally, the number of on-site staff has decreased from around four/six, to just one security guard manning reception, which reflects the small number of students left in the village.

"As you can imagine, myself as well as many other students are disappointed with the way Campus Living Villages are managing this situation.

"In a time where people are being praised for coming together to support each other through this difficult time, I feel that Campus Living Villages has acted in a dishonourable manner, taking advantage of young students who have to try very hard to come up with the money for each rent instalment."

Student Carly McKenzie added: "My student accommodation halls Campus Living Villages UK have decided today that they are not suspending rent for students who have had to return home due to Covid 19 and are still making us pay our rent this April.

"There is many students including me that unfortunately student finance does not cover their accommodation costs and with many students losing their part time jobs due to the crisis this has obviously made it harder.

"It is ridiculous that we are being treated like this.

"There are plenty of other campus accommodations across the UK that are not still paying, including other Campus Living ones.

"It's not fair that other campuses in the country don't have to pay the full year's rent but we do.

"The rooms are empty, people have moved their stuff out, but we still have to pay rent here and live somewhere else. We are paying for an empty room!"

A spokesperson for Campus Living Villages said: “Campus Living Villages are not restricting students returning to their accommodation, but we are following government guidance when it comes to encouraging students to stay at home and stay away from others - based on the social distancing and ‘stay at home’ instructions from Government, nobody should be mixing households.

“We remain open to those students who chose to stay at the Village, including many international students.

"In line with Government guidance, Campus Living Villages have not told any students to leave their accommodation and we continue to support our residents to ensure their safety and comfort.

"This is a really difficult situation for everyone, and we remain open to provide a safe and secure home for the hundreds of students who remain at the Village.

"Similarly, while we remain open, we have an obligation to pay fixed utility bills and other costs, including staff.

"Therefore, we are requesting payments in line with tenancy agreements, as are other private student accommodation providers in Luton and across the UK. We will, of course, review any cases of hardship on an individual basis so that students are appropriately supported.

"This is a constantly changing situation, and we will revisit our position if Government advice is updated."

The Students' Union at the University of Bedfordshire wrote an open letter to Campus Living Villages and posted it on social media and the Students' Union website.

Daisie Johnson, Vice President Education of the Students’ Union, said: "The thing that is most frustrating is that Campus Living are not making all of their accommodation's pay the full rent.

"We know of some university accommodations across the country, run by Campus Living, that are not being charged the full rent, but they are making Luton students. It doesn't seem fair.

"The communication has been poor as well and they only let students know about the money still coming out the weekend before it was due to come out on the Tuesday.

"We understand that bills still have to be paid but even a reduction of rent would be good.

"Some students are now living back in the area they are from, having to pay rent because they can't stay with family, and are having to pay full rent on two places."

The spokesperson for Campus Village Living added: "Our villages work with different sets of stakeholders such as University Partners, owners and investors.

"Each village has been reviewed on an individual basis with regards to future rental payments, due to the complexity of the agreements in each building.

"We confirmed our position to residents by email on the 8th April 2020 prior to the rent payment date of the 21st April 2020."