Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Students should not have to bear the brunt’: Calls for rent rebate amid tightening coronavirus restrictions in universities

The exterior of the DUSA building.
The exterior of the DUSA building.

The president of a Dundee student union has called on the Scottish Government to issue rent rebates to those left out of pocket amid a tightening of coronavirus restrictions at universities.

Scott Quinn, Dusa (Dundee University Student Association) president, penned an open letter in light of Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that a staggered return to campuses will be extended until the end of February.

It follows similar calls from the National Union of Students Scotland.

Mr Quinn, who represents 17,000 Dundee University students, has said the decision has left students faced with the prospect of paying rent for an empty property.

A government spokesman insisted they are trying to help students, but that rent arrangements are outwith their remit.

Nevertheless, Mr Quinn believes the government should offer assistance, especially to those in private rented accommodation, in light of the restrictions.

He said: “I think it is important to stress… the understanding of the decision to return Scotland to lockdown.

“The health and wellbeing of everyone, including our most vulnerable, must come first and I appreciate the need for the tough choices made.

“The result of this also sees students paying rent for accommodation that they cannot access.

“This is a significant and unfair cost to students that they should not have to endure. Many do not have the luxury of staying in university halls of residence, meaning they are stuck paying thousands of pounds in rent to landlords who only see them as an income stream.

“Students should not have to bear the brunt of these costs and be punished for following guidance.”

Mr Quinn added that students’ pockets have also been hit in the job market, as the hospitality and retail sector has been among the worst affected by the pandemic.

“The lack of available income sources can put students through significant financial hardship, and the need to then pay unnecessary rental costs is unacceptable,” he said.

Mr Quinn also plans to write to private student accommodation providers in the city to encourage them to offer rent rebates.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We continue to look urgently — working with institutions, unions and student representatives — at various issues surrounding the return of students to their studies, accommodation and campuses next term, and as to whether any further changes are required to the planned staggered return.

“However, we have no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation, whether that is managed by universities, colleges or private sector organisations. These are judgments that universities, colleges and providers have got to make in contact and consultation with their student community, and it’s right and appropriate that that is undertaken.

“We encourage accommodation providers to come to an appropriate resolution of issues around tenancy agreements and rent payments. Any students facing additional hardship as a result of Covid-19 should apply for financial support from the FE/HE Discretionary Funds.”