STUDENTS at the University of Glasgow have called for clarity over rent rebates for those in halls of residence not able to return due to coronavirus restrictions.

Students living in halls of residence received an email on Thursday which stated those who have been told to go back to university for courses that cannot be taught online would receive a rebate if they returned on or after February 15. However, the date for all others to return to campus is still to be confirmed and teaching continues to take place online. These students claim it is now unclear whether or not they will receive a rebate as they are still paying rent.

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Before Christmas, the Scottish Government gave the go ahead to students to return home for the festive period. As part of the new lockdown arrangements affecting Scotland, students who had returned home for Christmas were asked to remain with families and not to return to campus with universities delivering most teaching online with the exception of practical courses.

The Glasgow Times understands that students had previously been told they would all be entitled to a rent rebate, calculated from January 4, 2021 and this would be refunded to accommodation accounts upon return to halls of residence.

A spokesman for the Glasgow University Student Tenant’s Union said: “The halls rent policy that was laid out by the University of Glasgow was quite amazing, I think it was the only university in the country that was saying from the start of January until the point you return, you wouldn’t need to pay any rent.

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“Today, it’s not entirely clear what’s been said, but they have set an arbitrary return date and any student who returns prior to that date is getting no rent rebate.

“There seems to be a myriad of different scenarios which might land students in different situations. There is no clarity and it appears to have been rushed out when there was already a perfectly clear policy set out.”

 

A spokesman for the University of Glasgow confirmed that rent rebates would be paid to students after they had returned to residences. He said: “As announced in December 2020, we are committed to providing rent rebates to any students who had to delay their return to University residences in line with Scottish Government Covid guidance.

“We informed students that rent rebates would be paid after they were back in their residences. However, we are aware that some students are struggling financially, chiefly because of the very challenging jobs market. Consequently, we are actively looking at ways of making interim payments to students who need them before their return to Glasgow.

“We will continue to communicate with students as our plans develop.”