Lockdown Rents for Students
The three lockdowns that the UK has faced have arguably had one of the more long-term impacts on today's youth. Many of them are going to not only be the ones who are facing challenges now but based on the average research timeline following a significant national challenge like the Financial crisis or the present Covid crisis. We will not likely see the real impact for approximately five to ten years.
While my previous articles have focused on farmers' mental health this week, I intend to look at how to support learners. Now yesterday, I was listening to a podcast, MoneyBox looking at significantly how students have been affected by lockdown rents. The investigation found that students are still largely paying excessive rent charges as they cannot live in their rental properties due to government guidance, which aims to reduce the spread of Covid. However, the government advises restricting none essential travel, particularly where individuals can still access their educational material from home. Whilst many argue closing universities was the correct course of action, it should not be at the learner's expense. Now universities and landlords have costs that need covering, and aspects of the maintenance grant would traditionally cover these costs. However, taking particular universities such as those in Cambridgeshire and London, the maintenance loan will not cover the accommodation expense without the injection of funds from part-time work. Now part-time jobs are few and far between due to a decrease in traditional work being available for students and young people. This impasse between the universities costs and the students being unable to use the service leads to increased stress. However, this should not be solely the burden of our youth. Yes, the cost needs to be covered, which is what business relief and support have been designed specifically for. Many initially display a lack of sympathy for students as the maintenance loan is generally seen as being for their accommodation, so some would argue why their accommodation providers should be subsided when that is what the loan is for? My view of this is that as with the MoneyBox guests who suggested using a common form of contract law to frustrate the contract, this is not possible in this case. The reason is although the government have strongly advised against travel to educational sites, they have not outright made it unlawful for students to use their accommodation. This makes the frustration of a contract challenging to argue. However, it still leaves the student paying the bill. Although the present student loan system is not a debt in the traditional sense, additional costs for the accommodation may come from the learner, which must not happen.
A possible solution would be to refund the student the cost of their accommodation which could either be designed to be returned to the student loan company or the student directly. Although some learners will still need support with their education, this solution may not be financially viable from a government perspective. If the money is refunded to the students, they would not be baring the accommodation cost they cannot reasonably use. One area that certainly can be followed is shoring up universities, and landlords should follow the same framework a particular discount plan or refund supported by the Office for Students in a way that covers essential costs for the university and reimburses the students. This week I will be looking at further impacts on learners during the lockdown and, like with this article focusing on particular points, which I will summarise in a Vlog on Thursday.
