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To: The UK Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

Cancel University rents during the COVID-19 pandemic

Outlaw University on-campus accommodation rents until the crisis ends.

Why is this important?

The effects of the new economic breakdown are already being felt throughout the country, and students are not exempt from it. As businesses and workplaces are getting shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, several students will no longer be able to pay the rents for their stay at the University. Likewise, on behalf of several of my University colleagues, I am asking you to pass a law for Universities to stop charging students living on their campuses for rent until the pandemic crisis ends.

There is another petition that demands landlords off campus to stop charging for rent, so this petition is directed at Universities' on-campus accommodation policies. I firmly believe that all categories of society members need help in these difficult times, and that the United Kingdom should follow the example of other countries; particularly the one of France, where all accommodation rents are to be suspended during the crisis.

As a Biomedical Science student in his final undergraduate year, I am significantly concerned about the future number of cases throughout the country, and several people will very likely require not just treatment, but also a great amount of psychological and emotional support, as people of all ages have already been exposed to the pathogen. Hence, I kindly ask you for the appropriate support so that students will not be exposed to financial hardships and suffer even more, besides their profound anxiety and uncertainty, not just about the lives of their loved ones, but about their lives as well.

Moreover, I'm asking you to pressurize all UK Universities with accommodation campuses to permit students with existing health conditions to break their contracts, as there are many of them who are currently sharing flats with as many as 15 other colleagues. They need to be isolated during the crisis, so that their lives will not be put at risk.

United Kingdom

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Updates

2020-03-22 15:40:05 +0000

20,000 signatures reached

2020-03-21 22:32:07 +0000

10,000 signatures reached

2020-03-21 19:11:02 +0000

5,000 signatures reached

2020-03-21 08:35:24 +0000

1,000 signatures reached

2020-03-20 20:45:21 +0000

500 signatures reached

2020-03-20 13:08:36 +0000

100 signatures reached

2020-03-20 11:55:17 +0000

50 signatures reached

2020-03-20 11:15:31 +0000

25 signatures reached

2020-03-20 10:44:07 +0000

10 signatures reached