by House4Students 
It seems quite a lot students have elected to stay at home until the end of the ‘lockdown’. What with classes online and little happening it makes sense, but it does mean they are thousands paying for something they are not using – this is not a good situation for anyone and should worry students and landlords alike.
Some commercially and university owned halls of residence have offered rebates and to end contracts early while in the private sector there is no requirement to do and so it may happen on a case-by-case basis. For landlords they still have a property that is tied up and can’t be let to someone else if the student is coming back but for the student, they are paying for nothing – what is the fair and reasonable response in such cases?
The other point is that students are not about to find accommodation for next year as a result – many will leave it now until the summer term when hopefully some normality will resume but even then, students will probably be keen to find out as much as possible online first of all and sort it out quickly. This is why having detailed profiles with good pictures, videos and even better, virtual tours will help. If students can see round the houses virtually, perhaps they can even agree lets remotely now.
