In December the University announced that they would be offering a rebate on term-time accommodation fees for those students who would be away from Halls for an extended period during December and/or January.
Following this, the latest national restrictions announced by the UK Government on 4 January 2021 mean that in-person teaching will only continue where required for clinical courses and other programmes where it is necessary as part of meeting requirements of particular professional bodies. Students on all other programmes will continue to be taught remotely until at least mid-February.
Travel restrictions are currently in place and only those who are receiving in-person teaching, or those who require access to appropriate study spaces and facilities, should currently return to Halls at this time. If you are studying remotely during this period and you are not currently on campus, this means you will not need to return until mid-February at the earliest.
In line with this latest guidance, we are extending our accommodation fee rebate to 14 February 2021. The extended rebate is available on the following basis:
- Available for all those who are not currently residing in Halls
- You can claim for a rebate for a single, continuous period of leave from Halls
- The rebate is for term-time accommodation fees only. You will be able to claim for any dates between 3 – 18 December 2020 and 4 January to 14 February 2021 that fall within your single period of leave. You cannot claim for the vacation period between 18 December and 4 January, however if you left Halls before 18 December and returned (or will return) after 4 January, this counts as a single period of leave, and you will be able to receive a rebate for all the term-time dates on which you were away
- Any rebate will be 100% of your accommodation fee for the period claimed
How to request an accommodation fee rebate
The option to submit a request for an accommodation fee rebate is now available via Liverpool Life, under the Accommodation section. To apply click the ‘requests’ tab and you will see a link to ‘notify of your time away from halls’. Here you will be asked for the date that you left Halls, as well as the date you returned.
To complete your application fully, we therefore ask that students wait until after they have returned to Halls to submit a request. This will allow us to calculate your rebate correctly using your confirmed date of return.
The deadline to apply for an accommodation fee rebate is 20 March 2021 and adjustments will be applied to your rent account as part of the April payment cycle.
Please note, if you have given notice to terminate your accommodation contract (see below) you are also entitled to claim for a rent rebate where your notice period crosses over into the accommodation fees rebate period. Similarly, if you choose to request to terminate your contact during the rent rebate period you will be able to claim a rebate for the relevant period.
Further details about applying for an accommodation rent rebate can be found on the accommodation website.
Terminating your contract
We recognise that individual circumstances can change, so we have adapted our Accommodation Terms and Conditions to allow residents to terminate their accommodation contract as a result of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Any student who wishes to permanently leave Halls for this academic year is now able to do so with a 28 day notice period. Further information about how to submit a contract termination request can be found on the accommodation website.
Please note, if you have not returned to Halls but still have belongings in your room, as long as you do not plan to return this academic year, you are still able to request a contract termination. Once we receive your request we will be able to hold your belongings until a later date in the year when travel restrictions are lifted to allow you to collect them. If this applies to you, please let us know you are leaving belongings in your room in the verbatim comment box when you submit your termination request.
If you are currently living in halls, when you submit your request you will need to provide the date you plan to depart in the verbatim comment box. When considering your date of departure, please remember that travel is limited under the current national restrictions, so please ensure you have read the latest Government guidance to understand what travel is permitted. This can be seen here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home.
Please remember that in person teaching arrangements will continue to remain under constant review, and depending on Government guidance we hope to introduce face-to-face teaching for all programmes at the earliest opportunity. We understand however that the latest restrictions present many concerns for our students, and hope the options outlined above go some way to providing reassurance at this difficult time.
If you would like any further information, or have any questions about requesting a rent rebate or contract termination, please contactus at accommodation@liverpool.ac.uk.