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From The Socialist newspaper, 15 April 2020
Plymouth students discuss rent strike
The Old Dairy student accomodation Plymouth (Click to enlarge)
Sami Vickery, Plymouth College of Art student and Old Dairy tenant
The Old Dairy is private rented accommodation provided by Host to students in the University of Plymouth and Plymouth College of Art.
It is one of the few Plymouth student-let buildings that has yet to put into place measures to assist students during these special circumstances, such as rent discounts or early cancellation of our tenancy agreements.
Rather than staying in large blocks of shared flats, a lot of students have opted to return to our families, to ensure we're adhering to social-distancing recommendations. We are unhappy that we are still required to pay in full for accommodation when our college has shut.
We're even expected to pay utilities as part of our rent, utilities that simply aren't being used since many of us are not present in our flats. Host has told us that no action will be taken and no changes will be made to tenant contracts.
Students have collected over 400 signatories in less than a week, to allow students to exit their contracts early. Host has repeatedly rejected any requests for early terminations.
It will only do so if you receive a letter from your GP to exempt you from the tenancy agreement. This further highlights how poorly this is being handled.
Host opts to take away precious time from doctors, to settle petty disputes. This proves it has chosen money over morals.
Old Dairy students are discussing the possibility of a rent strike.
Colleges and universities have shut. Does the government seriously expect students to pay for our rent in full, when many of us have lost jobs or are on reduced pay?
Surely it's reasonable to not pay for accommodation we're not using?
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In The Socialist 15 April 2020:
Coronavirus news
MPs get £10k each for lockdown expenses - where's ours?
Dispatches from the front: NHS staff say give us PPE, not medals!
Johnson's hospitalisation: a tale of two treatments
Big pharma's profiteering holds back drug supply
Lockdown increases domestic violence calls - Tory money a drop in the ocean
NHS nurse: we're not wasting PPE - the Tories don't value us
Rapacious capitalism and the spread of coronavirus
What we think
Exit strategy? PPE and mass testing and workers' control of workplace safety
Fight back against the corona propaganda war
Transport
London Transport workers fighting private companies and TfL to secure health and safety
Workplace news
Unite opposes all cuts to domestic violence services
Passport workers forced back to offices as Home Office shirks its duty of care
Collectively demanding safe warehouse working conditions
Usdaw shop workers' union activists meet via Zoom
Coronavirus workplace news in brief
Labour
Sabotage - the inner workings of Labour's political machine exposed
Campaigns
Plymouth students discuss rent strike
Final push for May Day greetings
Socialist Party coronavirus crisis finance appeal
Join an online Socialist Party meeting during lockdown
The Socialist Party and socialist ideas are growing
Lessons from history
How the catastrophe of WW1 sparked revolution
Readers' opinion
Going viral: Socialist comments on the corona crisis
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