COVID-19 commitment 2021/22

This commitment is applicable to students booking and renting on-campus accommodation where their licence agreement is with the University of Hertfordshire and not to those students who book with and whose licence agreements are with Uliving@Hertfordshire PLC. It is intended to assist you in the event of any further full lockdown which affects you during the period of your accommodation contract.

By “full lockdown”, we mean:

an England-wide Government-imposed restriction on travel (that would prevent you from returning to campus);
as part of emergency measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19; and
which requires you not to attend face to face classes or be in your accommodation on campus for a prolonged period of time, or which presents you with a choice as to where you live, during the lockdown.

For the avoidance of doubt, if the Government-imposed conditions allow you to attend campus and/or occupy your accommodation, you will not be considered to be subject to the lockdown and will not be eligible for any of the discounts set out below. Further exemptions are also set out below.

Should the Government implement one or more full lockdowns England-wide, the University will offer you the following two options:

1. Stay on Campus
If you remain in your University accommodation, full charges for the full contract term will continue to apply. The University will continue to provide support services in line with government guidance.
2. Stay off Campus with a 50% reduction
If, for the duration of the lockdown, you prefer to stay at home, or elsewhere, but leave your belongings in your University room, you can apply to receive a 50% reduction of your accommodation fees. The length of time of the lockdown will be defined by the University, by reference to the full lockdown period imposed by the Government. Any reduction will be limited to a maximum of 6 weeks in total during the 21/22 academic year. This will be applicable to lockdown periods only and not time leading up to or following that period. The University shall retain full discretion with regard to individual cases and may reserve the right to withhold the reduction if a student is in arrears.
The options will also be applicable to students who have left their room early, returned their key, and are still within their accommodation contract period.

In the following circumstances, this commitment will be considered not to apply to students:

Where universities are partly or entirely exempt from the provisions of the lockdown; or
Where in-person teaching to students on a particular programme is permitted to continue and those students are therefore permitted to attend and live on campus; or
Where a student continues to use and visit their room on campus during the lockdown; or
Where a lockdown is in place, but it is considered safe for students to be on campus in any event all or part of the time (in light of vaccinations or the latest COVID-19 research);
Where students choose not to occupy accommodation during a lockdown for reasons unrelated to the COVID-19 emergency situation; or
Where a student is in arrears.

Student accommodation Apply for accommodation