Students from the University of Manchester are set to withhold rent in protest at the university’s treatment of those forced to self-isolate in halls
They will join hundreds from Bristol who are also refusing to pay for their accommodation in a bid to improve support for students.
A tweet shared by the @uomrentstrike Instagram account said students in Manchester gave the university a week to reply to their demands: “They did not, therefore, we will be going ahead with the rent strike on October 23rd.”
Students are striking over how they have been treated while in isolation, and at the amount of online teaching taking place.
Bristol student Saranya Thambirajah, 19, said she had heard “countless” stories of self-isolating students being sent unsuitable food boxes, either with not enough food, food that does not match their dietary requirements or female students not being given sanitary products.
Ms Thambirajah, a first-year student who has been involved in organising the rent strike, told the PA news agency: “It’s great that Manchester is joining us in striking because they have not been treated well by their university either after having a ridiculous amount of Covid cases.
“This is probably the best time ever for students to take action and fight to be listened to because we really have been put through a lot this year, with the A-levels and now this.
“With the pandemic, it is common sense that the universities should be going above and beyond to support us and do more than the bare minimum and that is just not the case.”
