You can cancel your booking up to 14 days after you accept your offer or pay your deposit (the Initial Cancellation Period), which reduces to 7 days from 1st August ahead of the academic year being booked, providing you have not already moved in to the property and we will refund your security deposit in full. Deposits will normally be refunded within 28 working days of cancellation, however our legal obligation as a landlord is to secure all deposits with a third party protection scheme. In the event that your deposit has already been sent to the protection scheme by the time you cancel your booking, your refund could take up to 60 days to be refunded due to the protection scheme’s processing period and your deposit refund will come directly from them – you will need your repayment ID which will be sent to you directly by the protection scheme. If the deposit has already been sent to the deposit protection scheme, unfortunately, we are unable to influence their processing time.

If you cancel your booking after the 14 day Initial Cancellation Period (7 days after 1st August), you will remain liable for the weekly rent (for each and every week or part week) until we are able to re-let the room. If we are able to re-let the room we will release you from the agreement upon payment of a £250 release fee which we will recover by retaining your deposit (which will not, therefore, be returned). If you have paid a lower deposit amount, that’s the amount that will be retained.

COVID-19

TENANCY AGREEMENT

The tenancy agreement is a legal contract between the tenant and Homes for Students. The tenancy agreement is for a fixed term and the student (and guarantor) are liable for the full term of that agreement unless and until express written release is granted.

The usual Termination of Student Tenancy Policy applies for all cancellation requests that are not EXPLICITLY related to the COVID-19 (Corona virus) outbreak.

INITIAL CANCELLATION PERIOD

A student can cancel a tenancy agreement for up to 14 days after the date the booking is confirmed (the Initial Cancellation Period). For bookings made from 1st August to 30th September ahead of the academic year the booking is for, the Initial Cancellation Period reduces to 7 days. We will refund the full security deposit. £20 will be deducted from the refunded amount to cover any international bank charges for deposit refunds made to non-UK banks.

OUTSIDE THE INITIAL CANCELLATION PERIOD

If a student wishes to cancel outside of the Initial Cancellation Period, and the cancellation reason is explicitly related to COVID-19, then the following applies: COVID-19 Special Cancellation Policy (2020-21 Academic Year)

OUTSIDE INITIAL CANCELLATION PERIOD

You may cancel outside of the Initial Cancellation Period in the following circumstances:

• 20-21 Course which is reliant on IELTS/Pre-sessional course
  If the student is a prospective first year Undergraduate or Postgraduate student and the offer of a place at the University or Higher Education Institute in the UK is subject to completing and passing an IELTS (or equivalent) in the UK or in the student’s country of origin, and this is unable to be completed because the IELTS (or equivalent) is withdrawn entirely, the student may be eligible to be released from the 20-21 tenancy agreement.
  
  The student must provide written evidence that the course is no longer taking place at all within 3 days of being notified by the education institute and we will release the student from the 20-21 contract without penalty and refund the deposit paid.
• Travel Ban
  If the student is unable to travel to, or enter, the UK due to a restriction on leaving their country of origin, or a restriction on entering the UK which means they cannot arrive in time to start their course, the student may be eligible to be released from this agreement subject to evidence being provided of a formal travel ban being in force.
  
  There must be a specific government ban in place at the start date of the student’s course that prevents the student coming to the UK, or entering the UK in time to start their course, and there must be no realistic prospect of a delayed course start date.
• 20-21 Flexible Start
  *SOME PROPERTIES ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE 2020-21 FLEXIBLE START POLICY, THIS IS ONLY APPLICABLE AT PROPERTIES AS DISPLAYED
  
  If the course start date in the UK is formally delayed by the University or Higher Education Institute, the student may be eligible for a reduction in the 20-21 tenancy length, and start the tenancy later.
• The student must provide written evidence that the course start date has been delayed within 3 days of being notified by the education institute, or this must be publicly available and formally announced by the University, the contract may be adjusted accordingly.
• If a tenancy agreement is adjusted, the reduction in tenancy length will be by a maximum of the length of the formal delay to teaching unless specifically stated otherwise. Some properties may have a maximum length of delay.

TERMINATION BY CHOICE

A tenancy cannot be terminated outside of the Initial Cancellation Period by a student who is already in the UK, or by a student who does not want to attend the university, or who does not want to come to the UK of their own choice. The student remains liable for the entire rent until a suitable replacement tenant is found and all clauses within the tenancy agreement remain applicable. If the room is re-let we will refund the deposit, less any appropriate charges and a deduction of £50 for the administration of the variation of the tenancy agreement.