A university has confirmed it will refund rent to students who are unable to stay in their university-owned accommodation during the lockdown.

Canterbury Christ Church has made the decision as lockdown rules have seen the majority of students asked to stay at home and forced to learn remotely until at least mid-February.

Many students have vacated their university accommodation and are now living at their family homes, having returned there before Christmas.

A CCCU spokesman said: "We will provide a rebate to those students who should be staying in university-owned accommodation but are unable to due to the current lockdown. We will communicate details to our students soon."

The university is not able to at this stage confirm how many students will receive rebates, or what the total cost of the refunds will be.

The University of Kent, which has a campus based across Canterbury and Medway, says it is "looking into the implications" for students who are renting university-owned property.

But it was unable to confirm if it too plans to refund those who are not using their accommodation.

A spokesman said: "Students have been advised not to come onto campus until they hear from the university that it is possible to do so.

"For those already living on campus, the Government has recommended that they stay in their accommodation and has stressed that university campuses are regarded as Covid-safe. We will continue to provide essential services to these students.

"We are currently looking into the implications of students having university accommodation which they are not able to access due to these latest government restrictions and will update them over the next few weeks."

Data provided by course-finding website Studee shows students in the south east pay amongst the highest rent in the country - with accommodation costing on average £672 a month, or £8,062 for a full year.

In the wake of the third lockdown, thousands of students across Kent have signed a petition calling on the Government to help universities provide discounted fees, as many students are working from home and are unable to access a full range of services.

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