STUDENT tenants in Scotland say they are in crisis after research from their union found two-thirds of them were worried about being able to pay their rent.

The NUS Scotland also found that a quarter of students had recently been unable to pay their rent in full – a situation that has worsened since November, with lockdown restrictions shutting down the hospitality sector, where many work to supplement their student income.

Now the Union of Scottish Student Tenant Unions (USSTU) has launched a new campaign, “Listen to Students: Cancel Rent!”, calling on universities, landlords and the Scottish Government to stop trying to shirk responsibility.

The USSTU said: “They all need to step up, take responsibility and action to ensure that vulnerable student tenants aren’t left behind.”

READ MORE: Students at Scottish university to withhold rent amid Covid study disruption

Their campaign, launched on social media yesterday, has issued a series of demands, principally that Scottish universities must commit to ensuring that students’ rent is cancelled for those in university halls or other accommodation until they return to campus for face-to-face teaching, which should include materials on which they will be examined.

They said the Scottish Government had to make a series of commitments, including a pledge to putting in place a “rent relief model where the financial burden is placed not on vulnerable student tenants but on landlords, who’ll be able to apply for rent relief loans”.

Students want universities to commit to opening up books for hardship funds and ring-fencing a proportion of them to help support those in further education who have housing issues. The union added: “Universities must protect international students by providing them the necessary guarantees to avoid having to pay rent up front.”

Universities Scotland has been approached for comment.