Students renting a student room from the VUB university will not have to pay rent for a month, as the university told all students staying in a university room to go home in March because of the new coronavirus (Covid-19).
The exemption covers the period from 18 March, when students staying in a VUB room were sent home, until 19 April, when the federal government’s measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus are set to expire.
The VUB wants to compensate for the fact that students are no longer able to access their rooms. “After that, we will reassess the situation,” said vice-Rector Jan Danckaert, not ruling out a further exemption, to Bruzz.
In practice, this means that students do not have to pay their next rent. “Even those who have decided to stay in their room are entitled to the exemption,” said Danckaert. Foreign students, students doing internships in health care or students who were not able to go home were allowed to stay in their room. “But that’s a minority. I estimate 10% or 20% at most,” he added.
The exemption only applies to students who rent a VUB room, not to those renting from private or other landlords.
On Monday, KU Leuven also announced that it would reduce the rent for student rooms in residences managed by the university by 50% for the month of April.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
