can we drive to pick up DD university belongings? how do I find out?

[EricaNernie]

i have said after the 3 weeks are up but she is fussing.

No, you can't. What do you not understand about the word 'essential'? For goodness sake

Skeeter. If the uni has agreed to terminate accommodation and thus fees from a forward date - say, 20 April, plucking out of the air - then belongings need to be brought back or put into secure storage. They can't stay where they are - what if the Uni proposes to repurpose the rooms for NHS staff for example?

Erica is there any guidance on the uni website, on the accom. pages, SU?

Will anybody else be there if you went?

they are talking about 20th april being the date she should move out by to not pay more fees but there is gossip about covid 19 causing the uni to utilise the hall, i think it is surely gossip
i will check on website
the gov.uk talks about moving house but that isnt entirely the same, and that is allowed if it cannot be avoided

@fibbertygiblets if that was the case the university would have very stringent measures in place to manage the process. It wouldn't just be a case of the OP going because her daughter is 'fussing'!!

I would just go and get the belongings especially if you would have no contact with anyone else while you're there

Your home is there home which means technically you can get her however your university needs to terminate the accommodation first

My daughter is waiting it out too if the uni closes she can come home they have however switched entirely to online classes so she is sitting tight

she came home but left her stuff, it is her stuff and the fees that is the issue.

If your DD is moving out of the accommodation, the goods have to be removed- they can't just stay there indefinitely.

This would certainly be essential travel. People cannot be expected to pay to extend leases to avoid having to move out. It's as simple as that IMO.

Some unis are putting stuff into storage for people, is this an option? Some of DS's friends are collecting their stuff this week. I'm so glad I insisted on him bringing everything 2 weeks ago. We don't have to pay for the summer term.

I entirely agree with @StormyClouds. The legislation says not to leave home without reasonable excuse. One of the examples of a reasonable excuse is moving house where reasonably necessary. Clearly moving house sensibly involves moving your stuff. It can't just be chucked out, nor is it reasonable to expect you to incur large fees unnecessarily to keep the stuff there. If there is no one closer who can collect and store her stuff I would say this easily falls within the scope of the legislation. Just be very careful, exercise all caution re hand washing and social distancing etc

Yes you can. Ignore the catsbum mouthers on here; they're becoming increasingly ridiculous.

Essential travel includes moving house, and fulfilling a legal obligation, both of which include moving students out of student accommodation.

Before you head out please contact the university as most universities are advising against traveling to collect your stuff.
So that you are not liable for fee most universities are asking you to fill an online form in which you state that you are not living in your university accomodation , nor are you planning to return back in summer. Once you fill your form the obligation to pay the rent for the last term ends.
As for belongings - you have various options depending on university , some are asking to leave the stuff until government travel restrictions are lifted, some are asking for a small storage fee and some have option of disposing stuff but only if stuff is not required.
Please contact the university as most universities have a plan and as long as your daughter is in university provided accomodation and not private then most likely she can leave her belongings and still not pay the fee.

Where is uni?
My DD has similar email on the Friday before the Monday lockdown and went to London in the Saturday to clear the room as I wanted her to do it asap before London got worse. Her deadline was 31 April
Personally I'd do anything to avoid London atm but other big cities only going to worsen so just do it's soon as you can. Preferably send her in alone with big cases. Dump stuff she doesn't need if poss. I quarantined both DC belonging before they unpacked a few days later.

@ahran2k

That's not necessarily the case- my DD has been told we won't have to pay for next term's accommodation. But only if all of his goods are removed by this Friday, as they are looking to close the site until at least September and move the remaining students to one building.

@StormyClouds
That is too bad on the University' part but we got a similar email from University of Nottingham last Friday asking us to remove belongings by April 12. They soon changed their position by Monday and have now asked not to travel. So may be they will change the guidelines too in your case.

thanks all, perhaps i will contact them myself.

i can't believe the university would advocate breaking the lockdown this way.

Very little university accommodation these days isn't private halls of privately rented houses & flats.

Universities are businesses with a collective £7 billion financial black hole and they're playing a game with students' loan monies, and the vice-chancellors' emails are an exercise in cynical institutional self-protection.

Students and their families need to do what's legal and smart. Essential travel includes moving house, and fulfilling a legal obligation, both of which include moving students out of student accommodation.

@StormyClouds ds is at Oxford Brookes and was given the same date by his uni. We don't know what to do. It's a sad way to end his first year.

DD is at York and they've specifically said don't return-to collect stuff from campus.

DD came home for the end of term and we didn't know at that point she wouldn't be going back

York have offered the option to cancel accommodation contacts. DD has cancelled hers but they don't need to pick up their stuff.