Covid-19: Students plea to end 'unfair' rental contracts By Emily McGarvey image copyrightGetty Images Students in Northern Ireland are calling to be released from rent contracts early after their courses switched to online teaching. Some students in private accommodation are being charged for rooms they cannot live in due to the lockdown. The National Union of Students in NI said "students should not have to pay for accommodation that they are unable to access". Students claim they are being treated "unfairly" by private landlords. The NI Executive has advised students who returned home over the winter break not to return to their term-time accommodation until on-campus teaching is scheduled to resume.