Universities in Sheffield and Manchester have become the first to scrap student accommodation fees during lockdown - after furious undergraduates threatened 'rent strikes' across the UK. The National Union of Students (NUS) has insisted it is 'unacceptable' that little support has been made available for those who travelled home for the holidays and have since been told not to return to campus. Thousands living in university accommodation have since pledged to withhold rent on rooms they cannot use during the latest Covid-19 lockdown in England, with organisers estimating 15,000 are involved. They are calling for a rebate on rent, despite universities pointing out they only provide around 20 per cent of student housing, the BBC reported.