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Covid-19
Durham University remains open and we are responding to and planning for the Covid-19 pandemic and the months ahead with the health and wellbeing of our colleagues, students and local community as our priority.
We hope to welcome students back to Durham in September and we are planning for this. We are also working hard to ensure that we have high-quality online education offers ready for some or all of the 2020-21 academic year, should further or continued government restrictions necessitate this.
We have faced lots of new challenges in recent weeks, and there will be more to come, but colleagues across the University continue to work tremendously hard to support ongoing University operations and also the local, national and international response to Covid-19.
The impacts of Covid-19 are far-reaching and varied but we are confident we can remain strong as a University if we face them together as a community.
For more information, please read our Frequently Asked Questions.
New / updated FAQs
We are regularly updating our FAQs with the latest information. Highlighted below are FAQs that were added / updated the week commencing Tuesday 26 May 2020.
- A lot of college facilities have not been available to me during the lockdown period (college bar, social events, sports facilities etc.). Does this mean I will receive a discount on my residence charge?
- As the University has stopped cleaning my bedroom, will I get a partial refund on my residence charge?
- Can I bring family members or significant others with me to help retrieve my belongings?
- Can I terminate my lease/tenancy because of Covid-19
- Can new members of staff from outside the UK still come to the UK?
- How long do I have to retrieve my belongings?
- How will you ensure the safety of those arriving to retrieve belongings from the accommodation?
- I am currently overseas and unable to travel back to the University to retrieve my belongings. What can I do?
- I am not resident in Durham but I have been sent an invoice and demand for payment. What do I do?
- I can’t get back to the property I have rented; what will happen to my belongings at the end of the lease if I am not allowed to travel back to Durham?
- I cannot afford my rent due to coronavirus, will I be evicted?
- I have been in residence for part of the Easter Term but have now left Durham. What will I be charged?
- I share a house; our lease/tenancy has not ended but we do not intend to return to the property will I be liable?
- I share house and I want to leave but my housemates are staying in the property do I still have to pay rent?
- I think the University has packed up my belongings and moved them to storage. What do I do?
- I was resident in a catered college before the lockdown and now there is no catering. Do I get a partial refund?
- I’ve already handed in my keys. Can I still access accommodation to retrieve my belongings?
- My landlord says they need to carry out a gas safety check. Do I have to let them in?
- My landlord wants to bring people to the house for viewings. Can I prevent this on the grounds of preventing the spread of infection?
- My live-in landlord has asked me to leave so they can self-isolate. What rights to do I have?
- My visa is due to expire. What do I do?
- Retrieval of belongings from private accommodation in Durham
- Students of John Snow College who were resident at Rushford Court
- What happens if I move out before the end of my lease/tenancy and I stop paying rent?
- What if I can’t retrieve my belongings? What will happen to my items?
- When is the deadline for retrieving my belongings?
- When will I be able to retrieve my belongings from University-managed accommodation?
- Why has the University stopped cleaning my bedroom?
Communications
We are communicating regularly with staff and students via email. To read previous communications, please click on the links below.
Covid-19 Incident Control Centre
The Covid-19 Incident Control Centre is operating Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and can be contacted in the event of an incident by emailing information.centre@durham.ac.uk or on 0191 334 0000. Outside of these hours, the telephone will be answered by Security.
A message from our Vice-Chancellor - Thursday 23 April 2020
Professor Stuart Corbridge thanks staff, students, alumni partners and public service workers for how they have responded to COVID-19 and looks ahead to Easter Term and beyond to the 2020/21 academic year.