Private renting advice and support
If you're private renting, then your bills are likely to be one of your highest outgoings each month. So here is some advice and support to help you during this time.
1yr ago
As part of our commitment to supporting you during the cost of living crisis, the Library and Learning Resources Team have worked in collaboration with The University of Kent and The University of Greenwich to introduce the policy to no longer charge fines on overdue items, as we believe there should be no financial barriers for students accessing our collections. This means the change will be in place for all our students, including those using the Drill Hall Library at Medway and our KMMS students.
Update for August 2023
Following on from the success of saying goodbye to library fines, we have been looking at further ways we can reduce potential library costs for students.
We appreciate losing or accidentally damaging a library book can be stressful, especially as it results in the receipt of an unexpected bill. To help make this unfortunate event a little easier we are removing all administration fees from our replacement costs. This usually totals £5.00 of the replacement cost per item which we will now absorb, so it doesn’t get passed on to you.
It’s not a situation you’re likely to find yourself in, but we hope it’s reassuring that we’re taking steps to make any replacement costs you may have to pay as low as possible.
This change will take place on all invoices sent out from 1 August and if you have received a bill in July, you’ll either have already received this saving or we’ll waive the £5.00 charge from your account when you come to pay. Unfortunately, we will not be able to reissue new invoices for library charges that have already been passed to Finance. Our procedure for processing lost or damaged books is available on the library webpages.
What does this mean for me?
On the 3 February 2023 the circulation rules will be updated on the library system and a full fine amnesty will take place with all outstanding fines removed. From then on items that are overdue will no longer incur a library fine. The only exception is for items borrowed from another University library through document delivery.
What will happen if my item is overdue?
As we will no longer issue library fines, if you have an overdue item, your account will be suspended. This means you won’t be able to take out any other items until the overdue item is returned. Please don’t worry! This suspension will not affect your access to online resources and is just a reminder for you to return the overdue items on your account.
Automatic renewals remain in place, so unless your loan has been requested by another user, all your 4-week and 7-day loans will automatically renew. You can only be late returning an item if:
- you keep an item beyond the due date and it’s been reserved by somebody else
- you keep a non-renewable item past its due date such as a 24-hour loan
- you keep an item after your course has finished
If an item is still overdue after 14 days, we assume it is lost. Our procedure for processing lost or damaged books remains unchanged. You’ll find the process on the library webpages.
If I have a book that’s been overdue for a long time, can I return it now and not pay a fine?
Yes, you can! We won’t charge you a penny, so this is a great time to return that long overdue book without any worries
Why will document delivery items still incur a fine?
Document delivery items are loaned to us from a non CCCU library so will still be subject to fines for a late return. Document delivery loans incur a £1.00 fine each day the item is overdue, up to a maximum fine of £14.00 per item. See our document delivery page for more details.
Supporting you with the cost of living
As well as introducing the end of library fines, we are continuing to work in partnership with the Students' Union to support each other during this time. This includes financial advice from the Student Wellbeing Services and external providers, ways to come together as a community over a free hot drink and conversation, and opportunities to earn while you learn and save money. Make sure you explore the Cost of Living Hub to find out more.