University halls of residence

[windsor_hills]

DD is still new to university accommodation, but I’m actually quite irritated by the way it seems acceptable to provide the bare minimum and yet charge a kings ransom for official university accommodation.

I don’t know how it is allowed to happen. It just feels wrong. I know in the big scheme of things it’s nothing, it just feels like students are seen as cash cows and are being exploited and it’s making me quite annoyed. (Yes I need to get out more).

Biggest annoyance so far is the cost (and availability) of laundry facilities.

What is the best and worst things you have discovered so far with yours/your child’s uni accommodation?

[BevS97]

What do you feel is missing? My daughter spent two years in halls abs one year in a privately rented house .

Compared to the house the halls were like a palace.

She had a safe private room in a secure building. Decent kitchen. Living area. En-suite bathroom. Heating.

The house ought to have been condemned. It was damp and cold and the other housemates were worried about utility bills so they kept the heating off most of the year. It was also filthy and only as secure as the last drunk person to come home remembering to lock the door.

I was much much happier when she was back in halls for her third year.

[CRUELLA]

I could write a list from both ds1 and ds2 s! The difference between the “show” room and kitchen astounding! Missing cupboard handles ,fridge shelves broken and missing.nothing like enough cupboard space for each student.my son can only store his pans crockery and cutlery .there isn’t enough room for food .that is all stored in his room .the general wear and tear is so much more than what was “sold” .where and who else would they get away with this🙄
I reported the fridge while I was there .I doubt very much that will get sorted .
I’m pushing my son to report via the app the small but annoying issues with his room like missing sink plug ,one of the electric sockets doesn’t work .
My ds1 s room was filthy! In any other circumstances I would have complained .but he’s very fussy with cleanliness and was nervous about moving in .so I kept my cool and just got stuck in cleaning it properly I didn’t want to unsettle him .he left that room a whole lot nicer than we found it!
I feel like because their tenants are young and mostly somewhat naive they get away with a lot ! But where is the duty of care/responsibility to our young people!
I could go on all day… I worry about safety procedures,fire hazards that kind of thing also .

Everything in ds 1 s shared house looks dodgy the electrics ,it’s slightly damp too.I’ve just put him some new lino down in his bathroom because the old stuff was curled up at the edges with dust building up in the gaps 🙈 I’ll bow out now coz I’m starting to rant 😂

[BevS97]

Yikes that doesn’t sound nice. I think we must have been lucky with the halls.
Katie’s shared house was appalling but both the uni halls and the private halls were pretty nice.

[CRUELLA]

Originally Posted by BevS97

Yikes that doesn’t sound nice. I think we must have been lucky with the halls.
Katie’s shared house was appalling but both the uni halls and the private halls were pretty nice.

See more...

In fairness ds 2 s room was clean apart from cobwebs in two corners (I still gave it the once over though) x

[duchy]

I think the same could said (and a lot more) about rental properties especially multiple occupancy ones in general.

[Edie ray]

I would describe halls as a palace compared to the house my son has just moved into (he’s a 3rd year]

So far in the rental there has been broken wardrobe, broken bed, electrics out, heating not working, washing machine moulding and not working properly

Ongoing saga with his actual room that he still can’t move into as it had a flood in the roof which has now been fixed but the inside of the room is wet and damp and mouldy and waiting to be repaired

His other room mates moved in a month ago but as he was waiting for his room to be fixed he has moved in today but into the tiny spare room as he can’t wait any longer, well that room has a broken desk, broken drawers and the back of the wardrobe fell off 😂

Anyway he’s there and his friends have made a welcome back dinner so he is happy enough haha x

[Sandra & co]

My sons house at uni was awful, mushrooms growing and cold and damp in the bathroom, my daughters halls were pokey and very dated. The kitchen was filthy because if the other residents, her house innSouthampton looked ok on the surface but had blocked drains. She’d been there less than two weeks and complained about toilets not flushing and the landloard was rude and said they’d blocked the toilets. It must of been the tenants before but they got the blame and then the landlord trod human poop in the house which she had to clean. I think students get a bad deal and are treated appallingly, she was told the house was deep cleaned before but it was dusty and filthy. I wanted to complain but she wouldn’t let me, they said they are not staying there next year!

[windsor_hills]

The halls she is staying in are modern and secure, so not complaining about that aspect at all.

Fittings and equipment are beyond basic and not the best quality (to the point some items are not fit for their intended purpose), but again not the end of the world.

I’m also well aware of some the horror stories and lack of standards in private rented sector.

It’s just little things like repairs reported and not completed in a timely manner and lack of sufficient, basic working facilities. Things like 1 tiny drawer for 6 people, not enough cupboards for basic items, 4 washing machines for 400 students and then cost per wash, when students are already paying just short of £7k each. So nothing major at all and I appreciate I probably sound entitled and ungrateful. It just all feels a bit like students are being taken advantage of in every which way possible and it just doesn’t sit or feel right with me.

I perhaps should say, I have had housing experience and have seen the worst possible housing….but also excellent housing, albeit not student accommodation. So maybe my views are tainted by what I’ve experienced previously.

[Looby123]

Wait until she moves into private rented. I thought last years was bad enough but the one my daughter has moved into this year is even worse. It's filthy, there are slugs in the kitchen, she moved in to a burst pipe in the kitchen which didn't seem a priority to the rental company to fix then none of the upstairs taps worked and then there was no hot water. The toilet seat is ingrained with filth, the wash basin is cracked. I could go on and on. They seem quick enough to take the £100 a week rent off each of them (7) I really think students are exploited and seen as an easy way of making money .