BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS
NO PLACE NO PAY
- Prospective first year students who have applied to attend a University or a Higher Education Institution in any of the cities in which Homes for Students operates, and who book a room with Homes for Students, will be allowed to be released from their Tenancy Agreement if, as a result of not achieving the required A-Level, Scottish Higher (or equivalent) results, they do not gain a place at their chosen university and evidence is provided.
- Only new customers who have never lived at a Homes for Students property are eligible.
- If a customer does not gain a place at their chosen University or College and wishes to be released from their Tenancy Agreement, they must provide Homes for Students with evidence of their rejection and evidence of the reason why (proof of results achieved etc) no later than 3 working days after their results day.
- Evidence can be a written rejection letter from the University/College/UCAS, or a screen shot of the customer’s UCAS status along with the results etc. This can be emailed to salesenquiries@wearehomesforstudents.com or posted to Homes for Students, Clock Tower Park, Longmoor Lane, Fazakerley, Liverpool, L10 1LD.
- Customers who do not apply to be released from their Tenancy Agreement within this timescale and provide the correct evidence will be bound by the terms and conditions set out in the Tenancy Agreement.
NO VISA NO PAY
- Prospective international students who have applied to attend a University or a Higher Education Institution in any of the cities in which Homes for Students operates, and who book a room with Homes for Students, will be allowed to be released from their Tenancy Agreement if they do not receive the entry Visa they require for their study in the UK and evidence is provided.
- Only new customers who have never lived at a Homes for Students property are eligible.
- If a customer does not receive the entry Visa they require for their study in the UK and wishes to be released from their Tenancy Agreement, they must provide Homes for Students with evidence of their refusal of entry to the UK to study no later than 7 days after notification of their refusal.
- Evidence can be a copy of the letter from the Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration service or other official Visa issuing body as well as a letter from the university, sponsor or institution where they were supposed to be studying. It must clearly show the student’s full name, address and date of issue. This can be emailed to salesenquiries@wearehomesforstudents.com or posted to Homes for Students, 3 Clock Tower Park, Longmoor Lane, Fazakerley, Liverpool, L10 1LD.
- Customers who do not apply to be released from their Tenancy Agreement within this timescale will be bound by the terms and conditions set out in the Tenancy Agreement.
CANCELLATION POLICY
You can cancel your booking up to 14 days after you accept your offer or pay your deposit (the Initial Cancellation Period), which reduces to 7 days from 1st August ahead of the academic year being booked, providing you have not already moved in to the property and we will refund your security deposit in full. Deposits will normally be refunded within 28 working days of cancellation, however our legal obligation as a landlord is to secure all deposits with a third party protection scheme. In the event that your deposit has already been sent to the protection scheme by the time you cancel your booking, your refund could take up to 60 days to be refunded due to the protection scheme’s processing period and your deposit refund will come directly from them – you will need your repayment ID which will be sent to you directly by the protection scheme. If the deposit has already been sent to the deposit protection scheme, unfortunately, we are unable to influence their processing time.
If you cancel your booking after the 14 day Initial Cancellation Period (7 days after 1st August), you will remain liable for the weekly rent (for each and every week or part week) until we are able to re-let the room. If we are able to re-let the room we will release you from the agreement upon payment of a £50 variation of contract fee which we will recover by retaining part or all of your deposit. If you have paid a lower deposit amount, that’s the amount that will be retained.
WHAT TYPE OF TENANCY DO I HAVE?
Your tenancy agreement is a legal contract between you as the tenant and Homes for Students. This sets out
your responsibilities as a tenant and our responsibilities as your Landlord’s agent. The tenancy agreement is
for a fixed term and you are liable for the full term of that agreement.
CAN I CANCEL MY BOOKING?
- If we are not able to offer you a room at the time of application we will usually advise you within 5
working days of receipt of the application and no payment will be due to us.
- If we offer you a room but you do not accept the terms and conditions online, your application will
lapse after 5 days during normal periods, 3 days during our peak selling period (July) and 1 day
during the results and clearing period (August and September).
- If you accept an offer of accommodation online or by signing a Tenancy Agreement then decide you
wish to cancel this agreement, we will only accept cancellation if the following applies:- You can cancel your application up to 7 days after the date your booking is confirmed (the
Initial Cancellation Period). As confirmed in your agreement, we will refund the
full security deposit (£50 to £250).Please note, £20 will be deducted from the refunded amount to
cover international bank charges for deposit refunds made to non-UK banks under these circumstances.
- If you accept an offer of accommodation online or by signing a Tenancy Agreement, and then decide
you wish to cancel outside of the Initial Cancellation Period, the following applies:
- You remain liable for the weekly rent (for each and every week or part week) until you are
able to find another tenant that is acceptable to Homes for Students and we are able to relet the room,
or until the end of any applicable legal notice to quit period that applies under current legislation.
Any replacement tenant must be over the age of 18 and a have the necessary student status (it is your
responsibility to find another tenant and provide them with the correction information). If you
find a suitable replacement tenant and the room is re-let we will refund your deposit, less any
appropriate charges, as well as a deduction of £50 for the variation of the contract.
- If we are able to re-let the room on your behalf we will release you from the tenancy
agreement subject to payment of £50 to administer the variation of your agreement less any
appropriate charges, which we may recover from your deposit.
- If we offer you a room and you accept online or by signing a Tenancy Agreement and you collect the
keys before choosing to cancel, we will only accept your cancellation under the following conditions:
- You find another tenant for the room who is acceptable to Homes for Students, over the age
of 18 and with the necessary student status (it is your responsibility to find another tenant
for the remainder of the tenancy agreement), or you give any applicable legal notice to quit
that applies under current legislation.
- You will remain liable for the weekly rent (for each and every week or part week) until the
room is re-let to an acceptable tenant, or the end of any applicable legal notice to quit
period that applies under current legislation.
- If the room is re-let we will refund your deposit, less any appropriate charges and a
deduction of £50 which is charged for administration of the variation of your agreement. No
£50 charge will be made for tenancies coming to an end after any applicable legal notice to
quit period that applies under current legislation and the deposit will be refunded.
- You will be responsible for ensuring the room is suitable to be re-let, in the same clean and
lettable condition as it was when you took occupation, and is available for viewings.
- If we offer you a room and you accept and stay in the accommodation throughout the whole
tenancy period, any deposit is held by the Deposit Protection Service (DPS). If there are no charges
or arrears at the end of the tenancy, the full deposit will be refunded (see returning of deposit
process).Please note, if you move out early before the tenancy has ended you will not be able to claim back
the deposit until the official tenancy end date
CAN I TERMINATE MY TENANCY ONCE I HAVE MOVED INTO THE ACCOMMODATION?
No, you cannot terminate your tenancy agreement once you have moved in, even if you have terminated
your university/college course. You will need to move out of the accommodation, but you will remain liable
for the remaining rent charges until the end of the fixed term period or until the end of any applicable legal
notice to quit period that applies under current legislation, or until you find a suitable replacement student.
Once we have accepted the replacement student, or the end of any applicable legal notice to quit period
that applies under current legislation has passed, you must return the room key to the property office within
5 working days. You will need to confirm your contact details to the property team before moving out to
ensure you can be notified.
If the room is re-let we will refund your deposit, less any appropriate charges and a deduction of £50 for
administration of the variation of your tenancy agreement.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
Medical:
You can terminate your tenancy agreement if you have an existing medical condition that renders you
medically unable to continue at university and this medical condition is recorded on your application prior
to a room offer being made. You will need to submit a request in writing or email to the Property Manager
and we will require medical proof (e.g. letter from doctor) with your application. You will be liable for a
minimum of 4 weeks’ rent or to the end of the current rent period, whichever is the longer. For the
avoidance of doubt, a rent period is the full contract value up to the fixed end date divided into 3 equal
instalments regardless of the instalment option that was chosen by you at the outset.
If you have a medical condition that is not recorded on your application, you will remain liable for the rent
until the end of the fixed tenancy end date, or until you find a replacement who is acceptable to Homes for
Students.
Sensitive or Exceptional Special Conditions:
You can submit a request in writing or by email with supporting evidence (including medical information or
supporting information from your place of study as appropriate), via the Property Manager to the Special
Conditions Panel for your case to be reviewed. The Panel will review your request and make consideration of
your circumstances. Once the Panel has reached its decision, both you and your guarantor will be notified in
writing. The Panel aim to confirm a decision within 10 working days* and is final.
*This can sometimes take longer due to additional Landlord approval requirements.
COMPLAINTS
If you are not satisfied that Homes for Students have complied with this policy and wish to complain, our complaints policy gives information on what you should do, together with details of how we will handle your complaint.
DATA PROTECTION: ACCESS TO FILES
We will allow you to have reasonable access to personal information we hold about you (as long as someone has not given us this information in confidence e.g. doctor, social worker, probation officer etc). You can correct your information or record your disagreement with any information we hold. You can apply in person at 1st Floor, Hornbeam House, Hornbeam House, Hornbeam Road, Harrogate, HG2 8QT, or by writing to the same address. If you request copies of information you will have to pay a reasonable fee to cover our expenses. We will respond within 40 days.
