It has nearly been a whole term since our Freshers’ arrived with us ready to experience university life. Now is the time of year that rumours will be darting around suggesting that you need to arrange your housing for next year, before you head off for Christmas. Well let me put you straight because this is absolutely not true!
Please do not panic that Exeter is suddenly going to run out of housing and you won’t be left with anything because it is still too early to be looking. Exeter has plenty of student accommodation and bookings are not usually taken until mid-January so please don’t rush into anything that you may regret later on. Our Don’t Rush Flyer will certainly reiterate our message a little more!
We suggest that you use the time before Christmas to determine what it is you want for next year, whilst perhaps pondering the following questions:
- Do I want to live in a shared house or in a large residence?
- Do I want to live on my own or which friends do I want to live with?
- Which areas of Exeter are of interest to me?
- What is my budget?
- How long do I want to rent for?
- Would I like to stay another year in University accommodation?
Right, go and grab a pen, open your diaries and make a note that on ‘Tuesday 13 January 2015’ the Students’ Guild are holding their annual Housing Fair in The Great Hall. At this event, you will have the opportunity to meet with landlords of private houses and large providers in the City so you can see what is available within the private sector. You also get to come and have a chat with us to see what university accommodation is available for next year. Please look out for further advice about looking for housing from the Students’ Guild from Monday 24 November by visiting their website.
When you do start looking for private accommodation, please remember that not all accommodation is the same and ensure that you get a property which is safe and well maintained. This is something which might not happen if you rush in to something too soon. The University encourages private landlords to sign up to the Unipol/AfS Code, which is a national accreditation scheme aiming to help students make more informed choices about their accommodation and to encourage good letting practice across the student housing sector. If you are thinking of renting with one of the larger provider check that their property is part of the ANUK Code.
Our full list of private sector accommodation will be available on Studentpad from 13 January 2015 with accreditated landlords/properties at the top of the list.
For further information about housing for next year, please visit our website or come and see us at one of our drop-in sessions within The Forum Monday-Friday between 10:00am – 4:00pm.
Accommodation Catherine
