Bristol Uni Accomodation

[Twwotn]

Daughter has worked so hard to get on her course and what should have been an exciting time has turned into a nightmare! She has been allocated a single, no basin room costing £152 p week in a Unite building that wasn't one of the three choices she put on her application; seems she has been v. unlucky as the uni stats. say that 84% of students get what they have asked for. Trying to be positive and reassure her that it wld be ok we made a 3 hour journey to have a look.... The uni mentions on the blurb that there is some building work going on, OMG, new build on one side and demolition on the other! NCP multi-story, noise from a huge extractor fan coming out of the Chinese restaurant/Karaoke bar under rooms on one side of the building, buses and at 6oclock in the evening, groups of people lying around in doorways of what looked like a hostel. TBH I am struggling to find one positive and wld be worried sick about her walking around there at night. Advice please from anyone who has family at Bristol Uni.
Should we :-
accept the room, put her name on the transfer list, knowing that the uni have said they cannot give any guarantee she will get a move and hope that she can build up a friendship group?
Pay an extortionate rent for a private studio flat, if there are even any left?
Try and find a room in a house share.

There are also some student properties in the areas that I mentioned listed on gumtree.

I have posted before on the ludicrous suggestion by the University of Bristol Accommodations Office that students do not need to look until much later in the year. They even suggest delaying until September to avoid paying over the summer. I wish! They even wrote to parents saying lots of properties would be available!!! Total rubbish and certainly nowhere near the university. My DD said no-one took any notice and just got on with looking. Unfortunately Bristol is an expensive student city. The University of Bristol has one of the largest proportions of privately educted children with no shortage of money. Lots of landlords do not see the students - the agents do it and it won't matter a jot how nice you are. Just get the deposit down!

I did not advocate using digs. I just said they had plenty on their books. My DD had to take her accommodation the same day in the January of year 2. Lots of other students were looking at it! It was, however, desirable. The landlords know the market and the secret is to look early to try and get a decently decorated and recently renovated property. Leaving it late often means "party" flat with a landlord who does nothing. We agreed to the property being cleaned by the landlord at the end of the tenancy for a very reasonable price and the full deposit was returned swiftly. The agent for that property was antjam. The better roads and flats go for more but far less hassle to the students. Bristol, around the university, is highly sought after and there really are few cheap deals. Going further out usually entails more transport costs and fewer student friends nearby if you stray into UWE territory.

It is Anthony James and they have 3 properties with 5 bedrooms being advertised. All convenient for the university,

Thanks so much for your insight. Yes I also received a letter from uni saying no urgency in looking - how wrong can that be!! They saw one today and even though it's very expensive and another group out an offer in I think theirs has been accepted. With us being guarantee does that mean that we are responsible not just to cover her rent but any of her friends if they don't pay? Also they are wanting her to take out a landlords insurance - no idea what that is! It's so much more money than I ever thought possible for accommodation.

We were only responsible for our daughter. The other parents were responsible for their young people. However, make sure your daughter checks with the agent. There may be some differences and it was a few years ago my DD was there.

It is also worth asking if the landlord has a good track record and repairs the property/appliances quickly when anything goes wrong. My DD's year 2 flat was part of 4 houses, all next door to each other, owned by one landlord. He had made the back gardens into a communal area and put in bicycle stores, a barbecue and patios. He also had a maintenance guy living in one of the flats who was avaialbe, more or less, at the drop of a hat. It worked really well. The landlord owned lots of properties in Bristol but was fair and reasonable - hence the repeat businesss and good recommendations from the students! Always ask the students currently in the house/flat what the landlord is like regarding repairs.

I think the Landlord's Insurance refers to a premium you can pay to cover any possible costs that the landlord incurs. It may be that it covers them if someone defaults on the rent - this is possibly more likely as the deposit covers repairs. We did not take it out on either occasion and I cannot remember it being mentioned. Get your DD to ask all these questions of the agent. Do not pay for anything if you do not know what it is. You should only pay 1/5 of everything - deposit, insurance etc.

I'm afraid you just have to put up with high rents and expense in Bristol near the university. At the end of road my DD lived in for 4th year, a house sold for well over £2m. Clifton IS expensive. However, it is a fantastic place for a student to live and my DD would not have wanted to be anywhere else. Most of her friends were nearby so it was easy to see people and meet up.

Thanks for your input!

My daughter has worked so hard and been through so much over the past few years the only thing that’s kept her going is the opportunity to go to Bristol uwe she is in the wallscourt park halls she suffers with depression and is in medication and has managed it amazingly until now. The students in her flat are segregating and isolating her from everything and she doesn’t even know why she has tried so hard to include and develop friendships with these students but with no success. My daughter has things thrown at her cruel names and verbal insults about her slum build and seem to all gang up I. Her at once. I have spent many hours listening to her cry and have advices her to speak to someone but she’s worried it will make things worse we live 3 hours away from her and feel useless to do anything but I think she needs to transfer her hat can I do to help support my daughter I don’t want this to push her over the edge

Slim build sorry not slum

I would start a separate thread. This is old and was really talking about the University of Bristol, not UWE at Bristol. You may get more response there.