Is Unite accommodation awful? Anyone have any experience?

[GMH1974]

There was an article in The Guardian yesterday saying that Unite accommodation service is being taken to court for terrible accommodation with rats and mould. I think it's some Liverpool accommodation which is particularly bad. My daughter won't be there but is going into Unite accommodation. Has anyone had any experience. I'm terribly worried now.

DC was in a unite students building in Manchester & it was fine - modern & clean. Definitely no rats!

I can’t comment on the accommodation which I assume varies according to the actual building but there student support is fantastic. They really look after and care about their students.

Not in my experience no. My teen used unite last year.
No issues they were fine and good to deal with as a parent.

Mine was in Unite for 2 years for 2nd and 3rd year. not in Liverpool though. No issues with anything like that, brand new mattresses, incredibly clean. The only issue I do have is the amount of money and there are no cleaners at all, they just inspect the kitchen so oven cleaning etc has to be done never by the students, no surfaces wiped down like you get in other halls of res. The staff were brilliant at sorting out any issues and usually put on events to bring students out of their rooms. There are tv spaces, work spaces and hang out spaces too. I would absolutely recommend them.

My daughter spent 2 years in Unite accommodation in Nottingham and we were very happy. One time the oven stopped working so the maintenance team arrived with a couple of hours and replaced it. At the start of her second year she was in a flat where a guy was making inappropriate remarks towards her. She raised it and they had her moved her to a new block in under an hour. They even said they would go and pack up her room for her if she didn't want to go back there. Couldn't really fault them. Her only complaint was that it was boiling hot all the time!

Dd going into Unite at Sheffield next week. Some of the previous students posted on social media it was nice. Clean and modern and the photos look nice. They have been good to deal with so far as well, easy to book and a sensible deposit, reasonable rent as well.

My son is going to stay in Unite accommodation in Liverpool. I'm already worried about him leaving home and after reading your OP now I'm even more worried...

My son was in Unite for two years in Leeds. The first year was great, the second place he moved into was pretty poor & he had lots of issues.

I’ve visited Unite halls in Liverpool & they seemed fine.

my son’s friend was fine in Unite in Sheffield.

DD was in Unite Edinburgh for a couple of years. Good pastoral and maintenance care. Warm and secure.

Not my DDs experience either (Edinburgh). Modern, eell run, well maintained. Can't comment on price as it was on behalf of the uni so was subsidised.

Ds has spent 2 years in unite accommodation in Nottingham. Very impressed. Clean well maintained and sorted out the minor issues he had very quickly

DS was in Unite accomodation in Liverpool in 2020 with his friend in another Unite one. No issues for either of them except DS room size was on the small side. There was good security and/or reception staff around all the time.

I was at a Unite hall in Liverpool a few years back and it was absolutely fine. There was a flood once in the middle of the night (burst pipe?) and they put us up in a hotel next door with breakfast and dinner.

There are several halls though - which one do you have in mind?

It was fine 4 years ago in Liverpool.

DD was in a Unite hall at Birmingham for as much of the 2019/2020 academic year as they were allowed to be there. It was a brand new building, granted, but right alongside the canal and she never mentioned a problem with rodents. Very friendly and helpful reception and security staff. Decent sized room - my only comment would be that anyone much bigger than her (5'6" and not overweight) might have found the en suite a little snug.