University of Kent

There are over 4,900 rooms at the Canterbury campus and 545 rooms at Liberty Quays near the Medway campus.

Accommodation will be offered to full-time undergraduate students in their first year of study provided the following criteria are met by 31 July in the year of entry:

• New full-time undergraduate students who select Kent as their first choice University and who apply before 31 July in the year of entry will be offered University accommodation. Insurance, Late, Adjustment and Clearing applicants will be offered accommodation subject to availability.
• Postgraduate students who are holding an unconditional offer from Kent and who apply before 31 July in the year of entry will be offered University accommodation.
• Your online application must be received by 31 July of the year of entry.

You need to register your details at our website and apply for accommodation online. We recommend that you use Internet Explorer as your web browser, rather than Netscape, Firefox or other browsers. You will be asked to enter the following information:

• Your last name (or family name);
• Your UCAS ID number (10 digits) or your Kent student ID number (8 digits) - don't enter any other characters, such as hyphens or slashes;
• Your date of birth, eg 03/01/1983;
• An email address that will be available to you in August and September (a school email address is probably not suitable).

Once you have successfully applied online, you will receive an automated email message confirming receipt of your application.

From late August onwards, you will receive another email message advising you where you have been allocated University accommodation (subject to eligibility and availability). This message will be from accomm@kent.ac.uk, so please ensure that this contact is added to your email address book.

Accommodation offers for undergraduate students are emailed during the week after publication of the A level results. You then need to view and accept or decline the offer of accommodation within seven days of receiving the accommodation offer.

Obviously this will vary from person to person, depending on individual requirements and the type of accommodation chosen. To give you an indication of possible expenditure, the University has put together some details of likely living costs.

You should plan to travel to University on the weekend of Saturday 15 or Sunday 16 September 2012. See here for further information for new arrivals.

Essential items include: bedding, towels, toiletries, tea towels, cooking equipment, food storage containers, headphones for your music system. Bedding and towel packs are available to purchase from the University's online store.

Click here for details of what is provided in University accommodation and for more information and advice about living on campus.

Here are the questions students most frequently ask:

Q What’s the quickest way to get a TV Licence?
Go to tvlicensing.co.uk and buy one in minutes. You can pay the £145.50 licence fee in manageable monthly amounts by Direct Debit, or you can use your debit card or credit card.

Q How do I know if I need a TV Licence?
If you watch or record television programmes as they’re being shown on TV – on any device including a laptop – you need to be covered by a TV Licence. It’s the law.

Q But what if I only watch TV on my laptop?
You still need a TV Licence. The law applies to all viewing and recording devices, including TVs, computers, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and DVD/VHS recorders.

Q What happens if I don’t get a TV Licence?
As Officers make visits to halls to check that students are properly licensed, it’s important to make sure you’re covered straight away. If you are found to need a licence and do not
have one, you risk prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.

Q What if I don’t need a licence?
Then we don’t want to take up your time. Please let us know by visiting tvlicensing.co.uk/noTV or calling 0300 790 6090. We may confirm this with a quick visit.

There is no parking available for students living on the Canterbury campus. For guidance on car parking, please consult the Estates Department's website.

The Unibus runs frequently between the campus and city centre and there is a subsidised season ticket scheme in operation for students. Further details on local transport facilities are available from the Estates Department.

Your accommodation fees should be paid within two weeks from the start of term, or before you arrive at the University. Payments are made online and more information is available from the Student Finance web pages.

For postgraduates, the accommodation agreement covers the period from 15 September 2012 until 11 September 2013. Please note that it is not possible for you to move into University accommodation before the afternoon of 15 September.

For undergraduates in self-catering accommodation, the agreement covers the 39 week period from 15 September 2012 to 15 June 2013.

For undergraduates in college accommodation at Rutherford, Eliot, Keynes or Becket Court, the agreement covers the following 31 week period:

You may leave your possessions in your College room over the winter vacation period but you will not be able to personally occupy the accommodation. During the Easter vacation you must remove all your possessions and vacate your room, as the accommodation will be used by conference visitors.

If you want to live in University accommodation when your agreement has ended, you can apply to do so. Please contact the Accommodation Office in May to arrange this. You will have to pay for additional nights, based on the period the accommodation is booked for.

If you choose to move out early, you must continue to pay the rent until the University finds a suitable replacement tenant to move in. However, you need to be aware this is not always possible and, in such cases, you do remain liable for the full contract period.

Due to the heavy demand at the start of the academic year for University accommodation, we regret that applications for room changes are not accepted  until early November. Any vacant rooms arising before this date will be offered to any suitable applicants not living on campus, who still need University Accommodation.

Any Student wishing to apply for a room change must complete the relevant form available at the Accommodation Office Reception Desk in Tanglewood in November.
 
Please, also note that informal exchanges of rooms are not permitted and may result in fines to the accounts of the persons involved.

Reasons for moving that involve disputes or complaints with neighbours should first of all be directed to your College Master via email.

Reasons for changing that involve housekeeping or maintenance problems must be directed to the Housekeeping Department in the first instance.

Room changes in November are not automatically granted, usually due to a lack of suitable vacant rooms, and requests from students living off-campus will still be given priority over room change requests for any vacant rooms.

Please note that there is a charge of £50 to cover the cost of administration and cleaning, once a transfer has been officially agreed, arranged and completed.

There has to be a degree of compromise when living in student occupied accommodation. Inevitably there may be some disagreements from time to time between neighbours. However there are guidelines concerning noise levels, and household routines, which are intended to be of benefit to all residents.

Should you experience frequent disturbances or other problems, from noisy or inconsiderate neighbours, that you are unable to resolve yourself; two options are open to you.

Firstly at the time it happens you can call Campuswatch 24 hour security service on (82)3300. A security guard will then visit the people making any noise or disturbance and ask them to stop. Normally details of any incidents are then passed on the next day to the appropriate Masters Offices.

Another option open to you if noise and disturbance or other household problems persist is to make a formal complaint in writing to the Master of the College of which you are a member i.e. Darwin, Keynes, Eliot, or Rutherford. College Masters have discipline and welfare powers and responsibilities for students, which staff in the Accommodation Office, do not have

Before acting, Masters normally require a short factual letter giving details of any problems experienced including the cause of the problem, times, dates etc. You should detail your name and University I.D. Number, your address and email and the room number and name, if you know it of the person or persons causing any problem.

Masters may then wish to interview you to check details before deciding on any appropriate action to take. Confidentiality will be respected in all case if it is requested at the outset.

If you withdraw or intermit from University, you will be released from the accommodation agreement when your Department has notified the Accommodation Office in writing of your changed status and you have cleared your room and checked out at the relevant Reception. You also need to advise the Accommodation Office in writing that you are leaving.

All home environments are different, of course, but at the University there are some rules. Their purpose is to ensure that every resident and member of staff can live in an environment which promotes a positive experience for all. When you move in to University accommodation you are agreeing to the terms and conditions, which are effectively the rules for you and us to adhere to.