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Student Damage Policy - University-Owned Accommodation

Please note, we are not yet accepting accommodation applications for 2024-25. We'll contact you when the portal opens. 

Purpose Statement

To promote consistent and fair practice when dealing with damage attributed to residents or their guests.

Applicability and Scope

All residents and visitors who have a contract, or booking for, University-owned Accommodation.

What do we mean by ‘damage’?

Any loss or breakages, including accidental damage, up to a maximum of £5,000*,this excludes damage caused by the University, its employees or agents and allowing for fair wear and tear.

Your responsibilities

On arrival, you will be sent, by email, an inventory listing fixtures and fittings of any area that you have a contractual responsibility for. You should check your inventory carefully noting any damaged or missing items before returning it to Reception within seven days. Where a room swap has taken place, the inventory should be returned within 48 hours of receiving your room keys.cIf you do not tell us about any problems, we cannot rectify them and you may not be able to prove at the end of your tenancy that you are not responsible for any damage.

Where a discrepancy is reported, we will arrange appropriate repairs/replacement, or the discrepancy will be noted, so that a charge is not raised during or at the end of your contract.

Reporting damages

We will inspect your bedroom and communal areas in line with your accommodation cleaning Service Level Agreement and when your bedroom or flat is vacated and keys returned to reception at the end of your contract.  We will notify you, by email, if any damages have been identified.  You will have seven days from receipt of the email to contact us to discuss the damages, any costs and next steps.

At the end of your contract year, due to the high volume of inspections we need to undertake, it may take up to six weeks before we are able to notify you of any damage charges.

You can report damages to your Village reception in person, via email, telephone or the online Repair Request web form. Full details can be found at Reporting a Fault.

How much will we charge?

Repairs

All property repairs will be undertaken by the University’s Estates & Facilities Team or an approved contractor. You are not allowed, and should not attempt, to carry out repairs. Replacement furniture and fixtures will be purchased through University approved contractors.

Appeal procedure

If you wish to appeal against a damage charge, you must do so within 28 days of receipt of an invoice being raised. This must be in writing and addressed to the Assistant Residences Manager at your accommodation and should specify the grounds for appeal which may only be one or more of the following:

• procedural irregularity

• bias or prejudice

• excessive or inappropriate charge

The appeal will be considered initially by the Assistant Residences Manager who will decide whether there is a case. If there is a case for appeal, this will be considered by a Disciplinary Panel, consisting of the Operations Manager and a University Manager from outside of Accommodation Services, who will confirm, amend or dismiss the original charge. Where the appeal has been dismissed, there shall be no further appeal within the University

Policy implementation date: September 2015
Last revision: April 2023
Next review date: January 2024
Policy owner: Senior Management Team, Accommodation Services