Accommodation

You will sign the tenancy agreement after results day, dealing directly with the landlord.

You may reject the accommodation at any point up to the day you sign the tenancy agreement, but we will not be able to find you alternative accommodation.  

Allocations are subject to you successfully joining Norland. Unsuccessful applicants won’t be able to live in our accommodation and their room offer will be withdrawn.

Norland has a selection of properties secured for first-year students. These properties vary in size and the type of accommodation. Prices can vary depending on the landlord, location and the type of accommodation, as with any property. When securing accommodation Norland agrees a ‘price bracket’ so that the disparity in rent isn’t too great. This does mean that some students will end up with larger rooms that aren’t much different in price to some smaller ones, however, we have found this to be the fairest solution. Rooms are allocated at random.

We have student properties secured all over Bath. Some properties will be walking distance to the college, some may require the student to travel by bus. All properties are close to a bus stop. Students spend around 35% of their time in placements, therefore, if your house isn’t close to college, it may well be close to one of your placements.

You will be given the opportunity to make requests on your accommodation request form, however, although Norland will make every effort to meet requests, these are not guaranteed.

If you are placed in a student flat or house, some kitchen utensils will be provided. You will be sent a full list of what is included in your accommodation when it has been allocated.

No kitchen utensils, cookware or crockery are provided in the student apartment block, so students should bring their own.

Some properties have parking, some do not. Norland discourages students from bringing cars with them, as parking in Bath is limited and there is no parking available for students on campus. There is no parking available at student apartment block.

Students are informed about what accommodation they have been placed in and who they are living with, a few days after the A Level results have been announced.

When renting accommodation in the UK, it is very common for a landlord or agency to ask you for a guarantor. A guarantor is someone who will guarantee to pay your rent, should you fail to do so. Normally a guarantor would be a relative or close friend of the tenant, but they do not have to be. Most of our properties do require a UK guarantor, if you do not have one, please email the admissions team and they can tell you about your alternative options.

For all the accommodation that we secure for our first-year students, you will be required to pay a deposit. The deposit is usually the cost of one month’s rent; however, this can sometimes be more.

Depending on when the term starts, the move-in dates are typically one week before your first day at Norland, usually the first week of September. Your move-in date may be variable depending on which accommodation that you have been allocated. When you are allocated accommodation, the Accommodation Officer will confirm the start date for your contract.

For our student flats and houses, the rental amount does not include bills or damage deposits that a landlord/agent may charge. Some landlords may give you the option to pay a set amount to include utility bills, but this will be an agreement with you and the landlord.

For our student apartment accommodation block, the rental amount does not include bills, damage deposits or any check out/cleaning fees.

All first-year properties will have Wi-Fi available. However, for our student flats and houses Wi-Fi is not typically included in your rent, you will need to pay for this additionally.

For our accommodation in the student apartment block, Wi-Fi is included in the rental price.

The contracts used by the landlords/letting agents in our student flats and houses are, usually, ‘Joint and Several’ contracts, which is common practice for student flats/houses in Bath. The landlord/letting agent will require all tenants (students) to sign a contract individually and then to all sign the same one, at the point of moving in.

Find out more about the what you are committing to with a Joint and Several contract on the Citizens Advice website

Your tenancy is a legal contract with the landlord. While you may be able to leave by giving notice in line with your agreement and current legislation, doing so can be more complex in shared (joint) tenancies and may have implications for your housemates.
If you are finding things difficult, we encourage you to first try to resolve any issues by:

• having an open conversation with your housemates to discuss any concerns
• speaking to our support team for advice or mediation.

If these steps do not help and you are considering moving out, it is important to be aware of the following:

• Tenancy agreements are often joint and several, meaning that all tenants share responsibility for the rent.
• If one person leaves, the remaining tenants may still be responsible for covering the full rent.
• Some landlords may allow changes to the tenancy, such as replacing a tenant, but this is not guaranteed.
• Any replacement tenant would usually need approval from the landlord and agreement from your housemates.
• There may be fees associated with making changes to the tenancy agreement.

If you are thinking about leaving, it is important to speak to your landlord and the Accommodation Officer at Norland as early as possible to understand your options.

You can speak to our student support team between Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. Norland also has an out of hours email address in case of emergencies.

Norland only secures accommodation for first-year students. In your second and third year, you will be required to source your own accommodation. If you need help or support with this, we have an Accommodation Officer who can advise you.

Please contact admissions to discuss these further.