The Arch

Cancellation Policy 2024/25

We hate to see you cancel your booking but we understand that factors may arise that lead to you having to cancel.

Cancellation policy (An ‘Academic year’ covers the period 1st September to 31st August)

For bookings made between 1st October – 31st July for the forthcoming academic year commencing 1st September, you can cancel your booking in writing or by sending us an email within the 48 hours ‘cooling off period’ of accepting and completing your tenancy online.
For bookings made after 1st August for the forthcoming academic year, there is no cooling off period and you cannot cancel your booking.
For bookings made during and for the current academic year (from 1st September to 31st August), you cannot cancel your booking once you have accepted the tenancy offer (either manually or digitally online)
Please note that once you have received your key and checked in to your accommodation you cannot cancel your booking and you will be legally bound by the terms and conditions of the accepted Tenancy Agreement and will be liable to pay all the amounts due.
If you do need to cancel you will need to meet the requirements of our No place, No Pay policy.
In instances where a holding deposit has been paid and the tenant fails to manually or digitally complete the booking, or declines the tenancy offer, we reserve the right to retain the holding deposit in lieu of costs incurred.
Once you have booked and completed your tenancy agreement, you will be legally bound by the terms stipulated in the agreement.

After cooling-off period has expired

If the 48-hour cooling-off period has expired there are some scenarios where you may be able to cancel your booking if you meet the necessary requirements. These are:

No Place, No Pay Policy

If your offer of a place at your preferred/current University/Higher Education Institution is withdrawn by the University/Higher Education Institution as a result of you not achieving their required entry grades or passing your end of year exams, you may be eligible to be released from the tenancy agreement.

You may also be eligible to be released from this agreement if you are a prospective first year undergraduate student and you choose to go to a University in a different city because you have exceeded your expected grades.

To apply to be released from this agreement in the circumstances referred to above, you will need to supply us with a copy of:

a written rejection letter from your chosen university /college or UCAS or a screen shot of your UCAS status which confirms that the required results were not achieved; or
a copy of the proof of acceptance of your new university by UCAS adjustment.
These document(s) must be received by us within 7 calendar days from the date your results are published or by 1st September (which ever date is the sooner). Please email the documentation to info@downingstudents.com. On receipt of the required documentation, it will be verified and, provided we are satisfied, we will cancel your agreement and refund your holding deposit in full

No Visa

If you cannot get a visa to study at a UK University (either on campus or online remote study) and you can provide written evidence that your visa and university application has been refused, we will release you from your tenancy agreement and make a full refund.

Evidence must be provided within one week of notifying us that you are unable to obtain a visa.

If the Tenancy has already commenced, and you have NOT collected your keys, you will be charged for the period from the ‘Tenancy Start Date’ to the date you provide the evidence that you have not been granted a VISA and/or do not have a place at a UK University.

If the tenancy has started and you have collected the keys for your accommodation prior to your Visa application being declined you will be responsible for the rent for the duration of the contract.

Summer Let Cancellations 

You can cancel your booking in writing or by sending us an email within the 48 hours ‘cooling off period’ of accepting and completing your tenancy online, provided you have not collected the keys to your accommodation.. However, after the cooling off period you may be able to cancel if:

You request to cancel two weeks before the summer tenancy start date
And you provide evidence to support the cancellation e.g. no summer course, unable to meet conditions of offer
If you cannot provide evidence for cancellation:

Downing Students reserve the right to retain the holding deposit in lieu of costs
In the case where the summer let is cancelled by Downing Students the holding deposit will be refunded