The Trigon

Introduction 

This policy sets out who is eligible to make a booking and the types of booking available through Acis Students. It also explains how a booking can be cancelled. If you complete a booking directly with Acis Students, this policy is part of your Tenancy Agreement. 

If you complete a booking for Acis Students accommodation through your university, the university’s booking or allocations policy will apply, and it will take precedence over this policy. 

Who can make a booking? 

You can make a booking through Acis Students if: 

You are a current student or have accepted a place at the university.
You have a right to rent in England.
You are not in breach of an existing tenancy agreement for any reason. 
There is a suitable room available that meets your requirements. 
Most of our tenants are aged over 18. If you will be under 18 at the start of your proposed tenancy, then before you book, you must make direct contact with the site where you would like to live. We can then discuss and agree any additional conditions and safeguards that may need to be put in place until you turn 18.  A Trustee will also be needed to be named on your tenancy agreement until you turn 18.

Acis Students cannot guarantee to meet applicants’ preferences – although we do try to wherever possible. If we cannot offer your preferred choice, we will contact you with an alternative room or ask if you would like to be placed on a waiting list for the room type of your choice.

Disability, equality and diversity 

We will make every reasonable effort to meet the needs of students with disabilities or special needs. If you have a disability, medical condition or special need that affects your accommodation requirements, then please let us know when you complete your application for accommodation. Applicants are encouraged to disclose any special requirements (for example, medical or religious) to enable us to provide a suitable room. Acis Students may not be able to meet all needs, but we will do what we reasonably can. 

We are committed to promoting equal opportunities in the provision of accommodation, regardless of race, colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin, religious belief, age, gender, marital status or sexual orientation. However, our accommodation is not suitable for children under the age of 17. 

Types of bookings

There are two types of bookings: Book Directly and University Bookings. 

Book Directly - Bookings can be made directly through the Book Now option on the Acis Students website, which will take you to your Student Accommodation Manager (SAM), our online portal. When you complete your application via SAM, you will be offered a room depending on what your preferred choices are (this will be the nearest match if we cannot meet all of your preferences).
University bookings – We have agreements with some universities that allow you to book through their own application process. They will then decide whether or not to make you an offer. Once the University has made you an offer, we will be in touch with you in order to complete your booking.
Completing your booking

After you have submitted your application / preferences using our website or by contacting us in person, we will send you an offer of accommodation which will confirm your room type, location of the room, rent, start date and end date AND set out conditions for you to comply with.  There will be a deadline specified in the offer of accommodation to comply with the conditions.  The conditions are likely to require (but this is not an exhaustive list):-

You must pay the Booking Fee.
You must Provide us with your guarantor’s personal details and any other information requested.
You must Provide all ID documentation required and evidence we need to establish your Right to Rent or any other documentation we may require.
We will then send a Guarantee Agreement to the person you have named as guarantor for completion and signature and return to us. 
Only after completing all the conditions set out in the offer of accommodation will the booking process be complete. 

Your tenancy agreement

You must be 18 to sign a tenancy agreement so we will not send you a tenancy agreement to sign until after your 18th birthday.  When we send your tenancy agreement you have 7 days to sign and return it.  This is done by entering your username and password on SAM. You will also be required to provide a wet/electronic signature on your tenancy agreement. 

Can I cancel my booking? 

By law, a cooling-off period has to be given for many things ordered online – but a cooling-off period is not a legal requirement in contracts for residential accommodation. 

Acis Students will allow bookings to be cancelled only in certain circumstances, which are set out below. Acis Students does not allow bookings to be cancelled in any other circumstances. 

Cancellations during the Initial Cancellation Period 

You have a short period after completing the booking process in which you may cancel your booking. We refer to this period as the “Initial Cancellation Period”.

You have 48 hours from completion of the booking process to cancel the booking. Your cancellation request must reach us before you move into your accommodation. 

To cancel during the Initial Cancellation Period, you must give notice in writing by email to sam@acisstudents.co.uk .  The notice cannot be sent by SMS. The notice must clearly state that you are wishing to cancel your booking for accommodation (for example, an email saying that you are reconsidering whether university is right for you will not be treated as a cancellation notice). The notice must be received within the Initial Cancellation Period. The £200 booking fee will be refunded.

Cancellations at other times 

After expiry of the Initial Cancellation Period, there is no right to cancel, but Acis Students may agree (in our sole discretion) to accept a cancellation.  Examples of when we may exercise our discretion are: 

You are a prospective student and your offer at your first choice of University\Higher Education Institution has been withdrawn as a result of you not meeting entry requirements and you can provide evidence in support of that.
Your UK Visa application has been refused and you can supply evidence in support of that.  
All requests for a cancellation must be made in writing to sam@acisstudents.co.uk and any evidence that you have to support your request must be provided at the time of making the cancellation request.   Each request for cancellation will be considered on its own merits, taking into account the supporting evidence provided.

Cancellation request granted

If your cancellation request is granted, then you will receive email confirmation of the date you booking was cancelled with Acis Students.  The £200 booking fee and any pre-paid rent will be refunded.

Cancellation request refused

If your cancellation request is refused the only way to be released from your booking is to find a suitable replacement tenant who is acceptable to Acis Students and who is willing to enter into a tenancy agreement for your accommodation.  It is your responsibility to find a suitable replacement tenant. In most cases a prospective tenant will not be suitable if they are already renting a room from Acis Students or have entered into another contract for accommodation. Acis Students will only assist you with finding a replacement tenant if all the other rooms on site are already let and we have applicants on a waiting list. 

The release from your booking will not be issued until the replacement tenant completes the booking process referred to above:-

If the release date is before the date you are due to move in to your allocated room your £200 booking fee and any prepaid rent will be refunded less a £50 administration charge.
If the release date is after the date you are due to move in to your allocated room, you are liable to pay all rent up to and including the release date and you will only be refunded any prepaid rent for the period after the release date less a £50 administration charge.
If your cancellation request is refused and you are not able to find a suitable replacement tenant, you will still be liable to pay the rent for the allocated room for the full term you have booked whether you occupy the accommodation or not. 

Cancellation fees 

There is no fee to pay if you cancel within the applicable Initial Cancellation Period. 

If you ask us to cancel your tenancy agreement after the Initial Cancellation Period, we may charge you a fee, but you will not be asked to pay more than: 

(a) The loss suffered by the landlord as a result of ending the tenancy. 

(b) The Landlord’s reasonable costs in respect of administering the cancellation request. 

Usually this will be an administration fee of £50 for arranging the cancellation and any sums you owe under the tenancy agreement (such as rent arrears and damages). 

There is no cancellation fee to pay if we do not agree to cancel. 

Transfer fees 

If you want to change your booking after accepting an offer, then you could cancel your existing booking within the Initial Cancellation Period and then re-apply. In this case, there will be no fee payable, but you may not be offered your choice of room when you re-apply. 

If you want to change your booking after the Initial Cancellation Period, or you do not want to risk cancelling your booking, you can apply to transfer your tenancy to alternative accommodation. We will charge you an administration fee for doing this, as follows: 

(a) For transfer requests before the start of the tenancy period, a fee of £45 to cover our administration costs.

(b) For transfer requests during the tenancy period, a fee of £50 (to cover our administration costs and the additional room inspection required when you vacate). 

There is no transfer fee to pay if we do not agree to a room transfer