 Hello everyone, my name is Jo and I'm from the Accommodation Office at SOAS. Welcome to this webinar session which is going to cover all the different accommodation options and application processes for both postgraduate and undergraduate SOAS students. This will include SOAS halls of residence, private rented halls, shared accommodation, adapted accommodation and finally family or couples housing. At the end of the session I will be taking questions so please send anything through that you want to ask and I'll do my very very best to answer as much as I can at the end. So let's start with the SOAS halls of residence. The map shows the locations of all the SOAS halls. There are two options which house only SOAS students and four options which house SOAS students alongside students from other universities such as King's, London School of Economics, Wall of Cabin Music, UCL and it's a great chance for you to mix with students from different universities. These halls are run by our private provider partners and we have quota of designated teams in each of the properties which are offered to our students at discounted rates. As you can see the six halls of residence are all located close to the SOAS campus with the very furthest only being 25-minute walk away or the same by public transport. All of our halls offer 24-hour security. The first hall that we're going to look at today is Dinwoody House. This is an undergraduate only property on behalf of SOAS by sanctuary housing. The residence is situated in the King's Cross area of London and is about a 20-minute walk from SOAS. King's Cross is a lively vibrant area with lots of shops, bars and restaurants. It's also five minutes from King's Cross and St Pancras mainline stations. The location gives great access for links around London and the UK as well as to the Euro star, the trips to Europe including Paris and Euro Disney, Amsterdam and Brussels. The hall has 510 single bedrooms which are all en suite. Students share a communal kitchen in the flats and which have between five and seven bedrooms. The rent is £167.97 per week and includes all bills. The contracts offer 38 weeks however there are options to extend into the summer if you wish. There's just a few more pictures of the property. The hall has a common room, laundry, 24-hour security and a lovely courtyard complete with two resident cats, one of which you can see in the picture called Pebbles and Gizmo. This is Paul Robeson House and this is the postgraduate partner to Dinwoody House located just three minutes away from it. Although the residence is for postgraduate students only, mature undergraduate students may apply. It's a much smaller hall but again like Dinwoody, the rooms are all en suite. The flats have between four and seven rooms and the contracts are either for 38 or 51 weeks. There are shared communal kitchens, a common room, 24-hour security but no cats. Again just a quick look at the flat layout and an idea of the rooms as you can see they're exactly the same as those in Dinwoody. As you can see from the map, both the properties are a very, very close walk to space. Moving on to another of our halls, this is our St Pancras residence which is managed by our partner's Urban Nest. The property is located in the King's Cross St Pancras area near to Camden and its markets, restaurants, nightlife and canal walks. The building is in close proximity to the main line tube and Euro star stations and plenty of bus stops. There are 79 rooms available at this hall exclusively discounted from a normal rate for summer students. Rooms are charged at £245.96 for a private room with shared facilities and £289.88 for en suite. All the contracts are for 51 weeks. The walk is around 25 minutes to the Sowers campus. The difference between this hall and the previous two is that St Pancras houses students from all London colleges, not just Sowers and it offers you the chance to mix with a wide range of students from across the capital. Next we can take a look at Goldsmith's house which is managed by another of our partner's Optigo. This is an 81 bedroom female only hall with a beautiful garden and a location just behind Houston station about 25 minutes walk or a short bus ride to Sowers. So let's have 20 rooms here at discounted rates offering 51 week contracts at £197 a week and 40 week contracts at £210 a week. The property does not have en suite accommodation, the kitchens and bathrooms are shared. However this property offers a unique communal layout and a brilliant opportunity to mix with students from other University of London. This is Helen Graham House and our second property managed by Optigo. The 290 bed residence is located about five minutes walk away from campus across Russell Square right opposite the British Museum in a beautiful listed building. Sowers have 50 discounted rooms offering 51 week contracts at £230 per week and 40 week contracts at £247.50 per week. There are also twin rooms which can be offered to couples and friends which are £177.59 and £160 per person depending on the contract length. The rooms are not en suite and again share kitchens and bathrooms with residents from other universities. Wood Green Hall is new to our portfolio this year offering our most affordable accommodation with a location 20 minutes from Sowers in the centre of Wood Green. The 169 bed property is three minutes from the station which is on the Piccadilly Tube line and comes straight into Russell Square. The residence is located in the centre of this part of London and with its shops, bars, restaurants and a large cinema. Some of the pictures of the hall here so as have exclusive access to 20 of the single room of this residence. The property has a common room, a laundry and a courtyard and a very competitive rate of £147.50 or £160 per week is available dependent on contract length. The residence is open to students from across London universities offering a great chance to socialise with a wide range of people. The next thing we're going to look at are the University of London intercollegiate halls of residence. These halls are known as intercollegiate halls because they house students from the 20 University of London colleges such as UCL, LSE, Kings and of course SOAS. This accommodation offers a great chance to meet students from a wider variety of universities and backgrounds. As you can see on the map all the halls are within walking distance of SOAS with the majority being around the Russell Square area within 10 minutes although two are further away about 30 minutes using public transport. There was one postgraduate property not shown called Handle Mansions and we're just waiting for some further information on this and some pictures but you can view it on the University of London website. Just to explain how the application process for these particular hall works there are seven halls of residence into which we are able to house a number of our students. All the halls have wardens and residence assistants to support the students. For this coming academic year we have rooms at four of the halls and you are only able to apply to these four halls. They are Connult College International and the Gardens but we'll have a look at them all anyway. Firstly Connult Hall this is a small friendly hall in a listed building just around the corner to the SOAS campus. It offers catered single and twin rooms on suite and non-onsuite bedrooms. We have 25 rooms at this residence available on 38 week contracts. College Hall is a mid-sized hall in a listed building opposite the student central building two minutes from the SOAS bus and within a short walk of Tottencourt Road and Oxford Street. Excuse me. SOAS have 12 rooms allocated for this residence which offers catered single and on suite accommodation International Hall. This is a large modern hall with many amenities including a squash court music rooms and a large common room. SOAS has 24 rooms in this accommodation which are all catered single rooms. We have two non-catered studios. The hall has a large number of double rooms and family flats in listed buildings which border the main campus. Moving on to the garden halls this is the newest and largest of the intercollegiate halls with accommodation ranging from single rooms to shared flats catered and non-catered on suite and non-onsuite. The hall has a bright modern feel overlooking heart-right gardens and they have use of the tennis courts. SOAS has 56 rooms in this residence 27 non-catered with shared kitchens and 29 on suite catered rooms. Lillian-Penson Hall is the first hall at which we do not have an allocation and therefore at this stage SOAS students cannot apply. There will be an option to apply in September on the University of London waiting list and I'll go into that a little bit more later on. Lillian-Penson Hall is an older star property overlooking the residence square in the Paddington area of London. Around 40 minutes from SOAS it offers easy access to bars shops and transport links consisting of catered and non-catered single rooms studios and flats. As with the previous hall SOAS do not have an allocation of rooms at this hall but Knutford House is a listed smaller hall situated just off the edge where road in London with access to Hyde Park and London shopping district nearby. It has twin single and studio accommodation catered and non-catered. Again applications must be made in September onto the University of London waiting list. This map shows how near the four halls with SOAS allocations are to the campus they are the ones grouped on the right. The location of Lillian-Penson Hall and Knutford House is much further away which is why SOAS chose not to have an allocation there. These residences tend to be more economical in price due to their location. Just to remind you that SOAS receives a portion of the intercollegiate accommodation solely for our students. These residences are very popular and with an only an allocation of 120 beds spaces tend to go very quickly. If you wish to apply to these halls I will suggest that you put other options down on your forms as additional choices. If you wish to apply for an intercollegiate hall that is not part of the quota such as Lillian-Penson Knutford House or Handel Mansions you will need to wait until September and the University of London waiting list. This in my opinion is not advisable because there's no guarantee how many bed spaces will be available, what they're going to offer and it's basically what's left so it would be very late for you to still be looking for accommodation. The majority of these halls have accessible or adapted accommodation and if you check the SOAS accommodation page full details are listed on how to register and apply. For family and couples accommodation please drop me an email I'll give the email address at the end and I will respond individually as there are several options and I need to be quite tailor-made. So now we get to the bit where once you've chosen your first, second, third or as many choices as you like how do you actually apply? There are full details on the website but here's a very quick rundown. Visit the SOAS accommodation page at soas.etc.uk forward slash accommodation it looks like the one below but it's obviously up to date. Have a look at the virtual tours which will give you an idea and feel for the properties look at the contract links and think about how long you will be in London for make sure it meets the length of the contract that you require and is of course within your budget. Be mindful that once you've signed an accommodation event it is then legally binding so take your time and choose the best option for you. You will need your SOAS student ID to apply for our accommodation which you will only have if you have accepted your place at SOAS and are at firm status. Should you receive a letter from SOAS giving these details then that's great just use the information from the letter but if you haven't and you have accepted your place then please contact the student hub at SOAS and they will be able to give you your ID number student hub at soas.etc.uk. Once you've filled in the application form and submitted it you will receive information on how to proceed depending on which hall you have applied for. If it's Optivo or Urban Est your application will be sent through to the residence office and they will contact you with an offer or any further information. If it's Sanctuary so Dean Woody or Paul Robeson or Conult College International or the Gardens once that's submitted you will be given a reference code and web address to complete the application for Sanctuary or the University of London halls. Your application has not been registered until you've completed the second part of the process. You'll be contacted directly with any offers or further information. To secure your chosen accommodation you will also need to agree to the halls booking conditions and a holding payment which is usually between £250-400 depending on the hall and will be required to sign up. Just some reminders, the accommodation offer and the arrival of the formal contract may be several months apart. Some of our providers send contract when they make you the offer or send an offer of accommodation and follow up with the contract during the summer months usually June or July. Do not worry if there is a day it is just the process. As long as you have the written offer then it's fine to wait for the contract. If you require adapted couples or family accommodation please contact the SOAS accommodation office as early as possible for advice, registration and application procedures. Some accommodation providers in London offer bursaries or scholarships and anyone interested in these should go to the relevant website or drop me an email and I can direct you there. Now let's look at another kind of SOAS accommodation. Not halls this time but shared flats. Student homes are shared flats for SOAS students where the University of London is the landlord. This accommodation has been checked and any issues are dealt with directly by the Student Homes University of London team. This gives you peace of mind if looking for shared private accommodation rather than potentially falling victim to an unscrupulous landlord or below standard accommodation. If you wish to apply for a flat with friends or you just don't want to live in halls then here are the details for student homes. The flats range from three to 12 bedded and are in a variety of locations within easy reach of the SOAS campus. Bills are not included but the prices start around £145 per week. They're ideal for first years who do not want hall accommodation, non first year students who wish to move on from halls or friends that just wish to live together. Sometimes this is a good option also for more mature students. You can find out more information by visiting the website which is on the screen now. This is some examples of the flat shared properties. They range from flats to houses some with balconies and gardens large and small a real variety from choose from in some really great locations. This is the list of properties that are available for SOAS students for this academic year and the fees. They're likely to be the same properties for the academic year from September but there may be some new ones in and some old ones out and of course the fees are likely to be a little bit higher. This is just for guidance. These are applied for through the University of London Housing Service and full details on how to do this will be detailed on the SOAS and University of London website from the 1st of May or you can attend the University of London Housing Fair which is at Senate House on the 3rd of May or contact the student homes team. Private rented accommodation is another option. These are flats owned by landlords who have signed up to the University of London Landlord Database. The properties are checked by the University of London Housing Service and there is a strict criteria in terms of health and safety which these landlords have to meet. The contracts which students signed for these landlords have been vetted by the legal team at the University of London Housing Service. Again this is an option than just renting through landlord with no connections to the University at all. If you decide that the private rented sector is for you then the University of London Housing Service also offer a service that would check your contract for you. They will make sure that you are legally protected and they also offer legal advice and support should you ever need it for such things as Tennessee disputes etc. Just another mention of the University of London Housing Fair which is on the 3rd of May and the University of London also run a find a flatmate event in September if you're still looking for housing in this sector. This map gives a general idea of the average cost of rents in the respect areas. This will give you an idea of which area will be best suited to your budget and should help narrow down the search to particular locations. The orange area is being the closest to the centre of London and the most expensive. Remember to take travel cost and time into consideration when choosing your accommodation. The University of London Housing Service produce a private housing guide each year and you can obtain a copy free of charge from their offices which you can visit. They are two minutes from the Cyrus campus on the fourth floor of the Student Central Building or you can email and they'll send you one out. It's a really useful guide to all things accommodation related such as deposits, contracts, references, guarantors, budgeting, finding flatmates and last but not least how to deal with issues with the property or your landlord. If you visit their website you'll be able to see this information in better detail along with some advice regarding what to look for in prospective property and information on all aspects of renting. Here's a brief list of some things to think about when looking for accommodation. Remember any accommodation contract you sign is a legal document. If you're not sure don't sign ask so as. Think about what best suits you, what you can reasonably afford. Can you manage in a cheaper option with shared facilities or must you have your own bathroom? Do you want a whole experience or are you ready for shared flat living? Don't rush. Wipe your options and make sure that you get it right. Just something to prompt you to think about how much money you will have to spend for your accommodation and to budget accordingly. Write everything down, phone bills, food, transport costs, books, clothes, etc and see what you're left with before you decide how much you can spend on your accommodation. And finally that's the end of the formal presentation. I'll have a go answering your questions but if we run out of time please feel free to email me at the address at the bottom of the screen.