Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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Isabella Mitchell
5 years ago
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1 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Applying for housing How do I apply? Exchange students To apply for accommodation you will need to fill in the application form which you receive via a link to your . It is the same application form as when choosing your courses (CeU). In the application you will fill in 3 accommodation choices in order of preference which are Björnkulla small single, Björnkulla big single, Björnkulla shared room or Lappis single. If you already have accommodation or will find your own you will need to state this choice. Freemovers To apply, Freemovers need to send an to accommodation@sh.se. In the application you will fill in 3 accommodation choices in order of preference which are Björnkulla small single, Björnkulla big single, Björnkulla shared room or Lappis single. The application deadlines are as follows: Autumn semester: 1 st May Spring semester: 1 st October What are the criteria for being offered a room? We select by date submitted, so the earlier you send your application the better, as we do not have enough housing for all students. Secondly all non-european students are guaranteed accommodation as long as they apply on time. When will I know if I get accommodation? After having reviewed the applications, you will receive an offer by the 31 st May (for the autumn semester) or 31 st October (for the spring) to which you will either accept or decline the offer. If you decide to decline the offer, you will be put at the end of the waiting list. Your acceptance of the accommodation offered must reach us by the date stated in the with the offer of accommodation sent by us, which is usually around 10 th June (for the autumn semester) and 10 th November (spring)

What if I don t get accommodation through the University? We will try to help you find alternative accommodation. We have a list of useful links under www.sh.se/housing on our website.

2 What if I don t get accommodation through the University? We will try to help you find alternative accommodation. We have a list of useful links under on our website. Sometimes students going abroad are looking to rent their apartment so we forward their details directly to you. Your accommodation Where is my accommodation? Lappis is located very close to Stockholm University and only 4 stops on the underground to the central station in Stockholm. A trip from Lappis to Södertörn University takes approx. 45 minutes. Björnkulla, on the other hand, is located 10 to 15 minutes walk away from the University. Both areas are located in a natural environment. What s provided in the room and building? All information on what services are included in the rent can be found under the area name i.e. Björnkulla and Lappis/SSSB on our website. All rooms are furnished. Please note that bed linen and blankets are not provided therefore you will either need to bring them with you or buy them when you arrive. The Student Union (ESN) will accompany you to Ikea on the arrival days so that you may buy what you need for your room. (It is likely the University will provide blankets and sheets as of the autumn semester You will receive further information if this happens to be the case). Is internet included? Internet is now included in the rent in Björnkulla as well as in Lappis. A modem with in-built Wifi will be available to which you can connect your computer. In Lappis you will need to connect via a cable from the socket to your computer. An instruction manual will be placed either in your room in Lappis, or in your welcome pack which you receive when collecting your keys. When will I get more details about my accommodation? More information about your accommodation, as well as the payment schedule, is sent to you approximately 6 weeks before your arrival at the latest (Accommodation & payment info). Collecting keys and payments When & where do I collect keys?

3 Keys are to be collected during the arrival day(s). Those of you arriving for the autumn semester might have the option to collect your keys before the official arrival days. Keys are to be collected at the Study and career centre, which is on the University campus next to the reception/main entrance. Opening times are mentioned on the arrival information (see below). N.B. It will not be possible to collect keys after 4pm or on weekends (the spring term can be an exception as the arrival day may occur on the weekend). If you will not be collecting keys on the official arrival days then please contact us and book a time and day. You need to fill in your arrival information in our application database no later than 31 st July for the autumn semester, or 31 st December for the spring semester. The log in details are the ones sent to you when you applied for accommodation and courses. How do I get to the career centre and to my accommodation? Details on how to reach the University from airports will be sent to you in the Arrival information which you will get around a month before your arrival. Once you collect your keys we will explain to you how to reach your accommodation. You can also find more info under the headings Björnkulla and Lappis/SSSB on this website. At the Study and career centre you ll receive your keys and sign the rental agreement. You will also receive a welcome pack with accommodation details and other useful information. This is also an opportunity for you to ask us any questions you may have. When and how do I make the payments? The schedule for the rent payments will be sent to you via with subject: Accommodation & payment info. You do not need to pay before your arrival, however a fee will incur if you choose not to take the room and do not inform us at least a month beforehand. (Extenuating circumstances are an exception to this rule.) Payments are to be made monthly. It s possible to pay by credit card, cash or international transfer. Payment details will be given to you when you collect your keys. (Please note that as of January 2015, paying by cash will carry an extra charge of approx. 40kr). Am I required to do anything else before moving in? It is compulsory to have insurance coverage for incidences in your home (e.g. water or fire damage). Luckily enough, the University has an insurance policy that covers exchange students for such incidences so you don't need to arrange it yourselves! Freemovers are required to either show proof of coverage or can request the help of the housing office. I ll be arriving late can someone else collect the keys for me? No. You cannot send someone else to collect your keys as the tenant must sign the contract and take the keys in person. Please contact the housing office if this is the case.

4 Moving in (and useful services) Is the room furnished? Yes the room is furnished. Further details can be found under the name of the accommodation on our website. Who do I contact if I have problems? If something needs repairing? During the first two weeks, the University will replace any bulbs or furniture that is damaged so if you see anything that is broken please let us know as soon as you can via so you will not be charged for it at a later date. After this period, you will be liable for damage and will also have to replace any broken light bulbs yourself. For maintenance issues such as electricity failure, fridge not working or water leakages, you will need to contact the landlord directly (apart from students in Lappis who will contact the University). Contact details will be given in the housing folder you will receive on your arrival. Are there any utensils in the room and the shared kitchens? The kitchens come equipped with most utensils. You will find a list in the common kitchens with all utensils provided. If some are missing, then you can contact the landlord directly. Your rooms may also have kitchen utensils that may have been left by former students. Who cleans the common kitchens? All students are required to clean up after themselves when using the common kitchen and leave it in a clean and tidy state for the benefit of all. There is a cleaning schedule (applies to Björnkulla) in which a student will be responsible for a whole week to make sure that everyone does their bit. This does not mean that he/she needs to clean up but needs to make sure that the person(s) who left it dirty does so. Some form of cleaning equipment is provided for in the kitchens or even in the laundry rooms although washing up liquid, detergents etc. are to be bought by the student. Can I decorate the room? Yes you can decorate your room as long as no permanent damage is left. It s strictly forbidden to use tape on the walls! Can I have guests over? Yes you may have guests over as long as they re not permanent! We feel that one week to 10 days should be the limit for a visit. If you re in a shared room then you will need to check with your roommate if it s ok with them. Are we allowed to have parties?

5 Most of us have studied abroad and know that having parties is part of student life! So yes of course you can have fun as long as you do not disturb other people in the building or surrounding area and clean up after yourselves when you ve decided to call it a night. If the landlord receives complaints or if damages incur, then they will take the necessary steps to find the responsible people and limit the parties in the future as well as charge those responsible. So please have fun but don t forget those that prefer to take it easy. Can I change accommodation during the semester? You cannot change accommodation during the semester, this can only be done under extenuating circumstances. How do I open a bank account? In order to open a bank account in Sweden you normally need a personal number which you do not have. We have an agreement with SEB which can be found in Huddinge Centrum where you can open an account without a personal number as long as you take a passport and a letter of acceptance from the University. Where can I find the nearest post office? When receiving a package, you will most probably receive a slip in your letterbox which you then take with you to the address stated on the document where you can pick up your package. Again, as with many services here in Sweden, you will most probably be asked for a personal number. Please remember to bring your passport with you on these occasions (you may still be refused collecting the package, in this case we at the University can help you or alternatively you can also ask your mentor to come along as long as they have their own personal number). The nearest post office for those of you living in Björnkulla is located in Flemingsberg Centrum. For those of you living in Lappis packages can be collected at the Ica supermarket in Lappis. Moving out If I want to move out early how much notice do I need to give? You will need to give the University at least two full months notice. This implies that if you plan to move out on the 30 th April then you will need to let us know by the 28 th February. If you intend to move out during, and not at the end of the month e.g. 15 th may, then you will still need to pay for the whole of the month. How does moving out work?

6 First of all you will need to book a time and date for inspection. You will receive an from the accommodation officer about 2 to 3 months before the end of the semester urging you to book an inspection for the day and time you are leaving your accommodation. Make sure you book early to prevent any inconveniences. What happens at the inspection? During the inspection the accommodation officer will inspect your room and check that everything is clean and tidy, and nothing is broken. If the room is not up to scratch then you will be given extra time to finish off the cleaning. As soon as the inspection is over you will hand back the keys to the accommodation officer and will not be able to re-enter your room. In some rare cases we will not be able to do an inspection. In such cases, you will have to collect an envelope from the Student centre in which you will leave your keys and post in the letterbox located outside the main reception of the University. You must be very thorough when cleaning your room to avoid us calling in a cleaning company which would be very expensive (approx SEK). You will receive details on how to clean your room via mail. Outstanding payments If you have outstanding payments after you leave, such as a cleaning charge or a monthly rent payment which was not made, we will first inform you of the debt and provide you with the details to make the payment via international transfer. If we do not hear from the student, then we will be forced to contact your home University and will furthermore, not send your transcripts until the payments have been made.

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