FAQs

Yes. Rooms are limited and will be offered on a first come first served basis. To check availability, please contact your accommodation office.

Please note: The room for your early check-in may be different to the room you're allocated for your academic booking.

If another room is available you can request a room transfer. However, we'll not be able to facilitate this during the first four weeks after check in.

No, due to security reasons you'll be the only person permitted to collect your keys.

Your room number will be assigned at random and confirmed when you check in.

Each resident will need to bring their own bedding and kitchen items when they move in.  If you don't want to bring these with you, you can order these items from one of our partner Unikitout. Use promotional code: OPTIVO10 to receive 10% off.

You will receive the keys at check-in

We allocate a set amount of time to each resident so that we can answer any questions you may have on arrival. You can book this in advance. 

There's no parking onsite. If you require parking, please check the area online. 

All our buildings are mixed sex with the exception of Goldsmiths House which is female only. 

You can make a request to stay with someone and we'll try our best to accommodate this, but we can't guarantee it.

You can view an example of our licence agreement by clicking the link below.

We don't take deposits. However, we do ask that applicants pay one week's rent to secure their room. You'll need to pay this through our application website after you have been assigned a room.

You will need a guarantor if you want to pay your rent in instalments. The guarantor should be UK based. You will be able to provide your guarantors details when you complete your online application. If you don't have a UK guarantor, you can use an external service such as Housing Hand.

To apply for a room you’ll need to complete an online application through our application website. It should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete the initial part of your application. After you have submitted this, a member of our team will review it and come back to you within 3 working days.

If your application is successful, a room will have been assigned to you. You'll receive an email with a link to complete your application.

If you're 17 at the time of applying, but will be 18 when your licence agreement commences, you can book a room. As you'll be 17 at the time of signing licence agreement, you'll need a parent or guardian to  sign as well. You'll be taken through this process when you complete your online application.

If you won't be 18 when the licence agreement commences, we will not be able to accommodate you.

Students are at the heart of everything we do at Optivo Students and we want to support you as much as possible. For this reason, we've made our cancellation policy flexible to give you peace of mind.

For academic bookings you can move in from 21 September 2024. If you need to arrive early please refer to 'can I arrive early?'

If you have opted to pay your rent in instalments, you will need to make payments at set times in the year. These are outlined below:

Agreements starting in September 2023

40-week agreements

• One weeks rent on signing of your contract
• 19 weeks rent due by 23 September 2023
• 20 weeks rent due by 11 January 2024

50-week agreements

• One weeks rent on signing of your contract
• 19 weeks rent due by 23 September 2023
• 20 weeks rent due by 11 January 2024
• 10 weeks rent due by 25 April 2024

Agreements starting in September 2024

40-week agreements

• One weeks rent on signing of your contract
• 19 weeks rent due by 21 September 2024
• 20 weeks rent due by 11 January 2025

50-week agreements

• One weeks rent on signing of your contract
• 19 weeks rent due by 21 September 2024
• 20 weeks rent due by 11 January 2025
• 10 weeks rent due by 25 April 2025

Yes, if you wish to leave your accommodation you can find a replacement tenant to take over your licence agreement. They will need to agree to pay the same weekly rate for the remainder of your existing licence agreement. It will be your responsibility to find the replacement. Once they have completed all the required actions to take over your licence agreement, you will be released.

If your university place is withdrawn, you can request to terminate your licence agreement up until:

• 25 August 2023 for contracts starting in September 2023

You will need to send your Optivo Students accommodation team an email and provide evidence to support your cancellation e.g. a cancellation letter from UCAS. Once this has been checked and confirmed we can issue a refund.

If you've made reasonable attempts to obtain a visa and it is denied, you can request to terminate your licence agreement up until:

• 25 August 2023 for contracts starting in September 2023

You will need to send your Optivo Students accommodation team an email and provide evidence to support your cancellation e.g. an email or letter from the visa issuing office outlining the reasons the application was denied. Once this has been checked and confirmed we can issue a refund.

You can pay your rent through:

• the application portal from 4 September 2024 or;
• bank transfer using the details below:

Bank: Barclays
Account Name: Southern Housing (A) Keyworker and students
Sort Code: 20-65-63
Account Number: 33687643
IBAN: GB81BARC20656333687643
Swift Code: BARCGB22

Address: Leicester, Leicestershire, LE87 2BB
United Kingdom

No. Your one week's advanced rent payment will be put towards your total rent. E.g. if you have a 50-week agreement, you'll only have to pay for another 49 weeks.

All of our buildings are no-smoking buildings. To smoke you’ll have to leave the building.

The Wi-Fi in all our buildings reach speeds up to 150 Mbps throughout.*

* Speed guides (assuming a single spatial stream device) – i.e. the lowest speed that you will achieve for your devices 50% of the time, based on measurements during peak hours of 8pm until 10pm, in accordance with Ofcom guidance. Sometimes you will achieve more than this and sometimes less. Speeds will typically range from 40Mbps to 120Mbps. Upload speeds will be similar.
 
Note that some devices such as premium laptops (dual spatial stream) will achieve considerably higher speeds – as much as double the speeds quoted.
 
The actual speed for a user session will vary – there is a “bell-curve” or normal distribution around the mean speed.

You'll find room sizes by m2 in each of our listings

Your rent covers water, electricity, gas (if applicable) and W-Fi. However, if you want to bring a TV you’ll need to pay for your own TV license.

All communal areas are cleaned daily at our sites except for at Park House, which is cleaned once a week. We don’t clean your rooms, but we do have a communal vacuum cleaner you can use.