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The management team of this property is atrocious. My flatmate had a broken shower, reported it 5 times, and no one came to help until the 2nd semester. We also had an awful experience with one of our flatmates, we contacted the accommodation team around 10 times between us within a 5 week period, and because this flatmate denied claims, they chose not to help us - despite one my flatmates actually entering therapy for these issues. The issue flatmate had a condition, so that was used for grounds to excuse all behaviour that we reported - even those that were not related to the condition. Saying this, the accommodation is good for money, in a brilliant location (about 8 minute walk from the university) and has lovely kitchen areas for socialising with flatmates. Rooms are spacious too. Overall, the accommodation itself is great, but any support needed throughout the year was not there.
York St John University Hall Rankings
| Percy's Place | #3 |
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| St John Central | #9 |
| Limes Court | #10 |
| The Grange - St Mary's | #11 |
| City Residence | #12 |
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The management team of this property is atrocious. My flatmate had a broken shower, reported it 5 times, and no one came to help until the 2nd semester. We also had an awful experience with one of our flatmates, we contacted the accommodation team around 10 times between us within a 5 week period, and because this flatmate denied claims, they chose not to help us - despite one my flatmates actually entering therapy for these issues. The issue flatmate had a condition, so that was used for grounds to excuse all behaviour that we reported - even those that were not related to the condition. Saying this, the accommodation is good for money, in a brilliant location (about 8 minute walk from the university) and has lovely kitchen areas for socialising with flatmates. Rooms are spacious too. Overall, the accommodation itself is great, but any support needed throughout the year was not there.
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What tenancy length do I need?
Some students choose to stay during the academic year, whilst others – particularly international students – require a tenancy that covers the entire year. You can also find student accommodation that is available for one or two terms, classified as a “short stay” on our search filters.
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This is totally up to you! Catered accommodation means you will be served meals at set times in a dining hall, and you’ll likely have access to fewer kitchen facilities than if you were to stay in self-catered accommodation.
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A guarantor is a person who signs a contract to agree to pay your rent if you are unable to. Most university accommodation requires a guarantor, and this applies to both domestic and international students.
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Most likely, yes, you’ll need to pay a deposit. This will be refunded at the end of your stay as long as there is no damage to the room or property.
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If you are staying in university-run accommodation or private halls, your rent should include any utilities such as electricity, gas, water, and internet. Students are not required to pay council tax, however you may need to fill in an exemption form so make sure you check with your local council.
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Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) are residential buildings designed for students. They are often located close to campus, boast modern facilities, include all bills, and often have staff on site to assist residents.
Will my student accommodation be furnished?
Student accommodation is typically fully furnished. Your room should include at least a bed, clothes storage, desk and chair. You’ll likely need to bring things such as bedding and kitchen utensils, but we have a full list here of everything you’ll need.
Read City Residence Reviews
The management team of this property is atrocious. My flatmate had a broken shower, reported it 5 times, and no one came to help until the 2nd semester. We also had an awful experience with one of our flatmates, we contacted the accommodation team around 10 times between us within a 5 week period, and because this flatmate denied claims, they chose not to help us - despite one my flatmates actually entering therapy for these issues. The issue flatmate had a condition, so that was used for grounds to excuse all behaviour that we reported - even those that were not related to the condition. Saying this, the accommodation is good for money, in a brilliant location (about 8 minute walk from the university) and has lovely kitchen areas for socialising with flatmates. Rooms are spacious too. Overall, the accommodation itself is great, but any support needed throughout the year was not there.
So I've been here under a week and I already have some complaints. My tap does not work as there is an excess of mold that is stuck to the actual head and turns any water coming out to mist. The light in my room did not work and it does not light up the room. It is very cold, spiders everywhere and we sleep on hospital-like beds. Not a great first impression but I like to look at the positives. The surrounding areas are beautiful, the other students are so kind, the rooms are spacious, it seems pretty safe despite other reviews stating otherwise. Overall, it's okay. I will get in touch with the maintenance people in the morning to fix everything. If these little issues were fixed this would be an amazing accommodation!
Bit of a mixed bag when it comes to living and social quality - Depending on which flat you’re in, you could either have a really good kitchen for socialising or a s*** one. No real living rooms, but the bigger kitchens have plenty of space for doing stuff Cleaners are good so long as students keep their stuff relatively in order, however there’s bugs in some of the flat kitchens, so that’s a bit grim Wi-Fi is as good as it can be, far as I know every room has an Ethernet adapter so you’ll get wired connections on any devices that really matter Location is good, a trek to the supermarkets but online shopping exists for a reason. Close to the uni and The Grange, not far to the town center Provided you get put in a good flat, city res is fine so long as you’re not expecting the uni to suck you off every time you complain. It’s cheaper than some and not the shittest either, what more could you want They need to get rid of the f****** kitchen bugs though
From living in City Residence from September- July I can safely say I haven’t been impressed. The only good thing about this accommodation is that there’s a very local shop and sandwich shop and you don’t have to travel very far to reach uni campus. Plus a bus stop literally right outside the grounds. If you like silverfish, break-ins, being woken up by the postman trying to deliver post every other morning because there’s no actual postbox by the main door then this place is for you!
Absolutely horrendous. I lived on the ground floor and I had so many insect problems, and I didn't even eat in my room. I had a ladybird infestation in the autumn and winter and an ant infestation in the spring and summer. I reported this to the university both times and they basically told me that it wasn't their problem. There was mould everywhere - black mould too, which is deadly. I always bleached it if I saw it but it always came back. I got seriously ill at some point and told the university about it and, again, they told me to push off. Security and staff do not care about the residence of this accommodation in the slightest. There was an assault and break in on the ground floor and instead of implementing proper security protocols like they do at other accommodations, they screwed shut all of the ground floor windows, making the existing mould and insect problems even worse than ever before. The university does not care about the well-being of the students in these halls.
Absolutely horrendous. I lived on the ground floor and I had so many insect problems, and I didn't even eat in my room. I had a ladybird infestation in the autumn and winter and an ant infestation in the spring and summer. I reported this to the university both times and they basically told me that it wasn't their problem. There was mould everywhere - black mould too, which is deadly. I always bleached it if I saw it but it always came back. I got seriously ill at some point and told the university about it and, again, they told me to push off. Security and staff do not care about the residence of this accommodation in the slightest. There was an assault and break in on the ground floor and instead of implementing proper security protocols like they do at other accommodations, they screwed shut all of the ground floor windows, making the existing mould and insect problems even worse than ever before. The university does not care about the well-being of the students in these halls.
The accommodation is good but could be better.
DO NOT come to city Res. There is no safety for students and when you go to talk to the accommodation staff they treat you like a child because they want to park their car in the park so refuse to close the gate. There has been a break in and an assault in one week and the university doesn't really care at all. Do not risk your own safety for somewhere cheap, go to a more expensive accommodation which will have gates to stop people entering the premises
My large ensuite room was on the second floor with two windows - twice the draft and plenty of mould on them! The room itself was spacious, however there was only one ceiling light and the mirror on the back of the wardrobe door was impractical due to the lack of light. The vent in the bathroom was almost a health risk with no clear way to fix it. The kitchen was in very bad shape - the toaster, the kettle and one of the chairs broke almost immediately. The microwave simply couldn't take it anymore and blew up. Hot water was consistent up until spring, where there were long periods of freezing temperatures. The fire alarms started in freshers week and didn't stop - one noteable time was when a fuse blew in a room and there were four fire engines attending (no damage). After that they begin checking the fire alarms every Thursday morning. There's only one stairwell per block and it's not very sociable.
Irregular wifi, broken hoover, microwave and oven when arrived. No social space. Why should we have to pay for a TV permit when we pay so much for so little?
we didnt even have hot water, we only got one hour a day and that was at 5am
It's alright if you're not too picky, bathrooms are a decent size. Rooms are a good size too
Considering it's more expensive than other halls available I don't feel like it's better. I've also never had so many fire alarms in my entire life.
Absolute s*******. Tiny room. Tiny bed. Bad heating. Terrible windows. Internet was decent but no wifi. Old as f***. One good thing was having your own bathroom, even if it regularly smelt of sewage and was freezing cold. Dodgy shower. Kitchen was a good size however, there was no social area other than the uncomfy wooden chairs. Whenever we fried something, one of us had to hold the oven glove over the fire alarm as it was set off very easily, meaning the whole residence would then have to stand outside usually for about half an hour until maintenance came and switched it off. Was only two washers and dryers for the whole residence. The only reason I would recommend living here would be how close it is to the uni.
Only had internet through Ethernet. Constant fire alarms. No living room
Great location with easy access to maintenance support. The cleaners don't really clean much (we were once told that our kitchen wouldn't be cleaned because it was too messy). The common room is also the kitchen so space is pretty limited.
for the amount we pay im sorry but it is not worth at all. Halls for a few hundred pounds altogether and the quality of their rooms i have seen. Bigger more quality in general
Tiny fridge, can be noisy but good location
Rooms are spacious and there is lots of room in the drawers etc. Bathroom is alright, mirrors weren't too clean. The windows are difficult to open, but it's okay because there seems to be a lot of spiders/bugs outside my window! It's great being within walking distance of the university and town, but there's also a bus stop outside the accommodation. Space in the fridge is a little limited for everyone. I wouldn't say it's worth the price (£5000ish), but I'm happy with it.
The campus life is LIVE and the fact that everyone loves fairly close to each other means that most of the students are part of some kind of society
I mainly chose City Residence because of the en-suite bathrooms. Trust me its the only plus side. The kitchen is bug infested and when you try to report it the Uni blames you! The fire alarm goes off whenever it wants (even from steam!). The cookers are crap. It takes 3 hours to cook pasta! Theres no living room which sucks because the kitchen is the only place you can socialise and if people are cooking you have no chance! The rooms are okay. Some are tiny and you still have to pay the same amount as the others which i found unfair. The building in general is just old. The windows may as well not even be there. Thats if you can get them open! In the end I just decided to commute. The only thing that made it worth it is the people. If the uni upgraded the facility's and made it worth the money it would be great. Its really close to uni too. Plus its only small so you get to know everyone which is cool. Great people. Crap windows. A little TLC and it would be 5 star!
Poor overpriced accommodation! never even had the basics such as hot water!
It's fun because of the people you meet, the kitchen space is terrible, and the room is what you can make of it.
fire alarms every week Small fridge Bad cleaners
The major good thing about this accomodation is it's location, it's within a 10 minutes walk from uni so great if you're not a morning person! But I'm afraid that's where the good things stop. To start with there are no sofas or communal seating areas other than the kitchen table and these chairs are very uncomfortable. When we arrived the kitchen was pretty dirty, we had to scrub it all ourselves and was then told that someone was coming to do it in the next few weeks, but too little too late. Although since then we have a fortnightly cleaner who cleans the communal areas which not all St John halls have. One bonus is that this is the cheapest accommodation which provides ensuites, having said that it is still very pricy for what you get compared to the more modern halls. There is a huge lack of fridge and cupboard space, which is a big pain! Oh and the windows are single glazed, with mouldy wood frames and you can feel drafts. It has also this year not been very sociable.