The Northfield, Exeter

Unfortunately, they are only able to offer single occupancy across all of their room types at The Northfield. If you would like to live with a friend, they can offer two rooms within the same cluster flat or two studios next door to each other.

The Northfield look at the room type you have requested, your year of study, gender and any other preferences. Northernhay House will try to allocate you to a flat that is suitable to your situation and preferences, however it is not always possible for them to meet your requests.

There is a section on your application form where you can state any preferences. Whilst they will do what they can to try to meet your requests, they cannot guarantee room type, flat type, location or the profile of the other residents in your flat.

Yes, it is possible for you to stay at The Northfield throughout your studies. Bookings are taken on a first come first served basis so be sure to re-book as soon as possible.

A copy of the standard The Northfield tenancy agreement can be downloaded from website via the relevant room type page. All residents will receive a copy of their tenancy agreement (AST) via email upon signing the document electronically during the online booking process.

If you cancel your contract before the contract begins you will be subject to their cancellation terms and charges. Cancellations will only be accepted upon receipt of a completed cancellation form.

Once the contract has begun you are liable for the full tenancy as stated in the tenancy agreement. Cancellation terms and conditions apply. You may be able to surrender your tenancy agreement early subject to a replacement tenant being found. Please check with reception for more information.

If another, suitable, tenant is found to take over your tenancy The Northfield will agree to release you from your contract. You will be required to pay an administration charge. You must vacate your room and return the keys to reception. You will be refunded any overpaid rent after you have moved out. This refund will be calculated based on the date the new tenant takes up occupation of the room not the date you move out. Should no replacement tenant be found for your room you will be liable for the rent for the duration of your tenancy agreement.

Please make sure that you bring your Booking Confirmation email, one form of photographic ID and your Boarding Pass (available to download/screenshot once you have completed your online induction). Keys will not be issued without the online induction having been completed, so please ensure this is completed at least 24-hours prior to arrival.

The Northfield is staffed 24/7.  At the start of contract, they are open from 9am to 6pm on each of the move in days. However, if you arrive when the office is closed, don’t panic, instructions outside their office will advise you how to contact the member of staff on duty.

You will be welcomed on arrival in their reception by a member of The Northfield team. You will be asked to provide any documents that are outstanding from you. Once the paperwork (if any) is complete, you will be issued with your key and fob. As you will appreciate, move-in days are extremely busy for their team – please be prepared for possible delays/queues, and try to ensure that you bring with you any items that the team have requested in advance to speed the process along.

Part of the university experience is meeting people from different backgrounds, interests and cultures. They hope that you will enjoy the diversity of university life, however should you be unhappy it is worth spending some time talking to your flatmates to try to come to some mutually agreeable solution. It is usually not possible for a room move, please speak to reception if you have any problems and should someone else be in the same situation they may be able to swap rooms between residents. It is important to remember that moving to university is a stressful time and that initial teething problems are usually resolved within the first few weeks.

It is not usually possible to change rooms after you have arrived. All rooms are allocated on a 43 or 51 week contract and unless another resident also requests a room swap they would be unable to change your room.

Please contact The Northfield for more information if you would like to move in early. You will need to complete a separate summer application and you may not be able to stay within the same room for the summer stay as you would for the academic year.

All flats come with a cooker, hob, microwave, toaster and kettle provided as standard.

The Northfield provides a mattress and mattress protector; however additional bedding is not supplied.

Cluster Flats and Studios do not have a landline telephone within them.  They do, however, have an intercom which a visitor can use to contact you from outside the building.

A 100Mb Wi-Fi connection is provided to every room at The Northfield free of charge. Their provider also offers residents additional add-ons for TV, gaming and back-up. All residents wishing to use the internet services must sign up to the terms and conditions of use.

You can connect via Wi-Fi or a Cat 5 patch cable – if you don’t have one, you can buy one from reception.

The Cluster Flats and Studios at The Northfield are not equipped with a TV.  You are welcome to watch the Smart TV in the Common Room alone or with friends.

The Northfield has a selection of TV channels available on Freeview.

Yes, they have lifts that service all five blocks here at The Northfield.

No bikes may be stored within the flats. Bike storage may be available on site, contact reception for further information.

The Northfield is staffed Monday-Friday between 9:30am and 5:30pm, with rotational staff members patrolling the site between 5:30pm and 9:30am, as well as on weekends.

Reception is open Monday-Friday 9:30am to 5:30pm.

They provide 24-hour security with CCTV, electronic access control and a member of staff on site at all times. Their residents also have a responsibility for ensuring the site is kept secure and are asked to ensure the accommodation remains safe by not allowing access to non-residents and reporting anything suspicious to staff immediately.

You are given access to the online portal where maintenance jobs are able to be logged. Once logged, their team will work quickly to try and rectify the issue for you.

Once reported, the maintenance job appears on the caretakers iPad for them to see. They will come and assess the issue, and hopefully fix it for you on their first visit. Occasionally, it will not always be possible to complete the repair on the first visit and a subsequent visit may be necessary. Repairs are responded to on a priority basis, please be aware that it may not be possible to attend to your problem the same day you report it, especially at busy times of the year.

If you have a maintenance problem that needs urgent assistance when the reception is closed you should contact the member of staff on site. The caretaker or security guard will respond to your problem and do whatever is possible to resolve the issue, but it may not always be possible to complete the repair out of office hours.

Washers and dryers are provided, and managed by, the third-party company Circuit Laundry. Information on how to report issues within the launderette is displayed on posters within the room itself, alternatively, speak to reception and they will be more than happy to assist with reporting any issues on your behalf.

Pigeon holes containing your post are located within reception. You can collect your post during office opening hours. Parcels and recorded mail will be signed for by The Northfield staff without liability.

It is the resident’s own responsibility to clean their rooms and they share responsibility for the communal area of the flat. On-site staff will conduct monthly inspections and you are expected to ensure that your bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, lounge and hallway are clean on these days. Failure to meet the required cleanliness standards will result in external cleaning contractors being brought in, the cost of which will be passed onto the resident(s). At the end of the tenancy the bedroom and flat must be returned in a good, clean condition to avoid cleaning charges, again it is the responsibility of all residents to ensure the kitchen, lounge and hallway are clean. The block stairways, corridors and all communal facilities are regularly cleaned by their team of caretakers – posters detailing which areas are cleaned when are displayed throughout the site on block noticeboards.

No, Smoking and vaping is not permitted in any area within The Northfield; this includes bedrooms, kitchens, lounges, hallways, stairways, communal rooms and external courtyard areas. The designated smoking area is located outside each block. Charges will apply for anyone found to be smoking within the building.

Occasional overnight guests are permitted provided your flatmates agree. All overnight guests must be signed in at reception for safety, security and so that staff know who is on site in the event of an emergency. You must accompany your guests at all times whilst they are on site and you are responsible for their behaviour.

No, The Northfield does not have guest rooms during term-time. If you need an additional room during the summer months, this should be possible.

Their accommodation has secure electronic fob access at the main entrances to ensure that only residents have access to the site. Visitors will need to contact reception or yourself to gain access. All visitors should be signed in at reception, this is for reasons of safety, security and to ensure that in the event of an emergency, the team know who is on site. Visitors must be accompanied by residents at all times whilst on site and residents should be reminded that they are responsible for their visitors actions throughout the duration of their stay.

No pets of any type are permitted at The Northfield.

They hope that you never have any reason to be dissatisfied with the service they provide you. However, if you have any issues that you would like to bring up with them please contact a member of staff in your management office who will endeavour to resolve the problem for you.

The Northfield does not take any deposits. The payment you make upon booking is an advance rental payment and is offset against your first or only instalment of rent.

If you do not live in the UK and do not have a UK guarantor, you will need to pay for your rent in full upon booking. You can arrange to do this either by credit/debit card or bank transfer. Please be aware that if paying by bank transfer the bank will usually deduct charges from the amount you send them, and you will need to pay the amount due, in full, before you can move in.

All UK students will be required to provide a UK guarantor.

Please note that all payments must be cleared in full upon the date they become due. This may or may not fall in line with Student Finance payments. Payment due dates are available to view on the relevant room type page on website.

If you are having financial difficulties, you should contact a member of the management immediately. Failure to do so could result in interest charges being added to your account if you fail to pay on the due dates as well as legal proceedings being started against you and, where applicable, your guarantor. Management staff can usually advise you of where to go to get additional financial help which will assist you in meeting your financial obligations.

You do not need to take any action here, as The Northfield do not store bank account or credit/debit card details within their systems. Simply log in to your account the next time your rent is due, and clear the balance using your new credit/debit card.

The Northfield cannot accept foreign currency or travellers cheques as payment. The safest and simplest way for international students to make a payment is by Credit/Debit card or bank transfer.

Please log in to your Portal Account and click on the ‘Account’ tab. You are able to view all charges, transactions and payment dates via this section of your portal.

If you don’t pay your rent daily interest may be added to the amount you owe to them. Your guarantor will be contacted and will be asked to pay the amount that you owe. The Northfield will commence legal proceedings against any resident who fails to pay the rent due. These proceeding will also include action against the resident’s guarantor.

Provided you are a student in full-time education you will be exempt from council tax.

Their rents are inclusive of electricity consumption up to the value of £300 per room. No charge is made for water consumption, gas usage or internet provision.

A 100Mb connection is provided to your room free of charge. Should you wish to upgrade to a faster connection you should contact their internet provider and payments can be made online.

Northernhay House does not supply a TV licence for the television supplied in the lounge area of your flat you should purchase one prior to connecting the TV as detailed in your tenancy agreement. Should you bring a television for your bedroom or access TV through your internet connection you will need to arrange for a separate TV licence. Please contact TV Licensing for further details.

Contents insurance is automatically included with your rent. The property is working in partnership with Cover4insurance.com and their student insurance, Cover4Students, to provide some cover for the contents inside your room. You don’t need to do anything to activate this cover, but it is important for you to check and ensure that you fully understand the protection provided and whether it is sufficient for your needs. 

• Check your level of cover
• Review key exclusions and limitations
• Check your policy excess
• Learn how to make a claim
• Extend and personalise your cover to protect additional items such as bicycles, musical instruments and photographic equipment

You are expected to ensure that your room and flat are returned at the end of your contract in good condition. You must make sure that all areas within the flat are cleaned thoroughly and that all rubbish and unwanted items are removed from the flat to avoid any charges being incurred. Damage to the flat or missing items will be charged for in accordance with the publicised charges in reception. You must ensure that all outstanding invoices are settled prior to your departure. A final room and bedroom check will be completed at the end of the tenancy once the student has moved out and you will be notified and invoiced for any damages.

During office hours, they should be returned to the reception. If you move out when the office is closed you should put your keys in an envelope with your name and room number clearly marked on it, and return them to the member of staff on duty.

The Northfield does not take a deposit, and as such no money will be refunded upon your departure. All damages will be invoiced for after you have left, and you will need to ensure these are paid within 7 days of receiving the invoice to avoid legal action being taken.

Yes, you can buy a parking permit to park on-site at £20 per week.  Due to their very close proximity and the City Centre, many students who drive chose not to bring their vehicle with them.

You are responsible for ensuring that you leave your room and flat in the same condition that is was given to you. You will be asked to complete and return an inventory to record the condition of your room upon arrival. Marks on the walls or furniture, including those caused by blu-tac, white-tac or pins will require painting once you have left and you may be charged in line with their advertised schedule of charges.

You can choose to pay your rent in full, by 3 instalments, or on a monthly basis.