Policies and contracts

When you accept a tenancy agreement for our accommodation you will be agreeing to a legally binding contract, as would be the case with any lettings agent. Some of our halls of residence are owned or operated by third parties. Tenancies for these halls are subject to specific terms and conditions which differ from those of our university-managed residences.

Once you have digitally signed your accommodation contract with us, please note that you will have entered into a fixed-term legally binding financial agreement. If you do not wish to commit to the contract and its associated terms and conditions including the dates the contract covers, please do not confirm your acceptance of the agreement. It is not possible to cancel your accommodation contract or the dates it covers if you change your mind later even if you choose not to move in.

Our customer promise

We adhere to the following customer promise:

"We are committed to providing a professional and friendly service that invests in your future."

We do this by:

Delivering consistent, high-quality service
Being honest and transparent
Listening responding and growing with our customers' needs
Ensuring that our services have a significant and positive net impact on society and that we promote sustainable living throughout the university
Showing respect and integrity.

Our customer service standards

Oxford Brookes University recognises the importance of providing a good and consistent level of customer service. For this reason, the following set of Customer Service Standards have been adopted and implemented by the residences team.

In-person callers

Reception and Hall Offices will be staffed during published hours whenever possible. Dated notices will be put up for any unexpected or temporary closures.
All personal callers/visitors will be greeted in a welcoming and courteous manner.
If the receptionist has stepped away, another member of staff will come to assist.
Accommodation and Hall staff will not accept offensive, threatening or inappropriate behaviour or comments from in-person callers. Anyone who conducts themselves in an inappropriate manner will be required to leave.

Written correspondence

All formal written correspondence will be on university approved headed paper or accompanied by the official university logo and will be dated with the date of posting.

Email correspondence

Emails will be responded to within 2 working days where appropriate (working days are Monday to Friday excluding public holidays and university concessionary periods). An auto-response will be turned-on during breaks, unexpected closures and busy periods to inform of any longer waiting times.
Staff will activate an email auto-response prior to taking leave which states when they will return to work.
If it is necessary to forward an email to another team within the university or externally for further action, the original sender will be notified.
If a full investigation into a reported issue is required, an acknowledgement or holding email will be sent.
In the event we are contacted by anyone who is not the applicant or student in question, we will not disclose or discuss any personal information without prior consent from the individual concerned and will treat all personal data in accordance with wider University Information Security policies.

Telephone correspondence

All calls will be answered promptly, courteously and by informing the caller which department they have reached and who they are talking to.
If the team is busy with in-person callers, your call will be answered as soon as someone is available.
Outside of working hours and during any unexpected closures, there will be a recorded message advising when the lines will reopen.
If abusive, threatening or offensive calls are received, the caller will be informed that the call will be terminated. Consistently abusive calls will result in investigation.

Halls out of office hours

The hall sites are covered by staff after the offices have closed.
There is out of hours support available on site to assist you. The quickest way to contact them is by telephone. This information is made clearly available at the hall reception.
If you need urgent help and/or support outside of published office hours, please contact Security for assistance via telephone (telephone numbers will be clearly available).
Duty Wardens are available on a rota basis and are not always individually available all through the week. If there is a particular warden you want to speak with, please email them directly using the site-specific warden email address.
The warden team will respond to your email at the earliest opportunity.
On most sites there is additional security available out of office hours for lock-outs, noise issues etc. This information will be clearly available with the warden details.

Privacy policy

Oxford Brookes University and our third party residence providers, Unite Students Ltd and A2Dominion, will process data in order to arrange accommodation contracts. The data controller is Oxford Brookes University. We hold nomination agreements with the third party providers so that students can be nominated to stay inside their student residences. We will pass on necessary information to these providers, as detailed in our Privacy Notice.