Justice for Holyrood Residents 2015

The Edinburgh Student Housing Cooperative supports your cause! The exploitation of students has gone unchecked too long, and with actions like yours, we can fight to improve our living conditions.

Good luck everyone! This is fight is well worth it. Make sure you check out the rent strikes currently on going at UCL in London. They won compensation for their unacceptable conditions but have kept up the strike as they deserve more. They've held lots of demos and interesting stunts on campus ( like all camping out in the middle of campus for the night) to raise attention to the issue.

I'm strongly for the petition here in this community.

My window frame at flat 36 room 5 is soaked with water and the wall paint around it is peeling off. I am not enjoying my money's worth

I live in the flat facing the Holyrood Road. The construction noise made me almost wake up every morning, even at weekends. It is UNBEARABLE, especially on Sundays and Saturdays when I want to have more sleeping time. Also most of the time I cannot open my window for fresh air as the construction generates a lot of dust. For the domestic equipment, WiFi is not stable and TV signal is terrible. The locker of bathroom door in our flat remained unfixed for nearly one month although we had contacted the repair group several times before. It has only worked for two month, and now it cannot be used again. I know it is hard to meet all the demands of every students, but at least a comfortable living environment should be guaranteed. Thank you for considering.

The noise of construction work was unbearable during the exams revision time last year, I was waken up by it quite early in the morning everyday and can never work in my room unless the workers had finished their work. It has been a very difficult time for us, and thank you for understanding.

We have had many problems and we were not very harsh about all that but as soon as small harm happened to the table we were asked for the table price.. many wrongs things and not been compensated at all...

I am a student at Eca and live in the Holyrood area. I'm appuled to read this. These people deserve compensation and I'm signing this as I am appart of the Holyrood community and people should not be treated in this manner. Just because they are students does not mean they should put with disgraceful service.

I'm studying for an MSc in Sound Design. The noise pollution from the work-site across the road can effectively make it impossible for me to do practical work during normal working hours. If I had been aware of this before moving in, I would have planned my working arrangements differently.

I am beyond agitated with the level of noise we have to experience throughout the day. I just wish they had informed us about this construction site before signing up for this accomodation.

Having experienced some of the situations described in the petition (even if I think I was far better off then many others), I do support the claim for compensation. However, I'd like to acknowledge (as I am sure most of us would) the courageous work of the staff working in Holyrood South daily. They have proved very helpful and efficient when they have to put up with the malfunctions and many problems left by hasty construction workers in the same way we do. I just thought I'd leave that here so they know their work is noticed and valued!

All the comments are fair enough and I do feel some uncomfortable during my whole living experience in Holyrood South.

wifi is super annoying frequently come across unexpected guests same price for both big and small room

"Justice demands retribution."

UofE Accommodation Services is appalling. All students in Holyrood South signed a contract without being informed that our accommodation was not finished yet, and our move-in date was pushed back four times. I had to live in two Travelodges, each for a month, with no Internet, no place to store my belongings, and no ability to refrigerate or cook food. Even while virtually homeless we continued to make rent payments, despite the fact that the contract stated rent payments would be made in proportion to how much of the building was inconvenienced, should maintenance be required. 100% of the building was uninhabitable, so 100% should not have been paid. More than one staff member of the university advised me to either sue or else expose the situation to a newspaper, they believed the situation to be so bad. I lived in Holyrood from the last days of October until February. In that time my flat did not have warm water, so I had to buy a gym membership in order to shower. Heating was either set at nearly 30 or completely off; we had no control over it. The Wifi rarely worked. A putrid, rotten smell from the rubbish which went uncollected for at least a month in the dumpsters beneath the flat began to seep into our living space. Numerous times the electronic key system went out, meaning that rooms and flats would lock or unlock on their own and the front gate to the building could not be secured. Workers could let themselves into the flat unannounced at any time, and more than once I caught them in my flat sitting around the kitchen table or on the couches watching TV, drinking, or just having a chat. During the process of moving out I was given misleading and inaccurate information, making it more difficult for me to leave. I would confirm, in writing, one aspect of transferring my contract, and then be contradicted, again in writing, with different rules. When I pointed out discrepancies between what was listed on the Accommodations website and what I was told, the we

Luckily was able to move out of this place in January - couldn't handle it anymore. It was an unnecessary struggle to get out of the tight contract accommodation services had written up. They should let people leave freely if they want to under these awful living conditions.

Tt

Another problem for me: the inadequate and superficial cleaning of the common rooms in my flat.

I do not live in Holyrood, but I have many friends who do and have been very aware of their ongoing struggles. Furthermore, I live in other University accommodation where I have been victim to similar experiences of a completely careless, ineffective Accommodation Services. I am appalled by this University's lack of concern for its student housing.

Also how about the blinds not large enough to cover the windows? Sun wakes me up every single morning at 5.