Cleaning and room visits
We want your accommodation to be a comfortable environment for you to live in.
While our dedicated cleaning team will provide a service, you are responsible for the day-to-day cleaning of your residence.
Your responsibilities
- Keep your bedrooms, communal areas and utility rooms clean, safe and tidy.
- Don’t put pictures or posters on any surface except notice boards. You will be charged for damage to paintwork caused by adhesives or pins you’ve used.
- Regularly take your rubbish and recycling to the bin stores on site and separate your recycling into the appropriate waste bins.
- Remove your personal belongings from communal toilets, showers, and bathrooms after use.
- Use the cleaning equipment you’ve been provided with - take a look at our cleaning and equipment guides for help
We provide the following equipment, which you can use to clean:
- Bin liners in rooms (on arrival)
- Vacuum cleaner
- Mop and bucket
- Dustpan and brush
- Disinfectant wipe tubs (in catered residences only)
What we do
Our Cleaning Team will make sure your accommodation is clean on arrival and introduce themselves to you during Welcome Week. They will direct you to communal cleaning equipment and information, guide you on how to keep your accommodation clean, and continue to clean communal spaces in your residence throughout your stay.
Cleaners usually work between 9am and 3pm on weekdays. Cleaning services are not provided at weekends, bank holidays and University closure days.
It may not always be possible to maintain normal service level standards when staff are on training courses, annual leave or absent due to illness, but we will notify you if there are changes to the service.
If you have any queries concerning the cleaning services, please contact your residence reception.
We clean the following areas daily for catered and weekly for self-catered accommodation:
- Communal utility rooms in catered residences - This includes the removal of a reasonable amount of rubbish and recycling and cleaning of surfaces
- Kitchens in self-catered accommodation - but you do your own washing up and remove your rubbish. The cleaners will not be able to clean if there are dirty dishes in the way.
- Entrances
- Corridors
- Stairwells
- Lifts
- All communal bathrooms, toilets and showers (where appropriate) are cleaned as per the schedule displayed within your accommodation.
We do not clean your bedroom or en-suite bathroom.
Full information about our cleaning services can be found in the Cleaning Commitments - Catered and Self-Catered 2023. These detail the level of service you will receive and what we expect.
Cleaning issues
If cleaners report a flat for being consistently inaccessible, or if standards of day-to-day cleanliness are below an acceptable level, the University may take steps to help you improve the cleaning standards – see the Room Visits section below.
We do not provide cleaning services in the following residences, except for cleaning of communal corridors, stairwells, and entranceways on a weekly basis:
- Birks Grange Village Studios
- Holland Hall Studios
- King Edward Court
- James Owen Court (will include cleaning from Summer 2024)
- Nancherrow (will include cleaning from Summer 2024)
- Lafrowda Studios
You will be expected to keep your own accommodation clean and will need to provide your own cleaning equipment and products. In James Owen Court and Nancherrow, flat residents will also be responsible for cleaning the communal areas within the flat.
Full information about cleaning support can be found on the Cleaning Commitments - Studios and no Cleaning.
We regularly undertake Room Visits to bedrooms, kitchens, and communal areas to ensure standards of cleanliness are maintained. At least 24 hours’ notice will be given before these visits. Where the levels of cleanliness are not acceptable, you will be told what steps you should take and the date for a re-visit.
If room visits reveal a breach of your accommodation agreement, you’ll be given a reasonable opportunity to put things right.
If you fail to rectify matters made known to you, or if cleanliness continues to be below standard, staff may be employed to provide a cleaning service or put right other breaches, and you will be charged for this. Any costs will be added to your student account, which you can see by accessing your online statements via your iExeter account and clicking on the ‘Student Record’ and ‘Finance’ tabs.
Room visits will be carried out following your departure, but if you would like to have a room visit prior to departure then please contact your residence reception approximately one week before you intend to leave to see if this is possible.
After a room visit, you will be advised in writing if your room or flat has not been left in an acceptable condition and will be given the opportunity to remedy the situation within a given timescale.
Please see the Cleaning charges document for more information.
|
Item(s) for removal |
Charge |
|---|---|
|
Small electric appliances |
£12.00 |
|
Fridge |
£20.00 |
|
Furniture |
£20.00 |
|
Candles |
£10.00 |
|
Bicycle from within residence or bedroom |
£20.00 |
|
Bicycle from bike shed which has not been logged and tagged at Reception |
£20.00 |
|
To reset safe code |
£16.00 |
All charges include an administration charge and VAT where applicable. Please note that the University is unable to store items for you and you will need to arrange for storage with a private company.
