Frequently asked questions about:
Deposit
Student arrival
The Housing Contract
Monthly rent and utility
Safety measures for avoiding robberies or accidents in the apartment
Relationships in the apartment
Activities with ALUNI.net
Advices
Requirements for housing with ALUNI
- Be under 35 years of age
- Be studying in a University (Graduate, Masters, Doctorate, Practices) or enrolled in a centre of studies during the contracted period. (Practices in businesses, hospitals, public centres, etc.)
- Fill out the reservation application on ALUNI.net’s webpage
- Pay the housing deposit
Deposit
How much is the deposit?
The deposit required to house with ALUNI is the equivalent of one month’s rent for the room being contracted. The minimum deposit is 300 Euros. This means that even if the room costs 280 Euros per month, a 300 Euros deposit will be required. If the room being contracted costs 450 Euros then the deposit will be set at 450 Euros.
How does one pay the deposit?
The deposit may be paid in either one or two payments. The first payment is of 250 which is the minimum amount required in order to completely reserve the room; later the student may pay the remaining upon arrival
The deposit may be paid in one of these ways:
- Online from ALUNI’s website at www.aluni.net. (This is the most common when reserving overseas as is a way of avoiding transfer fees)
- Through a bank transfer to ALUNI’s bank account
- With cash in one of ALUNI’s offices
If the student pays through a bank transfer, any transfer fees will be paid by the student, and if by mistake the bank charged the commission to ALUNI the student should complete the full deposit upon signing the contract
Why does ALUNI ask for a deposit?
The deposit has two functions, those being to reserve a room in advance, and to guarantee to ALUNI that the apartment will be left in the same state that it was in upon arrival. For this reason, students are not allowed to pay the last month’s rent with the deposit.
Who holds onto the deposit?
The deposit stays with ALUNI and not the owner, to be sure that he too fulfils his obligations.
Who decides in a rare case to retain part or all of the deposit?
ALUNI.net, not the landlord, decides if part or all of the deposit needs to be retained in a case where the student doesn’t comply with his part of the contract.
Requirements for recovering the deposit
To recover the deposit, the student must present the completed "Devolución Fianza" form in one of our offices signed by the landlord. (If it is an ALUNI owned apartment then ALUNI will sign the form.) The student must have also fulfilled the following requirements:
- Be up to date on all payments, including rent and utilities
- Leave the room clean and tidy, the garbage thrown away. There should be no belongings of the student in the room. All the bedding should be left on top of the mattress
- Return the keys to the owner of the apartment. (To one of ALUNI’s Offices if ALUNI owns the apartment)
- There should be no damages to the apartment or to the room in which the student was housed
- Fill in the quality questionaire
The "Devolución Fianza" form can be picked up at any of our offices, and is available at www.aluni.net
Ways to recover the deposit
ALUNI can return the deposit any of the following terms:
- To a Credit Card
- By Bank Transfer to an account that the student has provided. (Any transfer fees will be paid by the student)
- By changing the deposit to another friend’s account that is going to house with ALUNI
The best way to recover the deposit is by returning it to a credit card, but this option is only available if the student has paid online through our application in the last 3 months. For this reason it is a good idea to pay the last months rent online through our Credit Card Payment option.
Students that house multiple years in the same apartment: what happens with the deposit?
If a student wishes to continue living in the same apartment for the following academic year, he or she can request that ALUNI holds on to their deposit from year to year.
To be sure that a room is reserved for the following academic year, a student must sign and pay for another contract before leaving on vacation and request that their room be revised.
If a student abandons the apartment before the contract is over
If a student decides to abandon the apartment before the contracted period expires, he or she will lose the deposit. (This is stated in the contract).
If a student cannot stay the full contracted period, he or she has the option of searching for another student to take their place, which would allow them to recover the deposit.
Student arrival
How should I advise ALUNI of my arrival date and time?
The student should confirm by email or by telephone the date and time of arrival so that ALUNI can contact the owner of the apartment and the current apartment occupants if there are any.
If a student finds out that he or she is going to arrive some days before or after their contracted period begins, he or she must alert ALUNI at least 15 days in advance. The maximum change can be of 7 days. If a student does not advise ALUNI 15 days in advance, he or she will have to pay the full contracted period.
What to do if the arrival date does not coincide with the office hours of ALUNI, or if it is on a holiday?
If a students arrival time does not coincide with the office hours of ALUNI, for example at night or on the weekend, he or she should contact ALUNI immediately by email or by telephone. ALUNI will try to arrange with the owner of the apartment or with existing occupants that they let the student into the apartment. However, if no arrangement is possible, a student will need to stay in a hostel by their own means.
My first day in the apartment
When the student arrives the first day to their apartment, he or she must familiarize himself with the use of any electronics including the stove, washing machine, television, and dishwasher if there is one.
If there are any problems with any of the electronic equipment in the apartment, the student must tell ALUNI as soon as possible so that it can be fixed. (Within 7 days or the student can be held responsible.)
What if a student wishes to change apartments before the contracted period expires?
Once a student has chosen an apartment, he or she may only change apartments when his or her contracted period has expired.
ALUNI.net tries to well inform students about each apartment through the internet by including photos, floor maps, distances from the metro, other students references, etc. so that the student can pick his or her room without needing to visit the apartment directly. There is always the possibility of visiting an apartment before paying the deposit.
Students who do not visit the apartment but do decide to reserve, assume the responsibility for losing the deposit if they do not like the apartment upon arrival. (Students should be aware that in the moment the reservation is completed, the room is no longer available to other students.)
About the housing contract
How much must a student pay to ALUNI in contracting fees?
ALUNI.net charges the contract fee directly upon arrival when the student signs the contract. The first contract is priced at 77 Euros and later any more contracts will be lowered to 47 Euros.
If the student is studying at a university or business that has signed an agreement with ALUNI, he or she has the right to a 40% discount off the first contract, but must follow the following conditions:
Present the brochure stamped by the university’s seal where the student plans to complete his or her studies. (The stamp must be the same as that of the agreement between ALUNI and said university)
The institution must maintain the link to ALUNI.net on its webpage to complete their side of the agreement.
When does the contract come into effect?
From the moment the room has been reserved through ALUNI’s on-line application and the deposit has been paid, it is understood that the contract takes effect.
When a student signs the contract in the office, it is just another proof of the existence of the contract. From the moment a reservation is complete, said room is no longer available to any other student.
Nature of the contract
The contract for renting a room in one of ALUNI’s apartments is temporary, for which the student recognizes that it is not his or her habitual accommodation, but rather his or her temporary accommodation, linked to an academic calendar or to practices realized in a business.
The student doesn’t have the right to extend his or her contract, as he or she would in the case that it was a permanent accommodation. (However, a student may always request a second contract in the same apartment.)
Finalazing the contract
The contract naturally ends at the end of the contracted period.
Neither the owner nor the student has the right to cancel a contract unilaterally, with out the consent of ALUNI, his or her accommodation contract.
If the owner does not comply with his side of the contract, the stu-dent should communicate the problem immediately to ALUNI so that ALUNI may formally request that the owner comply. If the owner re-fuses to comply with the contract and the student wishes, ALUNI will change the contract to a room in another apartment.
If the student does not comply with his side of the contract, he or she must abandon the apartment and will lose the deposit.
Monthly rent and utilities
Where the monthly rent should be paid
In the apartments administered by the owner, the student pays di-rectly to the owner. If the apartment is administered by ALUNI.net, the student pays directly to ALUNI.net (ALUNI then turns the money over to the owner).
When the monthly rent should be paid
The monthly rent must be paid before the 6th of each month. If the rent is paid late without proper justification, ALUNI has the right to re-quest an additional 5 additional Euros for each day the payment is late.
The monthly rent is calculated per day or per month?
Although the rent is paid at the beginning of each month, it is paid per day. The monthly price written on the contract is calculated for 30 days. In effect, if a month has 31 days, an additional day must be paid and if there are less than 30 days, the days are subtracted.
How are the first and last months paid?
If arriving once a month has begun, or leaving before a month ends, it is only necessary to pay the days of stay. (This includes the day the student enters or leaves the apartment.)
Does the monthly rent include utilities?
Utilities are not included in the monthly rent charged by ALUNI. (Utilities include: water, electricity and gas). The price for utilities tends to be 1 Euro per day, but it depends on the consumption of the household.
In the apartments administered by directly ALUNI the student is re-quested 35 Euros per month that are applied towards the concept of utilities (we refer to the average cost of utilities per student in the year of 2009).
Each trimester, ALUNI calculates in accordance with the actual in-voices of the utilities and is readjusted (this could mean returning money to the student or requesting whatever has not been paid).
If the student wishes, the owner of the apartment has the obligation to show all invoices that have been received during the stay.
If the apartment has internet, it is not required to pay extra, because it is understood as included in the monthly rent.
Safety measures for avoiding robberies or accidents in the apartament
- Always keep the apartment door locked, even when you are inside of the apartment
- Do not open the apartment entrance with the intercom to anyone unknown. Be careful when commercial workers request permission to access to leave brochures in the mailboxes, don’t open for them
- NEVER write the apartment address on your keys or keep it with your keys.
- In case of a gas leakage or if there is a strong smell of gas, the students should open the windows, turn off the boiler and close the key to the gas passage. In the case of not knowing where it is, the students should contact ALUNI or the apartment owner directly.
Relationships in the apartment
Relationships with other flat mates
If at any time a student becomes very sick, his or her flat mates have the obligation to inform ALUNI.net’s office immediately. (If it is extremely urgent, an ambulance should be called by calling 112). If the student is not extremely sick, but needing of assistance, ALUNI.net expects that the flat mates help him out by buying medicine, making food, etc.
In an attempt to guarantee a fast internet service online for all the students in an apartment, the connection to TV online is not permitted nor to P2P if the other students see it as affecting the internet service.
If a student has problems in relating with other students in the apartment, it is most likely the case that the other student is not complying with his part of the contract. (For example if he or she does not participate in the common housework as agree, or because he or she brings friends to the apartment, etc.) In this case, the student(s) being affected by the misbehaviour must know that it is not their problem, and rather, the student who is misbehaving. The best way to fix problems like this is speaking with the student, and if it is necessary, informing the ALUNI.net office. It would be very unfair for a student who obeys the rules of the contract to be forced to abandon the apartment for the abuse of others.
Relationships with the owner
When the owners directly administer their apartments, they are the ones who communicate with the students. Naturally, the student should treat him or her with special consideration, with respect, and without abusing his or her confidence.
Since the contracts are drawn up for renting a room rather than an entire apartment, the owner has the right to visit the common areas of the apartment whenever he or she sees necessary (ALUNI.net has ad-vised the owners that they do not stop in more than once a week).
Unless it is an emergency (dangerous damage to the apartment), the owner should not enter in the apartments between 10 at night and 9 in the morning.
In some cases, mail or bills will arrive to the apartment addressed to the owner. In such case, the students should turn the mail over to the owner or drop it off in ALUNI.net’s office.
In the case that there is a misunderstanding between the owner and the student, before speaking to the owner ALUNI.net advises that the student inform ALUNI so that they may act as a mediator.
Relationships with the neighbours
If the students are suffering mistreat, excessive noise, or any other problems from the neighbours, it is advised that ALUNI.net be notified directly to support in communicating with the neighbours.
Activities with ALUNI.NET
ALUNI.net organizes activities such as sport competitions, cultural visits, parties, dinners, etc. ALUNI.net is grateful for all the possible suggestions by students. (These suggestions may be emailed to actividades@aluni.net to resend them to other students).
So that students do not receive too many emails, students will only receive emails corresponding to their interests and hobbies that the students indicated upon completing the reservation. This information may be changed at any moment by the student.
ALUNI.net only offers the organization of the events (parties, din-ners, excursions, trips...) as proposed by students and cannot be held responsible for the outcome in attendance.
Advices
For longer lasting pots and pans, it is suggested that occupants use wooden spoons or spatulas. It is also recommended that they are cleaned with sponges.
If the kitchen has ceramic tile, adequate cleaning products should be used (vitroclen, sidol, etc...) more than once a week. (The cleaning -ussually weekly- doesn’t seem to be sufficient.) After every use, electronic stove tops should be wept clean to remove any left over oil that has fallen on the burners. For cleaning the ceramic tiles nail cleaners may be used. (They usually come in blue from the supermarket).
It’s suggested that each room be aired out once a day for at least 5 minutes by opening the windows.
The optimum heating temperature is 20 degrees. In effect, it’s suggested that the pression barometer be checked once and a while. It should be set between 1 and 2. If it is less than 1 or greater than 2, damage may occur to the boiler. Ask ALUNI or your apartment owner about what to do in these cases.
