Queen's University: Anger over withdrawal of halls offer

Two students say they have been left without accommodation after Queen's University withdrew an offer of halls.

Eóin Deery, 18, and Pádraig Muldoon, 20, both first-years at Ulster University and based at the Belfast campus, were due to get keys this week.

An email on Friday evening said they no longer had a room.

The university has already said it does not have enough rooms this year and has offered students an incentive worth £1,500 to find somewhere else to live.

Students who want to give up their room to take up the financial offer have been told they have to confirm their decision by Sunday 12 September.

Pádraig Muldoon said he was angry about the short notice

In the email to the two men, Queen's said it had "not received enough responses [to the scheme] to ensure that current demand can be met".

"As an Ulster University student who has applied for accommodation at Queen's University, we are writing to advise you that due to the pressures we are facing, we are no longer in a position to provide you with a Queen's University room," the email said.

It said the incentive was still available to them and they would be "allocated a room at Jordanstown" - another Ulster University campus about six miles (10km) out of Belfast.

The two friends say staying at Jordanstown would not be practical for them.

• Students offered £1,500 not to take Queen's rooms

Mr Deery, who comes from near Strabane, said he had no contingency plans as he had paid a deposit on a place at Queen's Elms Village and thought he was "completely accepted".

The engineering management student said he was unsure what was happening with regards to a room at Jordanstown.

However, he said he was informed in another email from Queen's that taking up the financial offer would not affect a place at Jordanstown.

"It's still not ideal," he said.

He would have phoned the accommodation office at Queen's for more information but it had closed for the weekend by the time Friday's email had arrived in his inbox.

Eóin Deery said there were no contingency plans, as he thought his accommodation was secure

Mr Muldoon, from Dromore in County Tyrone, said: "[I'm] very confused, very angry. I just wish they had done it a whole lot earlier, instead of giving me one day to sort it out.

"I joined a waiting list for UU student accommodation, we are going to look for houses and try to get one of them at very short notice."

The screen production student said the news had come "at a really bad time", as he had recently gone through a bereavement and would be paying his own student fees.

Ulster University said it was contacted by Queen's on Monday 6 September and "immediately moved to reconfigure student accommodation blocks at Jordanstown in an effort to make space available for these students".

On Saturday afternoon, it said it had received 42 enquiries in the previous 24 hours.

It is understood Ulster University became aware of the number of its students booked into Queen's accommodation on Friday morning.

The university said free travel would be available for students between the Belfast and Jordanstown campuses for the first semester.

A spokesperson from Queen's said there had been unprecedented demand for accommodation due to Covid-related issues, and the growing popularity of Belfast as a place to study.

"In particular, Queen's offered extensive support to students, and flexible terms and conditions during lockdowns which has resulted in more students wanting to live in university accommodation for the 2021-22 year.

"In order to reduce the number of students still awaiting accommodation, the university is offering some students the opportunity to accept a financial alternative instead of an accommodation place for the incoming academic year. 

"The university is also moving proactively to secure a range of additional accommodation."