<p>So I left home for college today and moved into a studio including bed, kitchen, and bathroom. The room seems fine, but when I checked out the bathroom it looked nothing like how they showed it would be. They had pictures online, and I also had a studio viewing. I understand that I wasn’t looking at the exact room I would be moving into, but there should be some similarity. I showed it to my mom later on Skype, and she pointed out that it was a bathroom for someone disabled (obvious in hindsight).</p>
<p>Can my accommodation provider do this? I’m going to go down and talk to them tomorrow, but I know that they’re completely booked and have a waiting list. I don’t know if they’ll be willing to change my room unless they accidentally ended up switching my studio with someone who needs the disabled bathroom in which case we would just switch back. I’ve already completely paid for the studio. I was also one of the last people to book a studio, if that makes a difference. Are they under any obligation to either give me a proper studio or a refund?</p>
<p>I don’t know what I’ll do if they offer me a refund though, seeing as I don’t really have anywhere else to go, but we’ll cross that bridge when and if we get there. I’m also going to college in the UK.</p>
<p>I don’t understand the problem here. Is your bathroom in some way defective? I doubt that your accommodation provider has any obligation to provide you with a bathroom that looks exactly like the photos, provided the bathroom is a working bathroom. Nor do I think it is worthwhile for you to complain or try to move out. Concentrate on your college experience and stop worrying about your bathroom.</p>
<p>Seriously? Have you even met your roommate yet? Or whatever you call the person on the other side of the bathroom? And who is this “normal” person you refer to in your thread title? </p>
<p>I think “en suite” here means a private bathroom. But I’m not clear on how an accessible bathroom doesn’t work for people without physical disabilities.</p>
<p>Sorry, “normal” was probably the wrong word. I meant someone without a disability or someone who didn’t need (or ask for) a disabled bathroom. I don’t have a roommate. Singles are the most common in the UK.</p>
<p>As for the issues with the bathroom: There is no shower cubicle. It’s one continuous floor. There is a drain on the floor which is covered in something (limescale? I’m not sure). The shower’s leaky. There is no fan or window in the bathroom which could lead to issues with moisture considering that the shower isn’t separate. The sink is extremely small and very low. Overall, the bathroom looks like it’s dirty.</p>
<p>I’m disappointed because they told me I would get one thing, I paid for it, and then they gave me something completely different. It’s not that the bathroom doesn’t look exactly like the photos. I didn’t expect it to. It looks nothing like the photos. I also had a studio viewing to make sure something like this wouldn’t happen. The bathroom I saw was newly renovated, completely pristine white, and clean. Small but nice. This one is huge but not what I was expecting at all. Part of the reason I paid for this studio was because I liked the bathroom. If they can give me any bathroom, they shouldn’t have shown me anything, and I probably wouldn’t have booked here, not for the amount my family has paid. </p>
<p>In my experience traveling, an accessible bathroom has no bathtub since the shower is roll in, the shower is handheld not mounted fixed on the walll and is lower, and there is no undersink storage so a wheel chair can roll up to it. The toilet is usually higher with rails around it. If this is the case it is an annoyance but not a catastrophe unless someone who needs it can’t have one. You could enquire to ensure someone who needs the accommodations has not been deprived of them.</p>
<p>It sounds like a lot of your objection is that you think the bathroom you got is dirty and in poor repair. I doubt that the non-accessible bathrooms your classmates got are newly renovated and clean. Probably most of them are the same kind of grubby bathrooms you have, except not accessible.</p>
<p>Show demo apartment cleaner and in better repair than actual apartments. Stop the presses! Not.</p>
<p>Most people assume that handicapped bathrooms are handicapped “exclusive”, rather than handicapped “accessible”. I find this when waiting in line at airports, malls, etc…people will not enter the vacant handicapped stalls even with a line behind them. It’s ok to use those stalls!
In this thread, I agree- the complaint is more with the condition and layout of the bathroom rather than the handicapped designation. They would not have given it to you if it was needed, but if there is another studio available, more to your liking, no harm in requesting a move.</p>
<p>This arrangement is not uncommon in Europe. You’ll even see it in some hotels. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that room cleanliness with an en suite is probably going to be your personal responsibility anyway, and it’s actually easier to clean a shower area that doesn’t have a tray, doors etc. to trap gunk. So look on the bright side. </p>
<p>I agree with Cardinal Fang. I think you should accept the room for the time being and you’ll probably get used to it just fine. If you were among the last people to book, you probably didn’t get the best choice of units. Next time, you will know what you are doing, and will be able to get better housing if you want. Honestly it doesn’t sound that bad. It’s student housing, which is pretty dire the world over.</p>
<p>When D2 studied abroad in London and lived in a campus dorm, the bathroom had no tub, and in fact, the entire bathroom floor was just tiled and had no delineation from the shower to the toilet to the sink. There was only a hanging curtain rod with a shower curtain, and a drain in the middle of the floor. I think it might be a UK dorm thing. </p>
<p>When I had my studio viewing, all the studios that were usually used for viewings were being spruced up because they were taking new pictures of them. The studio I viewed was a studio that another student happened to move out of recently, not one they were trying to impress me with. </p>
<p>As I’ve said before, I know that the bathroom is not meant to look exactly the same. Of course they’re going to show the cleanest, best studios to students thinking of buying. I understand that. But there is absolutely no resemblance. I feel like many posters are underestimating how different shown bathroom was from received bathroom. Or are you all saying that I shouldn’t mind having a significantly grubbier bathroom since I can still use it? I’m having difficulty understanding here.</p>
<p>@Sdgal2 Thanks. I suppose that more or less answers my question.</p>
<p>I guess that the complaint is more with the condition of the bathroom then the fact that it’s a handicapped bathroom. I would just expect them to show people the kind of the bathrooms that they’re getting, rather then showing everyone one thing, and giving some another thing entirely.</p>
<p>ETA: Thanks NJSue and teriwtt. That makes me feel better. Maybe I’m just overwhelmed and stressed because I just came from overseas today.</p>
<p>I’ll still go to reception tomorrow to see if anything can be done. Doesn’t hurt to ask. </p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience or tips with cleaning a bathroom with this layout? </p>
<p>You’re in the UK, stressed, and most of us here are in the US and not familiar with UK tenant law. So maybe you have a case. But I doubt it.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, “The private bathroom in my student housing is not newly renovated, pristine and white,” is the very art and essence of a minor problem that you should shrug off. People have real problems. This isn’t one.</p>
<p>You can always tell them you’re disappointed in the condition of the bathroom and ask them to clean it for you. The worst that can happen is that they say no. As I get older, I ask this kind of question a lot more! Sometimes I even get what I want.</p>
<p>@stressedouttt: My dear, best of luck to you. My own D has been in Germany for two days and is very stressed and disoriented. This too shall pass. Someday you’ll laugh about your funky bathroom and how you learned to take 30 second showers.</p>
<p>PS there will be many things that will be different from what you expected. Don’t let yourself get upset over these things; just think, “how interesting,” and move on.</p>
<p>If they do not have a room with a non-handicapped bathroom available now, you might ask to be on a waiting list in case one opens up. I am sure there will be some movement of students over the year.</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s any harm in complaining that it isn’t CLEAN. But I would not complain that it’s too BIG or the sink is too SMALL. I mean, you have a suite all to yourself-some schools put three or four kids in a room meant for two, who then all share a bathroom with 30 people. As for cleaning it (or keeping it clean), you do that the same way you clean any bathroom-keep it generally wiped down so a deep clean isn’t necessary. Buy a couple of sponges and cleaner, a toilet brush, etc. Since you live alone, keep the door slightly open when you shower and get a small fan to run by the door, which will help with the humidity. And wipe down any mold immediately or it will grow. We use cleaner with bleach for that (we have a window but no fan in our bathroom).</p>
<p>This is something outside the expertise of a bunch of US parents (and the fact that some of them have law degrees does not matter, because this is UK tenant laws we are talking about).</p>
<p>What ML says above: ask the landlord to fix the issues that can be taken care of easily (cleaning and minor repair) and keep inquiring about the possibility of moving. If you think you had a contract, and the landlord is not giving you what they promised, you need to figure out what kinds of remedies you have. I know that here in the US some universities have law school “clinics” that are run by profs with the major help of 2L/3L students who counsel poor folks on some minor legal issues. Maybe there is something like that in the UK. I’m not saying that you have to threaten the landlord with a lawsuit. I’m just saying that you need to figure out what exactly you are entitled to with your payment. Good luck!</p>
<p>I would also take pictures of it… many of them, and have someone sign off on them, so that when you move out, you’re not held liable for cleanliness that did not exist before you moved in.</p>