When to Cancel a Student Accommodation Booking?

No one is ever 100% sure of something. When moving to another country to start your study abroad journey, the first thing you do is book student accommodation. Because well, you have to secure a place to stay when you go there, and you want to make sure that you book a good place that fits your needs and budget. However, everyone can face emergency circumstances, and maybe then you’d want to cancel your student accommodation booking. That’s fine, but first, you need to know when exactly to cancel a student accommodation booking!

When Should You Start the Cancellation?

Once you find out that you don’t want to stay in the accommodation you booked for whatever reason, you should cancel the student accommodation booking as soon as possible. 

Contact the accommodation itself so you’d know what the next steps of cancelling the student accommodation are.

Student accommodation providers usually have a set of rules and regulations for when students want to cancel a booking. Also, if you paid a deposit, you definitely would want it back. That’s why once you decide to cancel a student accommodation booking, you should move fast. 

You Found Alternatives

Maybe you weren’t planning on staying in student accommodation from the beginning, but you decided to book one just in case. If you were waiting for an alternative, whether renting a place in the city or staying with a relative, and you discovered that you will no longer need the student accommodation you booked, then cancel it right away.

There could be students who have been waiting for the accommodation you booked and that would be a lifesaver for them. The faster you move, the better. 

No Visa

You could be waiting on your Visa status, and while you did that, you decided to book student accommodation to secure yourself. And that’s fine, that’s totally your right. 

However, Visas can sometimes be denied and therefore it would take another couple of months for you to finalize your papers and get a new Visa approval.

Once you know that you won’t be able to travel to the city you booked the accommodation in, you should cancel your student accommodation booking right away. This will help you get back your deposit; you will definitely need it. 

No Offer

Maybe you booked the student accommodation too soon, even before you received an offer from the university you applied to. If you find yourself in a situation where you didn’t get an offer from the university you applied to and you won’t be using your student accommodation booking, then you should start the cancellation process right away; who knows, maybe someone else is waiting for an accommodation slot to open up.

You might have booked accommodation for a second-choice university and then you find yourself accepted into your first-choice university! Of course, you’re going to choose the university you wanted to attend in the first place, nothing wrong with that! However, you should also start the cancellation process right away so you’d get your deposit back and book a new student accommodation near the university you’re attending. 

Different City

It’s definitely okay to change locations before finally settling on one. If you weren’t settled on where you are going to attend university, it’s okay. Maybe you were even trying to choose between two different campuses in two different cities. Once you set your mind to your final destination regarding where you’re going to study, stick to it and book your student accommodation in your city of choice. 

If you booked student accommodation in a city that you’re no longer going to study at, cancel your booking as soon as possible - making room for other students in need.

That’s it! Of course, whatever else happens and you find yourself unable to travel, you should start the cancellation process as fast as you can. This will help you get your deposit money back and the accommodation provider you booked with won’t be upset with you for slowing down or messing with their business!