Accommodation Guide

Rules and Regulations

There are numerous rules in the College Handbook relevant to accommodation and to safety and security in college housing. All residents must read, understand, and abide by these rules.

A non-exhaustive selection of important rules are presented here for reference:

Fire Safety

  • Candles, electric blankets, fairy lights and joss sticks are strictly prohibited in rooms

  • Take care when cooking. Those responsible for unnecessary fire alarms may be liable for any charges incurred.

  • Tampering with fire equipment in any way is a serious offense.

  • Ensure that all overnight guests are registered with the Lodge.

  • Respond to all fire alarms as if they are real. Fire drills are conducted termly and must be repeated if evacuation times are not sufficiently fast.

Security

  • Always lock your room door, even if just leaving briefly

  • The main door to Holywell Manor is closed and locked at midnight. Manor residents are issued a key.

  • Ensure locked doors close securely behind you

  • Never reveal door combinations to non-Balliol people or post them in a public location

  • Notify the Lodge immediately of any suspicious persons or activity

  • CCTV cameras are installed throughout the Holywell Manor Complex for safety and security

Personal Possessions

  • The College does not accept responsibility for property lost or stolen from rooms. Students are responsible for insuring personal possessions.

  • Microwave ovens and toasters are not permitted in rooms except for documented medical or dietary reasons.

  • Small fridges of 4 cubic feet are allowed if the Praefectus' Secretary is notified in advance. All fridges must pass the Portable Appliance Test (PAT) by the College electrician.

  • Do not remove furniture and carpets from the room you have been allocated.

  • Do not attach anything to the walls using sellotape or Blue-Tac.

Kitchens

There are kitchens for self-catering on most floors of the Holywell Manor Complex. The facilities vary greatly in size, equipment and quality, but most are equipped with a cooktop, oven, and at least nominal cold storage. In many cases, a kitchen becomes the social hub for nearby residents. The kitchens also play an integral role in the Balliol MCR's large student cooking events.

Each kitchen (or logical grouping of kitchens) has a Kitchen Representative who is responsible for working with residents and developing "local rules" that everyone can live with. However, one general principle applies everywhere:

If you use the kitchen you must do your own washing up, return all communal items, and leave the kitchen clean! This is not the responsibility of the Scouts.

Most kitchens have accumulated a collection of communal cookware, plates, and cutlery over the years. The MCR budget includes money for kitchen amenities, and any member is welcome to suggest a generally useful purchase to their kitchen representative or to the MCR Vice President.

The Cockpit Kitchen is a special case. It and its larger scale equipment are for use during MCR-wide events and for MCR members to reserve for their own large-scale cooking adventures. You must sign out the kitchen in advance on the notice board outside the lodge. This kitchen is not intended for regular everyday use. Any food or equipment left more than a day before or after a reservation may be disposed of.

Laundry Rooms

There are laundry rooms with washing machines, dryers, irons and ironing boards in Holywell Manor, A Block and Jowett Walk.

A booking system operates for hourly slots in the Manor laundry rooms. Sign-up sheets can be found outside the Lodge (Holywell Manor). A slot lasts two hours, one hour for use of the washing machines, the following hour for use of the drying machines. You may sign up for up to 2 slots on a given day and if you are more than 15 minutes late you forfeit your slot.

To cover the cost of the laundry facilities all Manor residents are charged £9.45 per term on battels. Members of the MCR who are not resident in Holywell Manor may use these facilities without charge. You can drop off clothes for dry cleaning at the lodge. These are taken away and cleaned on a weekly basis. The cost appears on your battels.

Housekeeping and Maintenance

Housekeeping

The Housekeepers (commonly known as Scouts) clean your room thoroughly once a week. This generally includes vacuuming the floor, emptying trash and recycling, and cleaning all surfaces. The scouts are not responsible for making beds, laundry, or cleaning dishes. Additionally, the scouts will not disturb your personal effects and documents, so make sure that anything you wish cleaned is clear and accessible. If you need your bin(s) emptied between room cleanings, the convention is to leave it outside your door.

The scouts also regularly clean surfaces and empty the rubbish in the bathrooms and kitchens. However, maintaining general cleanliness (including the washing-up of used dishes) is primarily the responsibility of the residents! Any problems or concerns regarding housekeeping should be directed to the Head Housekeeper.

Maintenance

Any problems regarding maintenance should be reported to the Holywell Manor Lodge. You will be asked to fill out a form describing the problem; this from will then initiate the appropriate response from College.

Room Ballot

A ballot for accommodation is held every Hilary Term. The rules for the ballot are agreed between the Praefectus and the MCR Committee, and may vary from year to year. Each year's rules are distributed using the MCR mailing list. The Praefectus has final say with respect to the accommodation ballots. However, they are generally administered by the Accommodation Manager.

In general, the goals of the ballot are to:

  • accommodate all first year students, but without a choice of room,

  • offer all second year graduates a choice of rooms ("A ballot").

  • place remaining graduates in a waiting list for remaining rooms ("B Ballot")

The number of rooms available to the B Ballot varies from year to year. Most vacancies do not occur until the summer vacation when new graduates begin to withdraw. In addition, those who are no longer liable to pay University and College fees can request places on the "C Ballot". These people will be asked to make a case to the Praefectus for rooms that become available, and he will then make a decision based on the individual merits of the case. Priority will be given to people who are not currently resident and who have yet to complete the University's residency requirements.

Certain college scholarships and student officer positions guarantee housing (which still must be paid for). These students are allocated a place on the A ballot.

Guest Rooms

Guest rooms at the Manor Complex may be booked by Members through the Lodge. There is one double guest suite in the Manor. There are also some additional guest rooms at the main site.

The 2019 rates for the Holywell guest rooms are:
Double: £53 per night

Guests may take up occupancy any time after 12 noon on the day of arrival. They are asked to vacate their rooms by 10 am on the morning of departure. Guests may stay in College premises for a maximum of four consecutive nights and no more than a total of eight nights in a term. A maximum of two guest rooms may be booked in any one night. Graduates are reminded that Guest Rooms may not be used for parties.

A £5 charge will be levied for bookings not honoured or bookings cancelled within 24 hours of the date of the guest's arrival. Graduates making the room booking are responsible for overseeing their guests' stay and must ensure that the room is left clean and tidy.