ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation in Milton Keynes:
Milton Keynes has lots of accommodation for rent but it is not always cheap. There is a lot of demand for rental accommodation in the city and sometimes accommodation can be expensive and difficult to find. We always recommend that you arrange your accommodation before you arrive and if you need us to help you must let us know by completing the accommodation form 4 weeks or more before you travel to Milton Keynes. Rooms in a shared house are usually the cheapest option but they are not often available for a short let. Most landlords will want you to rent their accommodation for 6 to 12 months and you will probably need to sign a contact to agree to this.
There are many hotels where you can stay in Milton Keynes. You can search via a search engine such as Google, Bing etc to see what is available. The cost varies and may be from £50 to £300+ per room per night. Here are some useful sites which might help: Bed and Breakfast accommodation may be slightly cheaper than a hotel. Useful sites which might help are:
If you would like stay in self catering accommodation you could look for a short let apartment in Milton Keynes. For long and short stay accommodation you could also look at: If you are planning to stay for more than 6 months you could look at renting a house or flat. Useful sites to see what is available are: |
Important information:
Students should not book their ticket to travel to Milton Keynes unless they have arranged, booked and paid for their accommodation. Some students can arrange this accommodation themselves and some arrange to live with friends or relatives. If students want us to help them find accommodation in Milton Keynes we can try to help; but please let us know in advance and do not travel to Milton Keynes if you do not have a confirmed booking of accommodation. DO YOU WANT TO FIND ACCOMMODATION ON YOUR OWN?
There is lots of available accommodation in Milton Keynes. It is possible to rent a room in a shared house or rent a flat or house. Most flats or houses are available to rent for a minimum of 6 months. Flats or houses available for less than 6 months are known as "short let" accommodation. Short let is always more expensive than long let. There are many sites you can use to look for accommodation in Milton Keynes. Here are some of them:
DO YOU WANT ELH TO HELP YOU FIND ACCOMMODATION?
If you want English Language House to help you find accommodation in Milton Keynes you should:
Please note that: ELH will not be held responsible if students disregard our procedure for finding accommodation in the city and arrive without confirmation of accommodation or a place to stay. Students in homestay
Students who want Elh to find homestay accommodation for them:
Students who stay in homestay:
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT HOMESTAY
What is homestay accommodation? Homestay is accommodation with an English speaking family. Students will have a room in the family and will live as part of the family for the duration of their stay. Homestay is not a "hotel" or "bed and breakfast" accommodation and students who stay in homestay must respect the rules of the family and treat the homestay family as they would their own. Advantages of staying in homestay: Students who live in homestay will be part of an English speaking family. They will have meals with the family, watch TV and participate in the day to day routines of family life in UK. They will get the opportunity to practice their English every day and so will see an improvement quickly. Is homestay suitable for you?
Some students prefer to be completely independent:
Who is eligible for homestay accommodation?
How soon do I apply for homestay accommodation? ELH recommends that students apply for homestay accommodation 5 weeks or more in advance of their arrival in UK. Students should apply for the maximum period of time they wish to live in homestay. ELH cannot guarantee that students will be able to extend their accommodation beyond their initial request dates and students who request less time in homestay than they intend to take up, risk having no accommodation available after the end of their request dates. Please note that: Students can only book ELH homestay accommodation through ELH and are not allowed to make their own private arrangements with ELH homestay families. Students who agree to ELH homestay accommodation agree to abide by the ELH terms and conditions governing homestay. This includes appropriate behaviour in homestay accommodation. ELH reserves the right to remove a student from homestay accommodation if the student behaves inappropriately or does not abide by the terms and conditions agreed. No refund will be available in this instance. Homestay 1 - Bed and Breakfast
An adult student can stay in a room in the home of an English family. The room will have a bed, wardrobe, desk, chair, light, chest of drawers. The student will have breakfast with the family each morning.
Homestay 2 - Bed, breakfast and dinner and 3 meals at weekends
An adult student can stay in a room in the home of an English family. The room will have a bed, wardrobe, desk, chair, light, chest of drawers. The student will have breakfast and dinner with the family every day and lunch on the weekends.
Homestay 3 - Bed, breakfast, lunch and dinner all week
Adult students and Under 18s can stay in a room in the home of an English family. ELH will make all required checks to ensure that students will be safe and well looked after in their homestay. The room will have a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, a chair, a light, and a chest of drawers. Students will have breakfast and dinner with the family every day and lunch as appropriate each day. WHAT IS THE COST OF HOMESTAY?
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO FIND SUITABLE HOMESTAY ACCOMMODATION?
It may take us up to 14 days to find suitable homestay accommodation so please don't just arrive and tell us when you are here that you need homestay. If you want us to find homestay for you please tell us 14 working days before you travel to the UK and at the same time also:
HOW TO APPLY AND PAY FOR HOMESTAY
If you want homestay you must complete the accommodation form and pay a £45 accommodation placement fee. After this ELH will find suitable accommodation and you and we will let you know how much this will cost. You then need to pay the accommodation fee for a minimum of 4 weeks. If you need homestay for less than 4 weeks this is also possible but it may be more expensive. Please make sure you read the information for students who want homestay before you pay any fees. |
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR HOMESTAY:
This is important information for students who want to stay in homestay. Please make sure you read it. You will need to agree to these terms and conditions before we can place you in homestay accommodation.
ELH can provide students with homestay accommodation to
The student should pay for their accommodation in full in advance. Students must apply for homestay accommodation 14 days before they arrive in the UK and must pay for the maximum period of time they wish to live in homestay. We cannot guarantee that students will be able to extend their accommodation beyond their initial request dates. Students who request less time in homestay than they intend to take up risk having to vacate their homestay accommodation at the end of their request date. Students can only book homestay through ELH and are not allowed to make their own private arrangements with ELH homestay families. Students who agree to ELH homestay accommodation agree to abide by the ELH terms and conditions governing homestay. This includes appropriate behaviour in homestay accommodation. ELH reserves the right to remove a student from homestay accommodation if the student behaves inappropriately or does not abide by the terms and conditions agreed. No refund will be available in this instance. What is homestay? Homestay is accommodation for ELH students with an English speaking family. Students sometimes like to stay with an English-speaking family when they study at ELH because they can practice their English at home after class. Homestay is not a “hotel” and homestay host families are not “hotel staff”! Homestay families agree to take ELH students into their home and they treat them like a friend or a member of their family. In the homestay family there may be children and/or pets (dog(s), cat(s), fish, etc). Homestay families are interested in the ELH students who stay with them, and want to make them feel comfortable and welcome in their homes. ELH students who want to live in homestay accommodation must feel happy about being part of an English family during their stay and must make an effort to participate in their homestay family’s life. Homestay families like to find out about the student’s life and country and the student can find out more about their homestay family’s life and habits and about life in England. ELH homestay hosts are flexible and understanding with ELH students, and we expect our students to be the same. Students behave with their hosts as they would within the homes of their own friends and families. This means they are polite (say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’; very important in England) and happy to follow the rules of the family about meal times or using the kitchen for snacks, laundry (washing clothes), and watching television. For example, if a student is planning not to eat with the family one evening, then students need to tell their families in advance. Students should expect to spend at least 30 minutes or more each evening talking to their host family. Students may like you to watch television with their family; this is a good way to improve your English language skills. Students can discuss the programme with their family or ask the family to explain things which they don’t understand. The weather and living in the UK may seem a little strange to students at first. If you are cold, you can ask for extra blankets for your bed or ask for extra heating in your room. You should not leave lights and electric heaters on when you are out. You should not hang clothes over electric heaters; this could be cause a fire. If the house has central heating, the radiators will come on and off automatically. Students must be on time for meals with the family. You should not use the kitchen, or take food from the kitchen, unless you have agreed this with the family. After meals, it is polite to offer to help with clearing the table and washing up. Students should try to keep their rooms tidy and should make their bed in the morning before they leave the house. They should clean up after themselves and leave the bathroom clean and tidy after using it. If there is a shower over the bath with a shower curtain, please make sure you put this inside the bath before you have a shower. And it is polite to ask whether you can have a shower, as the water may need to be heated first. We expect students to be careful with the furniture and property in the house. If an accident happens and you break or damage something in the house you should inform the school immediately and please let the family know. Be prepared to pay to replace anything you damage. Your hosts will try to make your stay in England pleasant and enjoyable for you and they may become your friends. However, you should not make any private arrangements to stay with them. You should only stay with them through ELH. We can then help you, or them, if there are any problems. Computers and internet use in homestay: Not all families have internet access and some only have a limited number of hours per month when they can use the internet. They may be concerned about internet security and may, or may not, limit your use of their computer connection. Please talk to the ELH office if you would like to use a computer at the homestay. Remember that you are at the homestay to help you learn English and, if you are able to use your computer in the homestay, you should minimise its use, and spend as much time as possible practicing your English!! Applying for homestay through ELH: Please make sure you read and understand Homestay information and the terms and conditions for students in homestay before you apply for homestay through ELH. Payment for homestay: You will need to make full payment in advance before ELH can source homestay accommodation for you. You need to pay both the Accommodation placement fee (£45) and the Weekly Charge for accommodation. ELH will try to find accommodation as quickly as possible but sometimes we may need 2 to 3 weeks to arrange your homestay accommodation. If you need accommodation very quickly you may want to consider staying in one of the many hotels or B&Bs in Milton Keynes. See accommodation in Milton Keynes for more information if you prefer this. ELH Checks on homestay: All homestay accommodation offered by ELH to its students has been checked as suitable according to the criteria set our by the British Council, EnglishUK and ISI oversight. Homestay providers who accommodate under 18s will be DBS checked. Number of students per host family: We usually place just one student in a host family. However, some families may have a big house with more than one spare bedroom. In this instance a maximum of two students may be placed in the same family. Each student will have their own bedroom and students will usually be of different nationalities so that they need to use their English to communicate. However if students who are friends or family members prefer to share a host family we can take this into account. Parents of students who are under18 can request for their children to share accommodation with their friends. This is possible, but only if:
Host family address and contact details: After students have paid for their homestay ELH will send them the contact details and address of their host family. Payment of the full accommodation fee means that a student has agreed to stay with a host family during the agreed dates. Students who change their mind and (i) do not arrive to stay in their homestay accommodation or (ii) leave their homestay accommodation early will not get a refund. If you believe there are "exceptional circumstances" why you cannot use your homestay accommodation you must put this in writing and we will do our best to help. If there is a problem with your homestay accommodation you must speak to the ELH Office immediately. We will always try to help. If the problem is a serious one, ELH may place the student in alternative homestay accommodation. If there is an accommodation emergency and you need to contact ELH out of office hours, students should use the 24 hour emergency mobile number : +44 (0) 794 671256 to contact ELH immediately. Leaving homestay early: We hope students will be happy in their homestay accommodation and we hope the host family will be happy to have you to stay with them. In the exceptional situation that you want to leave early, you should give one week’s written notice to the hosts and to the ELH Office. If the hosts want you to leave early they too must usually give one week’s notice but, if there is an accommodation emergency they may have to ask you to leave immediately – in this case, please contact the ELH office for help. Before arriving at your homestay: As soon as ELH have given you the details of your host family you should contact the host family to introduce yourself and give them some information about yourself eg: Example email: Hello, My name is ...............(your name) and I am a student from ............. (your country). I will arrive in Milton Keynes on ................... (date you will arrive) and I will travel to your home on the same day. I think I will arrive to your home at ....... (say what time you think you will be there) but if I am going to be late I will let you know. I look forward to meeting you. Best wishes, ....... (your name) You should cc this email to the Elh Office also so we can confirm your arrival and any changes that may occur. It is very important that you arrive at your homestay accommodation on the day and time you agreed. If you going to be late, you must text or WhatsApp the Elh Office mobile +44 (0) 748 6868211 to let us know and also try to contact your homestay family either by telephone, text or WhatsApp to tell them why you are going to be late and what time you expect to arrive. The day before you travel to your homestay you should confirm your arrival day and time with your host family; this is especially important if you think you may be arriving later or earlier than you planned initially. Please do not just go to the house without first contacting your host family. Please do not send a friend or colleague to look at the host family accommodation before you arrive unless you have agreed this with the ELH office in advance. Exceptional circumstances: In exceptional circumstances ELH may be able to grant a refund of part of the accommodation fees. Students who wish to request a refund due to exceptional circumstances must put this in writing before or on the day that they leave their host family accommodation. Exceptional circumstances are usually circumstances out of the student's control eg an illness in the family, accident etc which may require the student to leave the homestay accommodation earlier. The student must sent a written email to the Elh Office to explain why they need to leave their homestay accommodation early. The student must send this email before they leave their homestay accommodation if they want Elh to consider this as an "exceptional circumstance". House Rules and Advice: Students who stay in homestay will need to agree and follow the house rules and advice of your host family. House rules and advice may include but not be limited to:
If there is something you do not understand you can ask your host or your teacher to explain. Be considerate and respectful of the things that belong to your host family and always ask if there is something you are not sure about. Remember that it is always polite to check with the host first before you: (i) finish the last bit of milk in the fridge, (ii) use the washing machine to wash your clothes, (iii) use the kettle to make a hot drink (iv) help yourself to the washing powder, coffee, biscuits, cake that the host has bought etc. To check if it's ok you can say " Is it ok if I......?" |
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