Terms and conditions guest housing

Welcome Services offers temporary accommodation for international researchers. Please note that all reservations have to be made by the host department using the form Booking request. 

The residences are located at various addresses in Gothenburg and Mölndal with either walking distance or good communications to the city center and the size of the residences varies from single rooms to three rooms and kitchens. 

Eligibility 

The residences are intended for doctoral students, guest researchers and newly recruited researchers. Special conditions apply according to the new law, Förordning om möjlighet för universitet och högskolor att tillhandahålla bostäder (2022:1515) 

• Doctoral students, students at research level  
  The residence period must begin within six months of the start of studies and employment. The residence period is limited to one year, with some possibilities for extension but a maximum of two years.  
   
• Visiting researchers, provided they are not employed.
  Visiting researcher is defined here as a person who conducts research and who for a non-permanent period is connected to the university without being employed there. The condition is that the persons are active at the university on a temporary basis as visiting researchers, visiting professors, visiting lecturers, incoming doctoral students, incoming students, interns, etc.
  The residence period is limited to one year, with some possibilities for extension but a maximum of two years. 
   
• Employees who
  a) have been employed at the University of Gothenburg for a maximum of six months,
  b) mainly works on research or artistic research, and
  c) has completed a doctoral degree or an artistic doctoral degree or has achieved equivalent scientific competence or artistic competence no more than five years before the employment begins.
  (E.g. employed postdocs can be included in this category.)
  The residence period must begin within six months from the start of employment. The residence period is limited to two years.

Rental period

The rental period is a minimum of 15 days and a maximum of 2 years.

However, please note that it is only possible to book the larger apartments located in Åby and Kvillebäcken for a period of 2 years. Housing for a maximum period of one year applies for smaller and/or centrally located apartments.

Notice period

The notice period applies once the booking has been confirmed by the host department. For cancellation or shortening of a booking period both prior and during the stay, the following applies:
Bookings 1 month or longer = 1 month's notice
Bookings shorter than 1 month = 2 weeks' notice

The booking should be confirmed at least 1 month before the start date. Once the booking is confirmed, the start date cannot be moved forward, but in cases where the tenant needs to arrive later, the booking can either be kept and the accommodation fee paid, or canceled according to the conditions. A new booking request can be sent to Guest Housing when a new start date is known. We handle all incoming booking requests on a first-come, first-served basis.

Notice should be given by e-mail to guesthousing@gu.se

Right to relocate

Welcome Services reserves the right to, before arrival day relocate the tenant to another equivalent accommodation if necessary to optimize our booking board. The address given in the booking confirmation may therefore be changed.

The accommodation & accommodation fee

All apartments are furnished and provided with kitchen utensils, bed linen and towels. The accommodation fee includes electricity, heating, hot water, garbage disposal and internet.

The tenant must take good care of the apartment, its furniture and equipment and for example always close the windows when stepping outside, never put hot pots on an unprotected surface, only use plastic or wooden tools in the frying pans, always use a cutting board and never use a knife directly on a surface and take care not to soil bed linen and towels with for instance hair coloring products. Drilling, nailing and screwing in the walls is not permitted. We would like to remind you that the accommodation is temporary and that Welcome Services is responsible for it.

Broken or missing items
Please report any complaints or faults found in the apartment by filling in the fault report form within 24 hours of moving in and also immediately report if something is amiss or if an accident happens, for instance water leakage or a broken window.

Please use this service to help us maintain a good standard. On your departure it is essential that you have reported things missing or broken. Normal wear and tear will be replaced by Welcome Services, but any damage due to carelessness will be charged and invoiced.

Keys

The tenant is responsible for all received keys throughout the stay. The keys are labelled with a key code tag and should not be separated from the key rings. Upon departure the tenant must follow the key drop off instructions given from Welcome Services. Please note that the tenant is held liable for loss of any of the keys and proximity tag and will be charged for a change of locks. The cost of a lost key is approximately SEK 300–900 (without change of locks) and SEK 2,500–3,250 (including change of locks).

Guest Housing Services holds a master key to each apartment and will, after giving notice, enter the apartment for repairs, annual window cleaning etc.

Cleaning

No cleaning is included during the rental period and should be taken care of by the tenant. Before departure, the furniture should be left as originally arranged and the apartment should be neat, move-in clean and tidy – ready for the next tenant to move in.

In case of none or unapproved cleaning, a cleaning company will be called in. The cost of the cleaning will be charged to the recipient of the invoice for the accommodation fee.

Miscellaneous

No smoking is allowed indoors.
No pets are allowed in any of the accommodations.
Secondary or subleasing is not allowed.

Reservation and confirmation

The host department makes a booking request by filling in the form Bokningsförfrågan/ Booking request, which they will find on the Staff Portal. 

Welcome Services deals with the booking requests in the order they are received. If an accommodation is available for the time period requested, a preliminary reservation is made and a booking offer is sent to the department. We will always get back to the department with a reply, whether we have an apartment to offer or not.

The host department is asked to respond to the booking offer latest a specific date. If a confirmation is not received by the specific date, the booking request is seen as dilapidated and the preliminary reservation will be deleted.

If the booking offer is accepted, Welcome Services sends a booking confirmation to the host department. Until the booking is confirmed all contact regarding the booking is kept solely between the department and Welcome Services.

2-4 weeks prior to the arrival, Welcome Services sends an email to the tenant with the terms & conditions for the accommodation as well as information about our free pick up service. The terms & conditions must be accepted by the tenant.

Charges

The accommodation fee and any cleaning fees will be charged either with an internal invoice to the department or with an external invoice to the tenant with address c/o the host department.

It is of great importance that the correct form of invoicing (internal/external) and invoicing address is specified when the booking is confirmed. Changing this afterwards can only take place in exceptional cases. If you have any questions regarding your invoice please send an email to finance@gu.se 

In the case of an external invoice, it is the host department's responsibility to forward the invoice to the tenant.

Check in/out

Earliest check in time is 12 o’clock. Check out shall take place no later than 12 o’clock (noon), Monday to Friday.
Saturday-Sunday, no specific check in/out times.

Personal welcome

We offer our tenants a personal welcome and pick-up upon their arrival day. The service is free of charge. Transport can be arranged either to the guest accommodation or to the host department. The driver will collect the key for the accommodation on the way and also escort the tenant into the room/apartment to make sure he/she gets in without problems.

In an email, about a month before arrival, we offer our tenants pick-up on arrival. The service is free of charge and is tailored to each tenant. Transport can take place to the host department or guest accommodation. The driver collects the key to the accommodation on the way and accompanies and ensures that the tenant enters the accommodation properly. 

NB: It is only upon arrival that we can offer this service.

Insurance

Home insurance is not included in the rent. We recommend the tenant to purchase a home insurance (hemförsäkring) for the duration of the stay. If anything is stolen from your residence, or if any property is damaged or lost, he/she is responsible for repair or replacement costs. In addition to personal property, home insurance should also cover liability, legal expenses and travel insurance. Home insurances are sold by most insurance companies in Sweden.

If the guest is in Sweden for a shorter period of time (less than one year), we recommend that he/she takes out a home insurance (householders’ comprehensive insurance) in his/her home country. Without a Swedish personal identity number, it can be difficult to take out insurance in Sweden.

Note, if he/she will be at the university for a maximum of 3 months, he/she will be covered by the Insurance for foreign visitors (FUB). Contact your host department for details about the insurance.