No booze, no noise, no guests after 9pm: Welcome to Elms Village

As an influx of bright-eyed freshers flood into halls for the new semester, QUB’s ex-halls residents warn first years of the strict living conditions in Elms Village.

At Queen’s the main accommodation for students is Elms Village on the prestigious Malone Road. It houses around 2000 students in buildings that hold an average of 33 students and is a speedy 15 minute walk away from the main university campus.

Although the guest policy is explained in QUB’s accommodation welcome backs in the past first years living in Elms Village have often overlooked the information or were shocked and disappointed to find out how strictly they were enforced.

Now these second, third years and recent graduates are sharing their horror stories to warn new students entering halls.

Recent Queen’s graduate Emily Thornhill says that the strict restrictions can be off-putting for English students moving to Belfast. “I remember sneaking a friend back during freshers because they’d lost their house key.

“I had to pretend that we were boyfriend and girlfriend and they were so quick to judge that I was a huge slut, when really it was just a friend.

“No surprises I ended up in a meeting the next day threatened to be kicked out of halls.

“I blamed it on never drinking before uni, which was an obvious lie, but it is ridiculous.”

Contrary to many other universities in the UK, Elms Village will not permit guests unless they have been booked in at reception by 9pm on the date of stay.

The 9pm limitation means that no guests can be brought back after this time, causing problems for students who’ve pulled on nights out and weren’t able to bring the lucky guy or girl back after the clubs have closed.

Emily says: “A girl I was friends with at halls forgot to sign her friend out and only noticed when signing in her boyfriend a few weeks later.

“She was told that by not checking out her friend she’d forfeited her right to have any more friends over for a few months.

“Apparently it’s so strict so that students learn the repercussions of ‘the real world’  – On a vastly exaggerated level.”

Third year student Emma Pepper agrees that, “It’s unreasonable to have to sign somebody in before 9pm.

“They have these massive sweeping rules and just don’t take into account personal circumstances.”

In addition to the 9pm rule, guests must be 18 years of age and bring a valid ID when booking in.

Throughout their stay they must be always accompanied by their host.

Jennifer Greenaway was denied a visit after inviting her 17 year old sister to stay with her and experience university life while she was applying to go to uni.

“I had driven 45 minutes from home and took her to get signed in but reception refused to allow her to stay.

“It was too late for her to get a train home so I had to drive her all the way back and then drive up to Belfast a second time on my birthday just because she was a couple months short of 18.”

Elms Village also has a restriction on how often a resident can have guests.

Whilst postgrads get the privilege of having guests stay with them for 25% of their contract length, by comparison undergrads guest allowance is pitifully low.

For a student from Northern Ireland you can sign in a guest for a maximum of three nights per month.

For a student from outside of Northern Ireland, you have 30 nights to invite guests round during one accommodation year.

On top of this, extra restrictions apply for some dates of the year, meaning guests will not be allowed to stay on Halloween or St Patrick’s Day.

“It’s kind of scary for an English student coming over and being told that you can only have people over on these conditions and on certain dates”, says Emily Thornhill.

“Especially when it’s around Halloween and St Paddy’s, when obviously your friends from home would want to come to Belfast for that.”

One English student who had lived in Elms during her first year told The Tab “Some of my friends from England wanted to come over and experience how St Paddy’s was really celebrated so before I moved into halls and got information on accommodation four of them booked flights to Belfast for the weekend in March.

“But when I moved into halls and I found out about the guest policy I was shocked at how restrictive they were.

“Whenever I go to my friends unis in England there are very little rules, if any at all, and restrictions are not as severe as Elms.”

As well as the strict guidance on guests, Elms has also got quiet living, single-sex and non-alcohol accommodation- options that are not commonly found in other UK university residences.

Laura Sproule says “I think the guest policy is ridiculous, none of my friends at other unis have such strict rules.

“The over-18s only rule meant that my little sister (who is 17) couldn’t come and stay with me.

“And as for nights out, many people found it annoying not being able to have people to stay over after a night out unless they’d planned it in advance.”

When contacted for a comment on the draconian regulations in Elms Village, QUB declined to comment.