Service
Description
1)
Who is Entitled to this Service?
| IMPORTANT
: Please
note that this service is offered exclusively to the
HEC Montreal’s exchange
program. It is not available to your friends
or relatives, nor is it available to students enrolled
in other universities accompanying you during your stay.
|
International Exchange Students at
HEC Montreal - Autumn 2004
2)
What Service Do we Offer?
- We make sure that you will have a furnished room in
a shared apartment starting Sunday January 4th 2009.
- All reserved apartments are near the university campus or
close to a bus and/or metro services taking you
directly to HEC Montreal (within a 30 minute ride).
- Each student will have his/her own private room.
- The apartment will be shared either with other exchange
program students at HEC Montreal or with young working adults
that mostly graduated from HEC Montreal.
- We favour mixed nationalities in the apartments in order
to make it possible for each student to benefit fully from
his/her stay. It is therefore impossible to place you with
a student from your university of origin.
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3)
May I Have a Description of the Rooms Offered?
The number of rooms in our possession fluctuates
according to supply and demand. Thus, even if certain rooms
offered renew their lease from one term to another, most of
the reserved rooms are provided by HEC Montreal students who
are themselves leaving for an exchange program abroad for
only a few months. Ongoing research is carried out for each
new term to complete the number of missing rooms. Under these
circumstances, it is impossible for us to send you detailed
description of reserved rooms. If you are a smoker, you will
have smoke outside the apartment. It's very rare that smoking
is allowing is allowed inside the apartments.
We assure you that we have very high standards
regarding the quality and cleanliness of the apartments we
reserve. Each room is visited by our company and we meet with
the tenants and have them complete a detailed questionnaire
regarding their demands and lifestyle.
We have 5 units available to
us in university residences at a modest cost.
However before opting for this choice, we invite you to visit
the following Web site: http://www.residences-etu.com/
Please note the photos published on the above mentioned site
should only be used as a reference since they only show the
newest studios. The residences are comprised of several buildings
and not all have been renovated. Only one building is equipped
with a kitchen and we cannot guarantee that you will reside
in that building. If your building does not have a kitchen,
you will have access to a microwave. No other kitchen appliance
(dishwasher, stove) is available.
Our experience with exchange students has proven to us that
in most other countries, residences are better equipped than
those of the University of Montreal. It is important that
we mention this.
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4)
What is the Duration of the Contract?
The duration of the contract is spread as follows:
2009 Winter term : from
January 4th to May 31st 2009.
IMPORTANT : This period
is non negotiable. If you plan on arriving before these
dates, you must reserve a temporary accomodation (consult
the HEC Montreal student guide for addresses).
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5)
How Much Will I Pay for the Term ?
The total price per student for the term fluctuates
between 2125 $CAN and 2800 $CAN all included. Price
varies according to location, the size of the room and services
included.
The apartments are fully furnished and heated.
Hot water, electricity, local telephone calls and Internet
access (basic service) are included in the price
of the rent. Dishes, kitchen pans, pillows, a warm blanket
(duvet) are also included. However, bed sheets (plan for
twin bed) and towels are not furnished. Most accomodations
also offer access to laundry machines.
Some landlords reserve the right to hire a cleaning
service, in which case costs will be divided by roomates.
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6)
When and How Do I Pay?
For all rooms except residence rooms*, the total
amount for the term is payable in five installments:
- The first payment of 1000$ CAN in cash or traveler's checks
is to be made to you roommate (or landlord) upon signature
of your rental contract (January 4th 2009).
- The second payment of 550$ CAN in cash or traveler's checks
is to be made to Suzanne Boisvert
Thursday January 15th 2009 at HEC Montreal.
The time and room location will be annouced to you on the
Januray 4th meeting. This amount will be reimbursed to your
roommate (or landlord) at the end of april 2009.
The balance will be payable to your roommate (or landlord)
on Thursday March 5th 2009. If you have been admitted to
two terms, payment date will be communicated to you during
the information meeting.
Instructions regarding payment will be written
in your contract.
* If a residence room has been granted to you,
you will receive instructions sometime in July regarding
the payment of your room.
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7)
How are students paired up?
Once all the reservation questionnaires have been
received and that proof of deposit payment has been sent to
us, we begin reserving the rooms (the number of rooms reserved
corresponds precisely with the number of reservations).
It is important to answer the questions very
honestly, to ensure that the person with whom you
are paired best matches your character traits. However, because
the number of spaces is limited and varies between terms,
we cannot guarantee that you will find a place that
meets all of your preferences.
Throughout the room reservation period, we visit
the rooms offered and meet with at least one of the residents.
If the unit is reserved, each person living there must complete
a reservation questionnaire similar to the students’
questionnaire.
When all the rooms are reserved, we perform the
matching--a very complex, painstaking process. Rooms are attributed
according to the date we receive
payment of your deposit (first come, first
served) and your questionnaire. Then according to specifications
of each student and person renting the room (future roomate
or landlord), each of the questionnaires is reread, annotated
and sorted by sex, smoking preferences, allergies, lifestyle,
specific requirements (proximity, nationality, age), etc.
The questionnaires are then matched with a housing offer,
on an individual basis.
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8)
How Will you Distribute the Rooms?
Room distribution will be done on Sunday
January 4th 2009 at HEC Montreal during a meeting
prepared for this purpose. Location and time : To
be confirmed.
Room distribution will be carried out according
to the date that we received your deposit along with your
completed reservation form. It is important to clearly state
your preferences on the reservation form since no preliminary
visit will be granted and no room changes will be permitted.
The number of rooms being limited, we will do
our best to take into account most of your preferences but
we cannot guarantee 100% that we will be able to offer your
first choice.
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9)
What does GIA-Gestion inc. do?
Our role is to search for and reserve
apartments, mainly shared, before the students arrive.
This service ensures that students enrolled in exchange programs
at HEC Montréal have a place to stay throughout their
studies and that they need not worry about finding housing.
Our mandate does not consist of answering specific
requests or specific needs or to research apartments on an
individual basis.
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10)
What if a problem arises during the contract?
The first step is to assess the problem.
In most cases, problems reported to us are minor and can easily
be solved by contacting the person concerned. For example,
you might be annoyed if dishes are frequently left unwashed
in the sink, garbage is not taken out regularly, etc. First,
discuss the problem with your roommate and
try to find a fair solution. Remember that while living with
a roommate requires compromises by both parties,
it is generally an enriching experience.
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11)
If I find another apartment, can I cancel my contract?
A contract binds both parties. You can end it
only if the landlord agrees. If
the landord agrees, you have find someone else to take the
room under the same conditions you initially had yourself.
The new roommate must be accepted by the landlord and sometimes
by the other roommates, if applicable. By signing the contract,
you become responsible for the commitments you make,
and the landlord will naturally expect you to abide by them.
Students enrolled for two terms: It is not possible
to change apartment after the first term.
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12)
Why does the price of housing very?
Housing reserved by our department is priced based
on a predefined scale that takes into account the
neighbourhood, the size of the room, services included and
the fact that the lease covers less than 12 months. The
landlord, in contrast, pays all of the costs an annual basis
(rent, expenses, etc.). We cannot analyze housing case by
case or consider all the decorative elements of the premises,
because each dwelling belongs to a different owner, and is
decorated in keeping with that person’s tastes. However,
we do require that the apartment be clean and furnished,
and that accessories such as dishes, cookware, pillows and
comforter be supplied.
Some students prefer to search for their own housing
even if this takes time and energy. When they arrive in Montreal,
these students have no guarantee that they will find suitable
housing. In the meantime, they must stay at an inn, hostel
or hotel. Most probably, if they share an apartment they will
have to compromise on the proximity and quality of the apartment,
the price, etc.
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13)
Do I need insurance for my personal belongings?
Although Montreal is a safe city, we strongly
recommend that you purchase insurance for your personal
property because in case of fire, theft or vandalism,
your property will not be covered by the landlord’s
insurance. In addition, the landlord cannot be held responsible
for damage to your property.
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