FAQ - Housing guarantee

Question: I am an International student, can I use the housing guarantee?
Answer: If you are eligible for housing guarantee, your place of study will send you a letter with the necessary information and the code that you will have to use when registering an application and applying for accomodation. Please contact your place of study for more information.

Question: When can I apply, using the reservation code?
Answer: You may apply, using the reservation code, on the following dates: Autumn semester from the 1st of April until the 15th of May, and spring semester from the 1st of October until the 1st of November.

Question: I have registered my application. When will I receive an offer for a room?
Answer: An offer for a room will be sent to My Page as soon as possible after the application deadline. You will receive an e-mail informing you when the contract can be accessed from My Page. Please note that it may take up to one week for us to register the signed lease, due to high e-mail demand during this period.

Question: When I log onto My Page, it states "Do not find any contract history on your user". What does it mean?
Answer: If you do not find a contract on My Page and you have received an e-mail from us to the contrary, it is important that you contact us immediately at bolig@sammen.no.

Question: I did not receive an e-mail confirming my application or the contract. Why is that?
Answer: We regularly send information to you via e-mail. If you have a gmail, hotmail address etc, please check that e-mails from us do not end up as spam. If you experience this, you can set all emails from Sammen not to be treated as spam.

Question: I have received the offer for a room, but it does not correspond with the room or housing area that I applied for. What do I do?
Answer: We try to meet your request based on your application. Unfortunately it is not always possible to find a room or housing area that corresponds with your request. In this case we will allocate according to availability.

Note that if you reject the offer for a room, based on the fact that it does not correspond with your wishes, you have lost the housing guarantee.

Question: I have received the agreement and the price is higher than I expected. Why?
Answer: If you have received an agreement with a specific room number, the price stated is the correct one. If you have received an agreement without a specific room number, the price given is the most expensive option. When you move in, you are able to choose a cheaper room, if available, within the specified housing area.

Question: On my lease it is written that I have a 4 months` waiting period before I can terminate the agreement – what does that mean?
Answer: It means that you will have to pay rent for at least 4 + 2 months. You may register a termination as early as you wish after moving in, but the termination period of 2 months will begin 4 months after the start of the contract. If you have a lease that is 6 months or shorter, you are not able to terminate it.

Question: How do I return a signed copy of the agreement?
Answer: We recommend that you either upload the signed agreement from My Page, or send it by e-mail to bolig@sammen.no. We do not recommend that you send the signed agreement by postal service. This will result in Sammen receiving the agreement too late.

Question: I am having problems uploading the document as the file exceeds 1MB - what do I do?
Answer: If you are not able to compress the document down to 1MB, it is sufficient that you only upload the page with your signature. If not, send the signed copy by e-mail to bolig@sammen.no.

Question: I have uploaded the signed document - do I have to send it by e-mail as well?
Answer: No. It is sufficient to either upload it, or to send it by e-mail.

Question: I have returned the signed copy of the lease - how do I know that you have received it?
Answer: If we have not received the signed lease, we will contact you. You may also check the status of your contract on My Page.

Question: I have to pay the deposit - what do I do?
Answer: In order to maintain the offer for a room, you will have to pay the deposit within the 15th of June (autumn semester) and 1st of December (spring semester). Do not pay the deposit until you have received the contract. We highly recommend that you pay the deposit directly from My Page by Visa or Mastercard. By using this option you will receive an immediate confirmation that the deposit has been paid.

You may also transfer money to our bank, but we do not recommend this option because it will delay the deposit process and may result in us receiving the deposit too late. If you wish to use this option, the bank details are as follows:

Our name: Studentsamskipnaden på Vestlandet
Our address: Student Centre, Parkveien 1. 5007 Bergen, Norway
Name of bank: DNB Bank ASA, Postboks 1600 Sentrum, 0021 Oslo 
IBAN: NO7615061361720 
BIC/SWIFT: DNBANOKK

Question: I will not go to Bergen after all - can I cancel the offer for a room?
Answer: If you wish to cancel the offer for a room, you may do so before a given date (see below), and the deposit will be returned to you. If you cancel the offer after this date, you will be held to the terms of cancellation stated in § 2 in your agreement.
Autumn semester: 15th of July
Spring semester: 15th of December

Question: When do I pay the first rent?
Answer: The invoice for rent will be sent to My Page beginning of each month, after you have moved in. You will receive an e-mail when the invoice is obtainable. We recommend that you pay directly from My Page using Visa or Mastercard.

Question: I have other questions concerning my contract. Who do I contact?
Answer: You may contact bolig@sammen.no. Note! State your tenant number (6 digits). You will find it in the upper right corner of your lease.