UDUSON announces revised rules and regulations for private hostels

Forum 1 week ago

UDUSON announces revised rules and regulations for private hostels

The Students’ Affairs Division (Private Hostel Unit) of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), has released revised rules and regulations for private hostel accommodation ahead of the 2026/2027 academic session, for students who are considering staying in private hostels.

The guidelines, as contained in a notice, are aimed at improving private hostel conditions, regulate allocation processes, monitoring students’ conduct, and addressing challenges associated with private accommodation.

According to the notice, the review was prompted by complaints involving cases where students paid for accommodation but were not allocated rooms, as well as incomplete repairs in some facilities after payment.

Under the new arrangement, all landlords are required to register their properties with the Private Hostel Unit and provide details of available rooms payable for.

The Unit also ordered landlords and caretakers of private hostels to put their property in a habitable condition upon inspection which will be conducted at least two months before the commencement of the academic session, adding that facilities found unsuitable for student habitation must be renovated or risk losing approval.

The guidelines further directed landlords to provide waste disposal facilities, security personnel, and locked kitchen facilities for residents. It also prohibited landlords from charging students agency fees, stating that only the agreed rent should be paid.

Students seeking private accommodation are now required to complete an official application form and submit it to the Private Hostel Unit for verification before making payment. The Unit will charge landlords and caretakers an administrative fee of ₦2,000 per application.

Regulating the students’ conduct, the Private Hostel Unit prohibits cooking inside rooms, using electric cookers except where stipulated conditions are met, and unauthorised gatherings such as church services and club or society meetings within hostel premises.

It further condemns opposite-sex visits in hostels, homosexuality, lesbianism, smoking, alcohol consumption, gambling, fighting, cultism and other social vices within the hostel premises.

The Unit further warns that students under 18 would not be allowed into private hostel premises and students must not make any payments to anyone regardless unless instructed by the Unit to do so.

The notice also introduced mandatory monthly sanitation exercises for residents and warned that violations of the guidelines could result in eviction from private hostels or further disciplinary action in line with university regulations.

Landlords and caretakers were tasked with ensuring compliance with the regulations and reporting defaulters to the Private Hostel Unit for necessary action.