Interested in becoming a host?

Homestay is more than just renting a room in your home. It is an interactive experience, where you will need to engage with students, provide them with meals if they are on a catered package, offer them support, and help them to integrate into family life and feel welcomed in Edinburgh.

All COL hosts are expected to:

• Offer all 3 homestay packages (self-catered and catered)
• Accept placements for both males and females from all nationalities and ethnicities
• Meet students on arrival and escort them safely to the home. This usually means travelling to Edinburgh airport to greet the student at the terminal
• Help students to settle in and get oriented within Edinburgh
• Involve students in family life. This includes eating meals together, engaging with students regularly, and inviting them to participate in family activities
• Help students to practice their English skills through regular conversation
• Monitor the student’s wellbeing, assisting them where appropriate and escalating concerns to COL

From a safety and compliance perspective, we require all hosts to obtain:

• Disclosure Scotland checks for all permanent members of the household aged 18 or over – this needs to be renewed every 3 years
• A suitable liability insurance policy – this needs to be renewed annually
• An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) – this needs to be renewed every 5 years
• Interlinked fire alarms, fire extinguisher and fire blanket
• A Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) for properties with a gas supply – this needs to be renewed annually
• Carbon monoxide detectors for properties with a gas supply and / or solid fuel burners

Hosts must provide the following for students:

• A key to the property, with freedom to come and go as they please
• A private bedroom featuring a window; heater (this must be connected to the home’s heating system, and not a space heater); plug socket; single bed or larger (no sofa beds, bunks or inflatables) with duvet, pillow and sheets; additional blankets; desk and chair; ceiling light; lamp; wardrobe and / or chest of drawers; mirror; and small waste basket
• Wi-Fi throughout the home with a minimum download speed of 30Mbps
• Fair access to bathroom facilities
• Fair access to kitchen and dining facilities – this includes providing students with storage space for food and access to cooking utensils and equipment
• Fair use of communal spaces
• Fair use of heating
• A regular laundry service, at least twice per week
• Healthy, balanced and varied meals for students on catered packages, including provision for special dietary requirements

To execute the responsibilities outlined above, it is important that hosts:

• Have appropriate time available for meal provision and regular interaction with students
• Are able to exercise patience, understanding and tolerance
• Have a naturally caring and nurturing manner
• Are self-reliant and able to exercise good judgement

In addition, we require all hosts to:

• Reside within Edinburgh or the immediate area – our students will be studying at the COL campus in Edinburgh’s city centre, and it is therefore essential that they can travel to campus easily and within a reasonable time. As such, we cannot consider applications from prospective hosts if they live beyond 5 miles of the city centre
• Have a suitable home environment (structurally sound, free from health and safety hazards, have adequate heating throughout, no smoking or vaping within the property, not overcrowded, all pets cared for responsibly and safe to be around people, etc)
• Have reasonable availability throughout the year to accept student placements
• Ensure that an adult member of the household is resident at the home for the entirety of a student placement
• Not have other tenants or lodgers staying at the property whilst a COL student is placed with them (excluding permanent members of the household)
• Consent to us creating a unique host profile containing contact details, information about the host and the home, and photos of the main host and the property
• Satisfactorily pass all recruitment checks, which includes reference checks, home inspection and evidence of required certifications (Disclosure Scotland checks, etc)
• Agree to, and comply with, the responsibilities and service expectations set out above and expanded upon within our Host Terms of Service Agreement 

Becoming a host with COL is a several step process that will take time to complete:

• Written application submission
• Satisfactory receipt of 2 references
• Satisfactory completion of a home visit and inspection
• Satisfactory receipt of all required certifications
• Set up on our IT systems

Applying does not guarantee that we will appoint you as a host.

We know the requirements for hosting may seem overwhelming at first, but please be assured that the COL homestay team are here to support you throughout the application process. If you have any questions or would like to talk to a member of the team before applying, we are happy to help. Request a phone call or arrange to meet us on campus for an informal chat by emailing: col.accommodation@ed.ac.uk

 If you believe that you meet the above criteria, please complete our online application form linked below.

The form will take a little time to fill out, so we suggest that you set aside 1 hour.

In addition, we recommend you have the following information ready:

• All permanent members within the household – their names, dates of birth and occupations
• All pets within the household – their names, species and breeds
• Referees – the names and email addresses of 2 people who are willing to supply us with references. Your 2 referees should be known to you in different capacities (for example, one could be a close family friend and the other a current or former employer)
• Details about local amenities near the home and transport links into Edinburgh city centre
• What you think the challenges might be when hosting students
• Your reasons for wanting to become a host with COL
• A brief profile statement describing yourself and the home – this can include things like your interests and hobbies, some information about other permanent members of the household, how you spend your free time, what day to day life is like within the home, etc

Please note that we are not currently accepting applications for Homestay hosts.