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Dear All I am interested in how institutions allocate disabled students applications for university accommodation. We currently have a student with mental health difficulties in the form of anxiety, and OCD requesting one of our self-contained flats for their final year of study. The basis of their justification is that in the private sector they would have to share facilities (kitchen) and the sound or thought of others in there caused them so much anxiety that they would avoid using such facilities until a time when they knew no one was in there, or not use the area at all. They also stated they could also hear others congregating in these areas which made them anxious and subsequently would trigger Obsessive Compulsive thoughts. It has been pointed out to the student that even in university accommodation it is tricky to control noise from other areas, but the student feels if they had a 'safe' area they knew they could use, that would be sufficient. This raises the point of potentially 'isolating' some students further who are already struggling with socialisation and also the issue of the high demand we experience on accommodation at our institution, and on certain types of rooms we offer. I would be interested to know others thoughts in regards to this case specifically, and if institutions have developed matrix of accommodation allocations to disabled students to allow swift distribution of rooms and allow more time to examine the more complex requests? Many thanks in advance. Emily Emily Jones Disability Support Officer University of Chester [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> 01244 511059 ext 1059