Erica Underwood House

The staff are amazing and the location is convenient, but the accommodation itself has been a bad experience. Erica's buildings are very old, as are the furniture and appliances. The fly screen in my room was held together with sticky tape. We also had ants in the kitchen and bedrooms. Management didn't resolve it, so I bought bait gel myself to kill the nest. No matter how much I clean, the dirt seems permanently embedded throughout the flat. The biggest problems for me are security and the lack of air conditioning. When it's hotter inside than outside, studying and sleeping are very difficult. Portable air conditioners are banned, most likely to save UniLodge money, and they provide a $10 click box fan from Bunnings that just blows the hot air around. As a woman, I haven't felt very safe living at Erica. Trespassers have woken me several times by walking and screaming through the property. One was visibly angry and had a mallet. A flat downstairs was broken into twice in one night. The rent is absurdly high for what residents get. In 2025, a six-bedroom apartment costs $280 a week, rising to $294 or $323 if you want one freshly painted. That's unaffordable. As a student, I should be able to focus on my studies instead of taking extra shifts to pay for rent and food. I know plenty of residents skip meals or eat less to save money. This isn't student accommodation anymore, it feels like a profiteering, price-gouging business taking advantage of students who don't have other options.