There’s a plethora of information and tools available to help make the transition from home to student accommodation a little easier, as Darren Lock explains
“The halls of residence are usually very close to campus and so reduce commuting time and provide easy access to facilities, libraries and on-campus social life”
“Renting from the university typically includes all the bills including electricity, water, heating and wi-fi/internet access – so it’s a fixed cost that you can budget around”
“Every university has a dedicated housing office and they will provide information about university managed halls of residence, which are often given precedence and priority to first-year students”
Facts/stats
University halls remained the most common option for first-year students at 30.5% in 2023/24 though that figure has declined from 41.8% in 2014/15 due to private rentals and other options increasing as alternatives
(Education Policy Institute)
The average monthly national rent for student accommodation in the UK is £575 – a modest 2.1% increase year-on-year
(Save the Student National Student Accommodation Survey 2026)
Regionality affects rental costs with the average cost of monthly rent in London being £742.91pm as opposed to the North of England’s cheapest region being £530.27pm
(NatWest Student Living Index 2025)
Moving on from further education to higher education can be quite daunting, leaving your old college and striking out to embark on a course that will take you away from home for three-or-so years and that will have you familiarising yourself with a new educational environment, new lecturers and peers who are in a similar position to you.
While some may opt to remain close to the family abode and study within commuting distance, many also have the added pressure of uprooting their home life completely and moving closer to those beacons of study they’ve committed to. This in itself throws up a whole new basket of problems and stresses for you to consider. But don’t panic just yet, there’s a plethora of information and tools available to you to make this transition easier and a bit clearer.
Choosing where to live
The first decision to make is whether to stay at the university provided halls of residence or to go down the private rental route. Both have their advantages and disadvantages in convenience, cost and support. The halls of residence are usually very close to campus and so reduce commuting time and provide easy access to facilities, libraries and on-campus social life. Renting from the university typically includes all the bills including electricity, water, heating and wi-fi/internet access – so it’s a fixed cost that you can budget around.
The halls of residence route will also give you security and support that you don’t get when going private, such as 24/7 security, CCTV, on-site staff for emergencies, welfare or maintenance work. You will also find a built-in social environment in these halls with shared kitchens and common rooms, which will make it easier to socialise, especially in that difficult first year.
Other benefits of going into the halls of residence include access to university facilities such as the laundry, gyms and study spaces. Universities are often exempt from private tenancy rules and fixed-term contracts provide certainty about move-out dates and don’t tend to require a guarantor. Halls of residence are often recommended and prioritised for first-year students and the private route tends to open up from the second year.
Of course, while you cannot choose your family, it would be nice to be able to choose your housemates but this might not be so simple. If you choose to live in a hall of residence, then you will be expected to adhere to the universities’ expectations and so life may be a little calmer than renting privately, where behaviour might not be so closely monitored.
With an idea of exactly where you’re going, you can now start to reach out to more specific organisations that deal with student accommodation. Every university has a dedicated housing office and they will provide information about university managed halls of residence, which are often given precedence and priority to first-year students. They will talk you through the application process, deadlines and the cost and various room types available. They can also give you advice about private rented options and have a list of recommended landlords or estate agents dealing in student rentals. All these services are usually available via the university websites (search under “accommodation” or “halls”) or contact them directly when you have your offer.
Tools and research
If you do decide to settle at a university hall of residence, you may wish to check out studentcrowd.com, which provides a comprehensive listing and review of accommodation from across the country, all authentic feedback from verified students. Each listing features a ratings system based on campus/facilities, clubs and societies, student union, careers service and internet/wi-fi. These are marked with a five-star system and a small write-up from every student that makes a rating.
Meanwhile, accommodationforstudents.com is a search engine that allows you to see what rooms are available in the area you’re considering. This site provides listings for halls, houses and flats over the UK and you can even view the listings on a map view. The website also has up to date guides giving advice to students seeking accommodation.
Other tailored websites to consider include unihomes.co.uk, universityliving.com and unitestudents.com. Meanwhile, regular estate agent sites also have student sections for you to explore; these include rightmove.co.uk, zoopla.co.uk and spareroom.co.uk.
As with any move, it’s nice to get an idea of the immediate area. Before the internet, this would have been done with some prodigious use of shoe leather, but now you can do all your research and footwork from the comfort of your device, whether it be mobile phone, tablet or PC. Of course, the geography of the situation is something to greatly consider as the closer you are to your halls of residence, the easier and cheaper your travelling costs (footwork vs the commute), though a premium will be paid the closer you go.
So initially you may want to consider using Google Earth and the Street View function to remotely get an idea of where exactly the university is and the areas you might want to live. Once you’ve become familiar with the layout, you might want to start doing some further research into what the locals think of the immediate area. There are many websites out there that will give you an idea how good and bad residential locations are by postcode.
Findahood.com is a search engine that allows you to look for a very specific neighbourhood for you to settle. You can search via age group, living arrangements, green spaces, crime rate and whether there’s a garden or not.
Once you’ve found a location that matches your needs you could then use a website such as crystalroof.co.uk to dig deeper into the statistics. This site allows you to search by postcode, letting you narrow down your search to a specific road and then it will tell you the demographic breakdown of that locality and provide quite detailed insights such as the average income, whether or not the area is deprived, the crime rates and the ethnic and religious make-up of the neighbourhood. It will even tell you if there’s a potential of a flood risk or a noise nuisance and the sources of such issues as well as the locations of local public transport and notable amenities such as supermarkets, pharmacies and GP practices – all important information to those who are in transit.
Of course, sometimes things don’t always run smooth, especially when it comes to finances. If you’re having trouble making ends meet, there are Student Finance and Maintenance Loans and in extreme cases your university can make hardship funds available and sometimes bursaries and scholarships are available for applicable students who meet certain criteria (low income or disabled students, for example). For further reading, check the UCAS student finance pages: ucas.com/student-finance
Box-out
Websites to consider
The best way to get to know an area is to walk around it virtually, so check out Google Maps and the Street View functionality to help you find your way: https://www.google.com/maps
If you need to dig deeper into the demographic make-up of an area, consider using a site such as Crystal Roof that allows you see useful information at a postcode level: https://crystalroof.co.uk
For university specific information about crime and safety and university league tables, check out The Complete University Guide: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk
For good advice about halls of residence vs private options, look up the UCAS accommodation advice pages: https://www.ucas.com/money-and-student-life/student-life/accommodation-advice/how-to-find-the-right-student-accommodation-for-you
To get an idea of what student accommodation is really like, check out Studentcrowd which features reviews and ratings from verified student sources: https://www.studentcrowd.com
