The alternative to living in halls of residence is to choose rented accommodation. There are two ways to do this either renting directly from a landlord or via a rental agency. It can be hard to go straight from your parental home into private accommodation, so it is most common for the majority of first year students to choose halls.

Private renting allows you to live with who you want and where you want. When you are choosing who to live with make sure you think about it carefully. You will be seeing your ‘closest’ friends at their worst, and will most likely learn significant amounts about their attitude to money, cleanliness and noise.

Often private housing provides more freedom but also more responsibilities with less of your own space to escape your friends – particularly if the landlord has turned the living room into an additional bedroom.

Private Halls

The last ten years has also seen the rise of private halls of residence. This is accomoodation which is not linked to the university directly but instead provide hall-style accommodation, suitable for students of all ages. These halls are often much more modern, with rental agreements in place for the full calendar year, rather than just the academic year. Private halls allow students more freedom and privacy but may also be more expensive and less social than traditional halls of residence .

Finding private accommodation

If you have your own flat and have a spare room which you want to rent out, or are looking for a room in a shared house, uk.easyroommate.com can be used to find room mates.

There are special student letting websites which may have rental properties in your area, such as bunk.com and studentpad.co.uk. Most universities will have accommodation offices, in conjunction with other universities and colleges, which have a database of different rental properties within the area. 

If you have found a property that  you are interested in, it is best to go for a viewing to fully examine the property. It allows you to look at not only the house but also the surrounding areas in terms of the services provided and the general feel of the neighbourhood.