The Most Common Types of Student Accommodation

Types of Student Accommodation

When searching for a place to live in your new university city or town, you might be a little overwhelmed by the number of student accommodation options there are to pick from. While the most common path for students is to spend their first year in halls of residence before moving into a shared house, numerous choices are open to you. Below, we’ve listed the most common types of student accommodation and what you can expect from each of these.

What are the Different Types of Student Accommodation?

Halls of Residence

These are usually owned by the university (some are independent) and are predominately for first-year students. They tend to be most popular amongst first-year students as they offer the best opportunity for meeting as many new people as possible. For most students, it’ll be their first time living away from home, with a hall of residence offering a nice midpoint between independence and a taste of university life, without the larger dose of independence that comes with living in a privately rented house.

There are a few different options within halls of residence, including shared or en-suite bathrooms and catered or self-catered.

Private Sector Halls of Residence

These broadly operate in the same way as university-owned halls, with the difference being that private sector halls of residence are open to everyone. Private halls of residence offer some of the most luxurious forms of student living. Though on paper they can look more expensive than shared houses or standard halls of residence, there are actually several common misconceptions about private student halls that are worth reading before you make a decision either way.

These types of student accommodation can often lead to a very multicultural mix of students, with their even being students from different universities in some cases.

House/Flatshare

After your first year of university, you’ll more than likely move into a house or flatshare, preferably with a group that you’ve become close with over your first year as a student. When renting a property with this (hopefully) tight-knit group, the price will probably drop slightly, yet the enjoyment should crank up a notch or two.

If this is the option you want to go with but don’t actually have anybody else to rent with at present, then this isn’t a problem either. Thanks to a whole host of websites designed to help you find odd rooms here and there in rented houses and flats, you won’t be short of choice. Our personal favourite site for this purpose is Spareroom.

Room in a Private House

This is a little bit different from a house or flatshare as you won’t be renting with your friends. Instead, you’ll reside in the same property as your landlord while renting a room from them. While those probably isn’t what you had in mind for a university experience, it does have upsides. For one, the often questionable quality of private student housing won’t be felt when living with a landlord.

While this type of student accommodation certainly isn’t for everyone, you’d be amazed at the quality of student accommodation out there.

A Private House/Flat

If you’ve got a little bit more money on your hands that you’re willing to spend for some added privacy, then a private flat might be the best type of student accommodation for you. We’ve found that people are most likely to pick this student accommodation option when coupled up or after having a negative experience in a shared house.

Just bear in mind the price and a potential lack of social opportunities before you dive into this option.

What is the Most Common Type of Accommodation for University Students?

As we mentioned earlier, most university students will move into one of their university’s halls of residence in their first year. Because these are often located directly on or near campus, they’re understandably one of the go-to types of student accommodation for many students. In some cases, they’re exclusively available to first-year students (this will vary from university to university).

After first year, the majority of now second-year university students will move into private rented accommodation. Generally speaking, students move into rented houses or flats in groups of between three and eight people. In the 2019-20 academic year, just under 30% of students lived in a private rented property, so it’s clear that this is one of the most common types of student accommodation.

Things to Look Out With Different Types of Student Accommodation

No matter what type of accommodation you choose, it’s important to make sure that you’re considering these important factors:

How safe is the area?

There are plenty of apps and websites that’ll help answer this question, such as Adt.

What public transport is nearby and how quickly can you get everywhere?

Living a little further out in a city is fine, but you’ll want to first double-check that the transport links are good enough to get around.

Who are the neighbors and what are they like?

It isn’t always that easy to find the answer to this – it’ll depend on the type of student accommodation you’re looking at. If it’s a privately rented home, then you could have a quick word with the current/previous tenants and see what their thoughts on the neighbours are.

How much are your bills going to cost?

If you’re concerned about high bill costs, then there are plenty of ways to reduce your energy bill when renting.

Is any maintenance going to be required?

If the answer is yes, then find out how much it’s going to cost and who will be covering it.

How many people will you be co-renting with?

While you’ll probably enjoy yourself more in a larger group, adding extra numbers into the mix also makes arguments more likely to occur. Looking at some house-sharing tips will help you have an amazing time while at university.

Picking the Right Type of Student Accommodation For You

We hope this helped you in your quest to find student accommodation which is perfect for you. Given that these are the most common types of student accommodation, it makes sense to look out for terms such as ‘halls of residence’ and ‘private rented student accommodation’ when you’re on the lookout for your next (or first) student rental property. Bearing these different types of student accommodation in mind should help in shortening the search, while ensuring that you don’t head down a rabbit hole of accommodation types that don’t interest you.

Already sorted your house but need to set up bills? We can help with this too – we set up and split your utilities for you. Get a free quote for your utilities here. 

Resooma is a leading marketplace that connects students to thousands of property advertisers and letting agents across the UK, meaning you can search all available accommodation on a trusted 3rd party platform.