What to Do If You Can’t Find Student Accommodation In Your City

If you are looking to start university this year as a first year, you are into your final year as an undergraduate, or you are entering a postgraduate degree, knowing where it is you’ll be living for the upcoming academic year is important.

Not knowing where you are going to live can add undue stress to an already stressful situation. A student accommodation search can cause you a headache, and the later you are looking for a place to live, the harder it can become.

There are a few reasons why you might struggle to find student accommodation, with one of the main reasons being that you have gone through clearing to even be at this specific university, and everything is a little later than you would have originally planned.

You always have options, believe in that. We’ve put together some tips and advice on how to find student accommodation, even if it is not the ideal location and situation you envisaged when you first applied for university.

Think About Your Ideal Student Accommodation

Before you do anything else, and even if you think you need to act fast, take the time to write down exactly what it is that you want from your student accommodation.

This will help you with your initial student accommodation search and to work through your options in the order of preference.

Do you want to live in shared accommodation in a student block, with modern appliances, comfortable bedrooms, and plenty of communal areas and leisure activities and amenities in the building? If so, our purpose-built student accommodation cannot be beaten.

Do you want to live centrally in the town, close to the university campus, or in a quieter spot away from the hustle and bustle? It’s important to have a think about your ideal student home.

Research Your Options

If you’re applying to university through clearing, there will always be options available to you, so don’t be disheartened.

It might be late in the day but there will always be options open to you, so don’t be disheartened.

In our next section we’ve listed some of the things that you can do to help you with your student accommodation search.

1. Ask the University and Students’ Union

Most universities will have their own managed student accommodation that are reserved for first year students, and they will be used to dealing with clearing cases.

So, get in touch with the university to be directed to their student accommodation department.

You never know, you might get lucky and have access to a spot that has become available late.

The Students’ Union will also have student accommodation support and notices for those looking for housemates, so that is also worth a look.

2. Look For Private Student Accommodation

Whilst living away from home at university you are not just limited to halls of residence, there will also be private student accommodation.

Here at Homes for Students, we have a wide range of magnificent student accommodation options throughout the country.

The beauty of living in student accommodation like ours is that you get to live in comfort, with a large bedroom and bathroom all of your own, your own study space and place to relax.

Our student accommodation is always within easy reach of university and local life, centrally located or close to amenities through great public transport links.

Quite often too, you’ll easily make friends through the communal spaces, and on-site amenities such as cinema rooms, dining areas, and gyms.

3. Consider A House Share

If you are struggling to find student specific accommodation in your search, that isn’t the only type of accommodation available to you.

After you leave university and go live alone, with friends, or with a partner, you’ll have to find somewhere to live.

Now might be the time where you strike out and look for a room in a house share or find someone to rent on your own.

A house share with other students (maybe they are in their second or third year) or with young professionals is an eye opener for sure.

However, it helps you meet new people in the town and more importantly provides you with somewhere to live!

4. Make The Most Of SpareRoom

If you’re struggling to find student accommodation in your university city do not fret, SpareRoom is the answer to your prayers.

SpareRoom is the UK’s leading flat share app which enables users to search for a flat or house share in cities and towns across the country. So, you can narrow down to your specific uni location!

The best part about this platform is that you can find flatmates if you’re keen to live with others in a flat or house, and you can even narrow down your search to just students.

5. Use Social Media

As a way of finding out who you’ll be living with and to settle in quicker, social media provides a great way to interact with your future housemates when you know exactly where you’ll be living.

If you’re not sure and you’re still on the hunt for somewhere to live, you can use it to find other people who are in a similar boat to you, or to find adverts for spare rooms etc.

Finding other people who are also late to finding out where they’ll be studying next year will help you get a group together.

This might make things easier when finding a house to share if that is the option you are looking at the most.

6. Search In The Next Town Or City

Depending on where your university is, and if you have had no luck at all with your student accommodation search in your university town, you might have to look a little further afield.

You might have more luck in the next town over in finding somewhere to live, whether that is in a shared house with other students, young professionals, or living alone for a short while.

As long as there are good transport links and it doesn’t impact on your ability to get to and from university each day, it could be a solid choice.

7. Consider Living At Home

If you’re struggling to find accommodation in your uni city or town, another option could be living at home.

Of course, this depends on whether your family home is commutable to your university as you don’t want to be spending hours getting to campus every time you have a lecture or seminar.

When living at home, many students worry that they won’t make friends, but you can still meet people on campus, by joining clubs and societies and through social media.

You’ll save money on rent, bills, food and other costs whilst living with your parents, and it doesn’t mean you have to do it for the full length of time.

You could live at home for your first year, and then make new friends and start your accommodation search earlier for second or third year!

It can be daunting to know what to do next if you can’t find somewhere to live easily as a student.

You might feel like you’ve left it too late, and that you’ll never find somewhere to live that you like, or you might struggle to find anywhere at all.

It is easier said than done, but really try not to worry too much, there are loads of resources and support services out there to help you.

There is always hope, and wherever you end up, you can make it work for you.