Securing accommodation as a UAL student in London

We've put together some useful information about when it is the best time to look private rentals in London. 🏡

Do you have friends who signed up for their new house in December for the following academic year? This is quite common in university cities and towns outside of London, however, in the city can vary quite a lot on when the best time is to look for private rentals.

When to start looking, and what to look for will depend on your current accommodation and when you want to move into a new place. It also depends on your course and student status.

Take a read of our guide below to see when would be the ideal time to start looking for private accommodation.👇

📌 International Students and Pre-Degree Course 📌

If you are an international student and you are moving from a pre-degree course to a BA (or from a BA to an MA), you will not be able to secure a private rental until you have your student visa for your new course. Private landlords will only be able to accept you as a tenant once you can show you have a visa. Please do not try to find a private rental in May or June, it will not work.

Your options are:

• Book UAL halls or independent student halls for the first year of your new course. It is possible to book dedicated student accommodation while you wait for your CAS and visa.
• Once you know you have your new visa, come to London, stay in temporary accommodation or with friends, and look for a rental with a private landlord or via a letting agent. This can be super stressful, but it is possible! Most people in London do house-hunt just a few weeks or months before they want to move in.

📌 Home student or international student moving into next year 📌

If you are a Home student, or an international student moving to the next year of your course, you can house-hunt whenever works best for you:

💭 Your current accommodation contract ends in late June?

• Start looking in early May for a place to move into straightaway in June.
• Start looking in May / June for a private rental that is available to move in for early / mid-September. Some landlords do advertise early, especially those on the ULHS Property Platform. Sign a contract, go home for the vacation, come back to London and move in.
• Move out in June, go home and come back to London in August or early September. You might need to stay with friends or book temporary, tourist-type accommodation, then look for a private rental.

💭 Your current contract ends in late August or in September?

• Head home when summer term ends and enjoy a break, then come back and look for a private rental in July and August. Use your current room as a base while you are looking and see that you can move into the new rental straightaway.

💭 Are you hoping to go on an exchange programme in the autumn term?

• We recommend you wait and do not arrange accommodation until you know for sure it is happening! Only look for new accommodation once you come back to London, or shortly before you come back.

For more information about private renting in London, get in touch with our UAL Private Accommodation Adviser.