Moving out for university can be daunting. You have to learn how to fend for yourself, to cook and to clean. Figuring out life by yourself is stressful enough as it is! Throw paying bills, rent, deposits and budgeting your money on top of it, it can become overwhelming.

We put together this article to help you out when it comes to navigating the world of student renting.

In your First Year at University you will most likely be offered student accommodation through the university, otherwise known as halls of residence. Halls of residence are mostly reserved for first year students, and are more often than not cheaper than other private types of accommodation.

They’re a great place to make new friends, and socialise with a wide group of people from all the other flats in the building. It’s also a great place to introduce yourself into the renting world, as you’ll likely get all your bills included in your rent!

You get a choice of different halls to choose from, and will need to apply through your Uni accommodation office. As everyone will be applying at the same time, make sure you apply early to give yourself the best chance of getting your first choice of accommodation.

If you don’t manage to get accommodation directly through your Uni, do not worry!! There will additionally be loads of privately owned halls of residence to choose from. National companies like

and

are great companies to look into, as they have halls accommodations up and down the country, so you’ll likely find something for you in your university city.

Your University Accommodation Office will everything you need to know about what types of halls are on offer. They will also help guide you through your halls of residence application process. If Uni halls aren't quite right for you, they can put you in touch with private halls and let you know other places to check to find your new home. 

You have enough to think about when you’re first moving to Uni. Luckily, your uni looks after organising all the options available into one place. The main thing to remember is you aren’t guaranteed a place in your first choice of accommodation, so make sure you’d be happy to live in any of your choices. When choosing the right place to you, have a think about:

In your second, third or later years at Uni, you'll more often than not choose to rent a shared house or flat, where you get to choose exactly who you live with. While you're completely in control of your independence, you will probably need to organise your utility bills yourself, unless you find a place with bills included. Renting can be a bit of a stressy one, so to give yourself the pick of the best places, start looking early. Leaving your house search till the last minute, might leave you with not much choice for a nice place to live.

If you’re in First Year looking for your Second Year house, make sure you settle into your new life at uni first before you jump into signing a contract for a house. Make friends on your course, join societies and get to know your future flatmates a bit better before you decide you want to live with them for another full year! You definitely do not want to be in the situation where you sign for a house in the beginning of the year and then realise that you do not get along as well as you did in the first couple of weeks.

While you can still apply for student accommodation, most halls tend to be mainly for first year freshers. If you do end up struggling to find a house, or you’ve decided against it, you can still look into private halls as an option. You’ll find a nice mix of students of all ages in these types of halls.

When searching for a house or flat to rent,

,

, and

will be your best friend. Make use of the search filters; organise by availability date, or by how many bedrooms you need, or whether bills are included. Also worth a check with local estate agents, or sites like

and

geared specifically for students to find their next home. If enjoy your own space consider finding yourself a studio flat or one bedder. 

For those of you struggling to find a flat or a house, check out

or your University Accommodation Office to find people like yourself looking for new flatmates. 

Renting a house or flat will give yourself a bit more to think about than your first year. It’ll be important for you to bare in mind:

When it’s time to consider where you would like to go to Uni, you might be debating whether or not you should move out. You might have already decided that you are going to move away from, live in a new city, or you might still be deciding whether you should apply to your local uni and live at home.

There are pros and cons to living out and staying at home for university, so it is quite a big decision to make. It is definitely worth making a pros and cons list to help you decide what you want to do, and there are many factors to consider.

Moving out for university is a great way to make new friends, especially if you’re moving to a new city. Everyone is in the same boat and looking to connect with new people, whether that’s through your course, your flatmates or societies. 

This isn’t to say that you won’t make new friends if you still live at home, you just might need to make extra effort to push yourself out of your comfort zone and build great friendships, when it might be easy to head home and call it an early night.

When you first move out you won’t know who you will be living with, and figuring out how to

is always a tricky one. You might meet your best friends for life in your first year flat. On the other hand, you might not get so lucky with who you live with in first year. Don’t worry if you don’t have the best flatmates in your first year of uni, just remember it is only for a year. 

Chances are though, you will make some really great friends through your flat! If you do find yourself with annoying flatmates, it can be hard to know how to deal with them, but pick yourself up, learn to be civil and try to tolerate them. There might be a time for a conversation about things, cleanliness, noise and all that. 

Often people struggle living with people because not everyone is as clean as them, but like we said it might be with a rota to help keep your communal areas in a decent state, bins emptied, and all that jazz. See more on how to deal with flatmates in our Uni Flatmate Survival Guide.

Moving out for university will give you the space you need, and the freedom to do whatever you want when you want. You get to enjoy the fun bits, not have to answer to anyone any more, and live life on your terms. Let loose a bit and enjoy! The boring bits are inevitable though, you’ll have to cook, clean and

all by yourself.

Have a think about things before you move out, and what you’re looking for in your next life stage. Are you ready to start a life of independence? You will learn some great life skills by moving out and definitely gain your independence, but some aren’t quite ready yet, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with staying at home, or close to home.

If you choose to stay at home, there is a chance that you will save a good chunk of money. You probably won’t be paying a huge amount for rent or food every week. As you can expect, moving away from home you’ll be in charge of paying rent, bills, food and all sorts of other living costs. You will get your student loan, but the financial side of moving out is definitely something to consider.

You need to make sure your deposit is in the Deposit Protection Scheme. Deposit protection was introduced by the Government for all assured shorthold tenancies, with an aim of protecting your deposit, and removing the opportunity of any scammy student landlords. Since the scheme was introduced, your landlord or letting agent will have a number of legal obligations that they need to fulfil to ensure your deposit is protected lawfully.

Landlords have 30 days from receiving your deposit to put it into a Deposit Protection Scheme, where it is safely stored during the time of your tenancy, just in case there is a dispute when you leave. If your landlord fails to do this, you could be entitled to up to four times the amount in return, but you'd have to go through the small claims court.

Deposits are pretty complicated, so we put together a full

and how to make sure you have an easy time getting it back.

When looking for a house or flat, there are many things to consider. How many people do you want to live with, are your bills included, what's the location like compared to the town centre or your uni campus.

Make Sure Your Landlord Is Legit

: Use an accredited agent when you are looking for a house. Do some research into the agency or landlord that you might be dealing with, as you most certainly don’t want to get stuck with a scammer. Well known high street agencies will make stringent checks on landlords and will keep you safe as a renter.

Contracts

: This probably sounds obvious, but check over your contract thoroughly before signing. You want to make sure there isn't anything you're uncomfortable with signing up to, or if there any suspicious looking costs. Learn more about your

here.

Get A Viewing

: View the place beforehand, as there have been some horror stories of students who have signed for a house, and moved into something that looks completely different.

Check Out Your Area

: If you're considering moving away form your campus, see if it's an area lots of other students live. You should also look into the time and cost of your commute. Have a look at some flats in your city as you could probably find a flat for a reasonable price without the added travel costs. You'll want to check out the local amenities, like the nearest supermarket for your weekly big shop. Any nice pubs, coffee shops and restaurants you can go to? Is the gym nearby? Can you park your car? All of these are things that you should factor in when you are thinking of moving.

Dealing With Landlords

: Part of being a student is dealing with student landlords. Most area really nice, and getting on the good side of your landlord is perfect. If you look after the landlords place, they'll look after you. If you find yourself having difficulties with a landlord that's hard to deal with, it might be a test of patience, but be persistent. Make sure that they do what they are actually contracted to do. Most are lovely, and it's in their own interest to fix your property.

Bills

: If bills aren't included, you'll need to budget for this. Set aside a set amount of money to cover your bills. You can also find a place with bills included, which really helps you budget so you know exactly how much your monthly home will cost you. Some places don't tend to include broadband, but don’t worry, there's always a student deals to be had, visit our

here. You'll also want to figure out if you need a

.

Council Tax

: As a university student you don’t have to worry about paying Council Tax, as you are exempt!. Make sure you get your exemption letter from your university to give to your landlord and the local council. Make sure you're on the right exemption lists, otherwise you might get stumped with a bill, and things like this are always harder to deal with it in hindsight.

Documents

: When signing for a house or flat, read your tenancy agreement properly thoroughly before you sign it. Make sure you know what you can and can’t do whilst living in the place. Make sure there’s no unexpected added extras and make sure everything adds up. Your landlord might need you to provide references and proof that you're a current student. Having these ready ahead of time makes signing up to rent a place super easy.

Organise A Guarantor

: A guarantor is a member of your family that can legally prove they will pay your rent if you start defaulting on payments. Normally it'll just require some financial information from your parents to show their eligibility and affordability.

Deposit

: A natural part of renting is stumping up the funds for a deposit. It sounds scary, but don’t worry, if you don't trash the place, you'll always get it back when you move out. Make sure your deposit is protected and secure with the

mentioned above.

We hope you feel more confident in making the right decision on your housing at uni. You know the ins and outs of renting as a student, what to prepare for, and what to think about. For more advice on life at Uni visit our

.