Moving out to go to uni or college can be the first time you start to live independently. In between lectures, parties, and meeting people, you might manage to grab a few hours of sleep. If you are thinking of moving in to student accommodation, here’s where you can find out a bit more.
Most first years and international students are guaranteed a place in college/university housing. Depending on your college/uni, accommodation can be very different, from halls of residence to student flats.
Your college/university will have information on their website about what kind of accommodation they offer, and who gets priority.
Living in 'halls'
Living in halls is a great way to meet people, and can be a total party. Not that we’re wanting to sound like your mum here, but in the early days it can be hard to get a balance right between work and going out. Living in halls, there’s always a distraction if you want one, and it might take you a while to get used to turfing people out of your room when you actually do need to get some work done. You’ll get used to it, though, and remember it’s your space – even if you might not be able to paint the walls green and put in satellite TV.
Catered or self-catered?
You might get a choice between catered and self-catered accommodation. Banish the thoughts of waiters passing trays of posh food - catered means that your meals are provided for you – usually breakfast lunch and dinner during the week, but you might get left to fend for yourself at the weekend.
Self-catered means you’re on your own. You’ll have access to a kitchen and usually plates, cutlery, pots and pans will be provided but you are responsible for feeding yourself.
There are good and bad points to both:
- The good: If you’re the kind of person who just won’t cook, or who doesn’t want to be bothered with shopping and planning meals, catered is probably for you. It means your accommodation will cost more, but you’ll only have to worry about snacks and weekend meals. Also, once you’ve paid for your room you don’t have to worry that you’ll be living on beans on toast at the end of the term when money runs out.
- The bad: You might not like the food and if you have special food requirements or are a veggie you might not get too many options. Also, remember that meal times are usually set so if you like your breakfast at 10am and lunch at 2pm you might be out of luck.
Self-catered is great if you like cooking and shopping – and budgeting! It means you eat when you want to eat, and only what you like. On the bad side, it means dishes and cleaning up, shopping – and doing it three times a day.
Extras - TV Licence
If you have a television in your room then you have to pay a TV licence. So if you're happy to watch TV with everyone else in the shared room then it's fine, as your halls will have one licence for this. But if you've got to have that remote control firmly in your hand and want your own telly in your room, you need to shell out for that licence. Go to the TV Licensing website for more information.
Your rights
Even though you might be living in accommodation provided by your college/university, you still have some tenancy rights.
Your housing/accommodation contract will let you know what’s required of you, and what you are guaranteed, but if you need more information check out the Shelter website. They've got a section called 'Your Rights in University Owned Accommodation' which should cover all the bases.
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