There are many reasons you might not have sorted your accommodation yet for this coming academic year. Maybe you’re a new student who applied for UCL accommodation after the deadline? Or a continuing student struggling to navigate the London housing market?
Lots of you are contacting us about this issue at the moment, so we have put together some advice and resources to help!
What about UCL accommodation?
UCL accommodation have now announced their waiting list for 24/25. All UCL students can apply through the UCL Accommodation Portal. Even if you applied for UCL accommodation before, but weren't allocated a place, you'll need to reapply using the waiting list. You should check your emails for an offer, as you'll have only one day to confirm a place. Offers are being sent out by UCL daily.
If you're under 18 or have additional requirements (such as a disability) then you will be prioritised.
UCL are asking that you are as flexible as you can be with your budget and room preferences as places allocated are subject to availability. UCL are unable to guarantee that your requirements will be met.
Finding alternative accommodation
There’s still other accommodation out there for the coming academic year. You may need to be more flexible and consider locations and types of accommodation that you hadn’t been looking at before, especially if you’re struggling to find accommodation within your budget.
We know there’s a huge amount of information available about looking for accommodation, which can be overwhelming. So, we’ve put together some key resources, from the Union and UCL, to help with your search:
Whilst you may feel pressured to act quickly to secure accommodation, we recommend you stop and think to avoid scams, especially before sending any money. Our resources have some key tips to follow to stay safe.
Struggling with money?
Sometimes things don’t go to plan, and you may find that what you budgeted for your accommodation doesn’t seem like enough anymore.
You should first try to expand your search, to include locations and types of accommodation that you hadn’t been looking at before. You may find that there are rooms further away from UCL at a lower price, though you should factor in additional costs such as travel into your budget.
You can still take part in the wide variety of activities that life at UCL has to offer, even if you’re living a bit further away from one of the campuses. You may also be able to adjust your budget in other areas if your accommodation costs have gone up.
Short-term accommodation is likely to be more expensive, and so you may need to adjust your budget for the rest of the year if you stay temporarily in a hotel, Air BnB etc. whilst you find longer-term accommodation.
If you’re worried about affording accommodation or managing your money in general, we’d recommend you first check out our online Money and Debt advice.
If you're still worried, you can contact the Advice Service for a free, confidential appointment about managing your finances - [email protected]
Should I travel to London without accommodation for the year?
If you do this, you will need to arrange your own temporary accommodation until you find something more long-term. This could be staying with friends and family, or booking into a hotel or hostel.
At the Union, we don't have any accommodation to provide to you in an emergency. UCL are likely to allocate all their rooms this year, and we don’t have any details about a waiting list yet.
You should be realistic about the process of finding accommodation, as it can still take some time to find and move into longer-term accommodation once you arrive in London. And bear in mind, staying in short-term accommodation may be more expensive than you’d initially planned for.
We have put together some suggestions for finding short-term accommodation on our page: finding emergency accommodation
There is limited support from local councils and charities if you find yourself with nowhere to stay, which may not be available to many students. Our Advice Service can help you understand what support is available.
What if I don’t find accommodation?
If you’ve tried everything above, you may want to consider your options.
UCL will sometimes allow you to defer your entry to your programme. This depends whether you’re an Undergraduate or Postgraduate student.
It may also be possible to take an interruption of studies.