Pros & Cons to Types of Student Accommodation

Priestley Estate Agency & Lettings takes a look at the Pros & Cons of different types of student accommodation.

Living on Campus

Most Universities offer students the chance to live in the residence on campus or residences that are very close to the campus. These are only going to be offered to the students that are going to that university full time.

Pros: Living on campus gives students the opportunity to meet a variety of different people. This means that they are going to be able to make friends that they have the same classes with and people that are close to them that they will be able to study with. Plus these students are going to be able to enjoy the social side of being a student at the university. Next is that students will feel safe because they are going to be in facilities that are well-maintained and structured.

Cons: Places are going to be very limited because they are in high demand. The second con is that these accommodations are going to be allotted based on the student’s grades in their classes and their financial situation. Therefore, there are going to be a lot of people will be turned away from living on campus.

Private residences

Private residences is accommodation off campus and are not going to have anything to do with the university that the student is attending.

Pros: Like on campus, private residences are designed and maintained with the students safety in mind. Students has access to a lot of benefits that the university campus residences do not offer, although this is reflected in the monthly rental. Some of these benefits include laundry and cleaning services, more enhanced security features, access to transportation, free Wi-Fi access, a gym that is on-site, along with many other things.

Cons: You pay handsomely for the pleasure of living in private residences and the services they offer.

Shared rental accommodation

Shared accommodation can range from a five bedroom house or two bedroom apartment, where students would each pay a monthly rental for the allotted room.

Pros: Total independence. Rental prices are governed by market forces so typically there are a range of budgets available in university towns and cities. There are also dedicated student lettings that factor in utility bills, council tax and the occasional free wifi within the monthly rental.

Cons: You are on your own in the big wide world, so you will need to factor in transportation distances, food costs, preparing meals and the big one …. cleaning the shared spaces.

Rented rooms

Even though a lot of students are going to want to live with people their own age or go to university with, it might also be a good idea to look for a room to rent.

Pros: You meet a range of people, typically younger professional starting out in life who need help paying the rent. They are typically well maintained (use a respected lettings agent) and of course there is typically wifi and modern conveniences already within the house or apartment.

Cons: Privacy can be an issue and you will need to check with the other residents if it is okay to bring back a horde of friends for movie night.

Top Tip:
If you are looking at either rented scenario our advise would be to use a respected lettings agency, who “vet” all renters and use common sense when pairing tenants and properties together.

Attending University in Leeds or Bradford, check out our available properties to rent.