Do you have to be a Student to live in Student Housing in the UK?

As a student, it is important for you to get the right student housing to live in. You might be confused about whether a non-student can live in student housing or not. Student housing is the area where all the students live. But to live there is it important to be a student?

Quick Takeaways

• The name itself depicts that only students can live in student housing.
• There are three types of student housing – Student Housing, University halls, and Halls of residence.
• If you are in a fixed term to stay in University hall and want to end it before that time you may be liable to pay the full rent till the fixed time.

However, you must read till the end so that you get a better understanding of if you have to be a student to live in student housing.

Do you have to be a student to live in student housing in the UK?

As the name suggests it is the accommodation that is usually for students. Thus, yes, you will need to be a student if you want to live in student housing. Thus the university halls and other accommodations are typically for students. You may also need to take the loan if you have a specific budget to fit in. If you are not a student you may be allowed to stay over there temporarily.

Though, it will depend upon the rules and regulations of that accommodation. As student housing is your own rental property you can stay with a student as a visitor or friend. However, if they are living on a privately owned property there is no connection with the university.

What is student housing?

Student housing means the residence for a number of students who are studying at a university or any educational institution. To get into it, you can show your ID card. Generally, there are three types of student housing-

1. Student Housing

It is that accommodation in which you will be living off-site and privately won’t housing companies. They usually charge monthly rent for their accommodation. There are many benefits when you are accommodated in the student house. The space that you get in it is more than the other types. Also, the rules and regulations in it are more flexible and also you may get a single bathroom for yourself.

2. University halls

These are the usual part of the campus and the students live here. They are usually located on university sites. The university accommodation or halls depend on which type of room you want or what course you study. There are large blocks including multiple rooms. You will have to share the kitchen and bathroom with multiple students. You may also have to share the room with other students. However, in some cases, you may get a bathroom attached to the single room.

3. Hall of residence

These halls are similar to university halls. This consists of large blocks of large flats where many students live. Again you will have individual bedrooms for yourself with a bathroom and kitchen being shared with other students. These residence halls usually work within the partnership of the university.

Do you have to live in halls for the first year?

No, eventually not. Will you be staying in halls or in private accommodations will depend upon you? There are many students who take private accommodations in collaboration with the students of their course for the first year. This is great fun though you may still want to live in the halls for the first year. In addition to it, there are students who live in the halls for the second and third years also. Therefore where you are living in the first year will depend upon you.

How do you choose which form of student housing you stay at?

To decide which form of student housing you should stay at you must know the benefits and the drawbacks of each student housing type-

Student Housing

The following are the benefits and drawbacks of student housing-

Benefits

• You are freer and can live your lifestyle as you want. 
• You will be getting more space to live. Thus you can manage to stay the way you want.
• As you’re living in privately owned housing companies you may also get your personal bathroom. However, you would need to share the kitchen with everyone.

Drawbacks

• You will have to perform more functions for responsibility in it.
• You will need to bring the deposit for the accommodation where you want to live.
• You will also need to pay the managing household bills and also need to get a TV license.

University halls

The following are the benefits and drawbacks of university halls-

Benefits 

• This is the best place to live if you want to attract more students.
• This is one of the best and most affordable housing areas to live in if you are away from your home.
• When you are at university also you will be getting extra support from them. You may get facilities like first aid. This is the service that you will not get in any other place.

Drawbacks

• You get no choice in selecting your room. This means that you may get the room that you do not want to live in.
• There are high chances that you may not get the accommodation you want. Again it will depend upon the course you are taking.
• When you are living with a lot of people you will find out about the noise and mess around you.

Hall of residence

The following are the benefits and drawbacks of a hall of residence-

Benefits 

• You will get all the same benefits that you get in university halls.
• You can decide the location and residence of the hall you want to live in.
• You may get some extra benefits like having Wi-Fi which is included in the package.

Drawbacks

• The residence of halls is usually privately owned. This means that you will need to pay some extra cost for it.
• Sometimes you get unnecessary perks like cinema rooms, that you may never use.
• Again as you will have to live with other students you need to prepare for unnecessary noise and mess in it.

Now as you know what are the benefits and drawbacks of different student housing, you can decide which student housing you want to take. If you are looking for low-cost student housing then you must choose university halls.

Conclusion

Student housing is very common among students going to university or colleges. Students need to get student housing to live. Thus if you are not a student you cannot live in student housing. Additionally, if you want to live temporarily as a student outside you will need to have a family member or a friend as a student. There are three different types of student housing that you can find as a student. To choose which student housing is perfect for you, you need to check the benefits and drawbacks of them.