If you choose to live in private accommodation, or if you have been unsuccessful in your hall application, you have plenty of options.
If you'd like to discuss your options in more detail with us, please contact the Student Accommodation Team using the details at the bottom of this page and we will do our best to help.
Private halls
There are a number of companies that provide hall-of-residence style accommodation exclusively for students. Many of these halls are based in the London area.
Private Accommodation List
Our regularly updated Private Accommodation List is a useful first port of call, providing details of landlords who have accommodation available to students. If you are interested in a property, you can contact the landlords directly. While these properties are not inspected, we do have a registration procedure for which we require copies of gas safety certificates and documentation proving ownership.
The list is available to all full-time students at the University. When you have accepted a place on a course at the University, you'll be able to log in by entering your username and password when prompted.
In order to access the housing list, you will need to log in. When you have accepted a place on a course at the University of Westminster, you will be able to log in by entering your username and password when prompted.
Your username is "w" followed by the first 7 digits of your student ID, eg w0123456. This number will have been provided to you by the Admissions Office and will be present on correspondence and - if you have one yet - your student ID card.
Read the information about Your University password and email account.
Log into the Student Housing List
House-shares
The most common form of student accommodation is a flat or house share among a group of friends.
The University also operates a private accommodation list, where private landlords can advertise their properties directly to our students. While these properties are not inspected, we do require copies of gas safety certificates and documentation proving ownership.
Here are the websites that proved most popular to our current and former students when seeking house shares:
We advise students to be careful when responding to private listings and avoid giving out any personal information until they are satisfied that an advert is genuine. One method that scammers sometimes use is to ask you to ‘prove funds’ by transferring money to a friend using Western Union - you should never do this.
It is usually necessary to pay a deposit and one month’s rent in advance of moving in.
If you have any questions about contracts or deposits, please get in touch with the team.
Council tax
If you stay in privately rented accommodation, you are liable to pay council tax. More information about this can be found on the Who pays council tax? page.
You can request a council tax exemption form from our Official letter requests page.
Homestay
For students that would prefer to live in a family environment, there are homestay companies that will be able to offer you this type of accommodation.
Please contact the following if you are interested in staying with a host family.
HFS
T: +44 (0)20 7510 9920
E: [email protected]
W: HFS London
Homestay.com
T: +353 (0)1 6753010
E: [email protected]
W: Homestay
Hosts International
T: +44 (0) 2077344884
E: [email protected]
W: Hosts International
London Homestays
T: +44 (0) 208 395 0333
E: [email protected]
W: London Homestays
Housing Information Sheets
We want you to be able to make informed decisions about where you live and we also want you to know your rights and responsibilities in the unlikely event of encountering any difficulties. So we have prepared some information sheets that you may find useful when looking for private accommodation. You can also find up-to-date guidance on renting in England in the UK Government's How to Rent checklist.
If you have any questions or need more help, just get in touch with us via the contact details below.