Moving into your accommodation

We have a variety of halls of residence accommodation and an established private sector housing market in the city at various prices. We provide extensive housing support to all students.

If you've firmly accepted a place on a full-time course starting in September, you can apply for accommodation online by submitting an application. Places are allocated subject to availability at the time we receive your application.

We'll send you details of how to apply when you hold an offer with us. If your application is successful for a hall room, we'll ask you to pay a £250 deposit to accept and confirm your booking.

Private rented accommodation

Private rented accommodation in the city is mostly in shared student houses or lodgings, and our housing team can help you find accommodation – and meet other students to share with too.

We recommend that you use our official private sector accommodation website, where landlords register their accommodation with our housing team.

Normally, if you share a house or flat you'll be living with three to five people, bedrooms are for sole use/single occupancy. Landlords will not let these rooms to more than one student, couples or students with families.

However you decide to find a house, please make sure you do not send money to a landlord or agency until you have seen, in person, the house or flat you want.

UK based guarantor

You will be asked to provide a UK based guarantor before the tenancy starts. If you cannot provide a guarantor, some Landlords may accept 6 or 12 months rent in advance. If you cannot get a UK-based guarantor, some landlords will then ask you to pay a whole academic year’s rent (or a very large portion of it) upfront to guarantee rental payments. There are also companies which provide a guarantor service for a small fee. You can contact Student Housing for further advice on guarantors if needed.

Contacts

If you have any questions about securing accommodation or would like your contract checked, our Student Housing team will be happy to help.

• If you are an EU student, please email eu.housing@port.ac.uk.
• If you are an international (non-EU) student, please email international.housing@port.ac.uk.

Where is the best place to live as a student?

To provide you with the best opportunity in succeeding on your course, the University of Portsmouth recommends that your term time address is no greater than a 30 minute journey away by public transport from the University.

This will enable you to attend your lectures and seminars and will provide you with the opportunity to regularly access the University’s support services.