Study abroad6 min read
Student housing in the UK for international students: halls, private rooms and your rights
The Draimo team
Short answer
Most international students in the UK start in university halls, which many universities guarantee to first-year students who apply by a deadline. Renting privately, expect to prove your right to rent with a share code from your eVisa, and to need a UK guarantor or to pay rent in advance. In England your deposit must be protected in a government scheme within 30 days, and homes where only full-time students live pay no council tax.
Try it in Draimo
Ask about housing at your UK university
- Does my UK university guarantee halls for first-year international students, and what do they cost per week?
- I have no UK guarantor. What are my options for renting a private room near my university?
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Halls first
University halls are the simplest first year: bills are usually included, the contract is with the university or its partner, and there is no guarantor to find. Many universities guarantee a room to new international students who accept their offer and apply by a set date, often in June or July.
Ask Draimo whether your university guarantees halls, what each hall costs per week and what is included. Pick your university and Draimo reads its accommodation pages and links the one it used.
Renting privately
Private rooms come through letting agents, shared houses and purpose-built student blocks. Contracts often run for a full year from July or September, so check the start date against your course.
- Right to rent: your landlord must check your immigration status. Generate a share code from your UKVI account, which your eVisa sits in.
- Guarantor: many landlords ask for a UK-based guarantor. Without one, you may be asked for several months of rent in advance, or to use a paid guarantor service.
- Deposit: in England your landlord must protect your deposit in a government-approved scheme within 30 days and tell you which one.
- Council tax: a home where everyone is a full-time student is exempt. Apply to your local council with a certificate from your university.
Before you sign
- View the room in person or by live video before paying anything.
- Read who pays which bills: energy, water, internet and the TV licence.
- Check the notice period and whether you can leave early if your course changes.
- Get the deposit scheme's name in writing within 30 days of paying.
Where Draimo helps
Attach the tenancy agreement and ask Draimo what it commits you to, what happens if you leave early, and whether the deposit terms match the law. Paste a listing and ask whether it shows the scam signs in our housing and scams guide. With Agent Mode on a monthly plan, Draimo compares rents near your campus from live listings and cites each one.
Questions people ask
- Do international students need a guarantor in the UK?
- Often, for private rentals. Without a UK guarantor, landlords may ask for rent in advance or accept a paid guarantor service. University halls usually need no guarantor.
- Do students pay council tax in the UK?
- Not if everyone in the home is a full-time student. You apply to the local council for the exemption, with a certificate from your university.
- How do international students prove their right to rent?
- With a share code from your UKVI account, where your eVisa is held. The landlord checks it online.
Sources we checked
- GOV.UK: tenancy deposit protection
- GOV.UK: council tax discounts for full-time students
- Shelter: right to rent immigration checks
Checked 30 September 2026. Dates and amounts change every year. Draimo reads the current pages when you ask.
Find halls and check a tenancy agreement before you sign.
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