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A new law called the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force on 1 May 2026. It changes how private renting works in England and gives you stronger rights as a tenant.
These changes may affect how you find housing, sign your contract and plan your tenancy. If you’re already renting when the law comes in, most of these protections will still apply to you. Learn more:
Hermione tells us all about her experience living in Student Castle, a purpose built student accommodation in the city centre, in her second year at York. Please note room types, catering options and social activities shown or talked about in this video may change for your year of entry. Check the relevant website or web pages for the most up to date information.
In this video, Kai (she/her), a second-year Business of the Creative Industries student, shares her experience moving from on-campus accommodation at Anne Lister College to a private shared house in York city centre.
Kai covers: how second-year housing works, how to find housemates, popular student areas in York, transport links to campus, tips on choosing a house, splitting bills, and what to look for in a rental and useful resources from the University of York. Whether you're planning ahead or just getting started, this video will help you feel more confident about your next move.
Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) presents a different option for private accommodation. They typically involve renting a private bedroom within a shared house. Privately owned and managed by landlords or student letting agents, HMOs accommodate multiple tenants, each having their own space and sharing communal areas like kitchens and bathrooms. This is a great option for students wanting to book as a group.
This list is not exhaustive. The University does not endorse any particular letting agent, and contracts are agreed and rented at the student's own risk. We recommend you also carry out your own research into Student Letting Agents.
Spare rooms often become available when the current landlord wants to rent out a spareroom, or a student cancels their contract making a room within a shared house available. This can be a great option if you do not have a group to book with, and wish to seek more budget friendly options.
The websites provided above are examples only. We don’t recommend any particular company so make sure you do your own research before paying any money upfront for a room / property.
Deciding whether you wish to live alone, in a small group or with a group of students off campus is one of the first things you will need to consider when living in the private housing market.
We host many housing talks and housemate finder events through the Colleges and across campus during the academic year. There are also Facebook groups that match students either looking for a group to live with, or a group that has a spare room they wish to rent out to an individual student who is still looking for a room.
These Facebook groups are not University managed groups so when checking through adverts it is advisable to be vigilant before paying any money upfront for a room / property.
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Are you looking for motivation? Feeling stressed? Dealing with a setback? Not sure how to think about your future? Use our Success at York Toolkit to develop skills and motivation to ensure you get the most out of your time at York.
Have a browse through the following frequently asked questions and answers for further guidance.
We’ve officially partnered with Housing Hand, which means University of York students who do not have a UK guarantor can use their service at a discounted rate upon successful application. Use the unique referral link below to access the 50% discount.
Yes you can live by yourself but this can sometimes be a little more expensive. You could look at private sector housing for one bedroom flats or houses, or there are many studio options in purpose built student accommodation where all your amenities including a kitchen, living room, bedroom and ensuite bathroom are in one room with bills included within the rent.
If you pay an advanced payment when booking your accommodation, this will be deducted from your first rent payment. If you pay a security deposit, this secures your accommodation booking and once you move into the property it converts into a damage deposit. This will then help cover any costs for broken or damaged items at the end of your tenancy if applicable, otherwise the full / remaining amount will be returned to you once you move out. The timeline of this and where the deposit is held will be written into your tenancy agreement.
If you are on an individual tenancy, you are only responsible to pay for your own rent. However if you are on a joint tenancy, or anyone else is named on your contract, then anyone named is responsible for the payment. Therefore if one person refuses to pay, everyone in the property named on the contract must cover the owed amount. Therefore it is really important to ensure you all have trusted guarantors and people you wish to rent with. If in any doubt, always check your tenancy agreement.
If you are a full-time registered student, you are exempt from paying council tax. This is not automatic and you will need to apply for a council tax exemption so you don’t receive a council tax bill. Even if you are living in a shared house, you will all need to individually apply to be exempt. You can find out further information on the council tax exemptions webpage.
If you are a full-time registered student looking for short-term accommodation, you can contact the accommodation team on campus to see if they have any rooms available during the academic year, or if they are offering accommodation during the summer period. Other short term accommodation can be found on sites such as Rightmove, Airbnb, Cozycozy, Hostelworld.
Most purpose-built student accommodation (PBSAs) and some letting agents will offer bills included within the rent, however it is more common for shared private houses to not have bills included. You will need to check the accommodation advert and your tenancy agreement to see if you have to pay bills separately.
You will need to pay for a tv licence if you watch any television channels such as the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 or international channels. This also includes live TV on streaming services such as YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer. You can find out further information on whether you need to pay for a TV licence or not and how to apply via the TV Licensing website.
No, even if you live off campus, you will remain a member of your, or a College.
If you are looking to live in couples accommodation, there are a few options. You can live on campus, where only one of you has to be a fully registered student. To live in student purpose-built accommodation or a student letting agent property, you will both need to be fully registered students. Otherwise you will need to seek accommodation in the normal public private sector.
There are properties on campus to house families, the university also works with 54 North Homes to provide even more family accommodation. You can find out more on the University's family accommodation web page. Otherwise for family housing, you will need to look in the normal public private sector.
A first point of contact for advice on issues including financial support and money management, housing advice, academic progress issues and support for under-represented student groups.
You can self-refer to our Support and Advice team by completing the student self-referral form. A member of our team will contact you by email as soon as possible and if you are offered an appointment, this can be conducted by telephone, video call or in-person.
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