Research reveals huge disparity in university accommodation costs

• Cheapest: Surrey University halls of residence, room rents starts from £79pw
• Durham University - student rooms start from £178pw
• London: Imperial College lists rooms from £136pw

There is a huge disparity in the prices charged by the UK’s top universities for rooms in halls of residence for students beginning their degrees in September, research by Responsible Life reveals.

The later life mortgage specialists conducted an analysis of the most affordable rooms being advertised in halls across the UK’s top 25 ranked UK universities (as listed by the Complete University Guide) for the 2024/25 academic year.

Eight of the universities have rooms in their halls of residence ‘starting from’ under £100 per week for the new academic year.

However, many institutions are charging a lot more, with two of the UK’s leading universities advertising rooms ‘starting from’ over £170 per week.

The research found the lowest weekly rates being offered in halls of residence varied by as much as 125% across these universities.

University halls are typically reserved for first year students. They’re usually closer to campus and generally cheaper than other types of private accommodation.

The University of Surrey stands out as offering the most affordable option for first years, with shared rooms available on campus starting from £79 per week (£3,002 across 38 week term) for the 2024/25 academic year.

Six other universities are advertising rooms in halls for under £100 per week for the new academic year. These include Edinburgh, Warwick, Birmingham and York.

In stark contrast, seven of the UK’s top 25 universities are offering rooms starting from more than £150 a week.

These include Durham University, where rooms with shared bathrooms in halls start from £175 per week (£6,650 across 38 week term), more than double (125%) the best weekly rates being advertised at Surrey.

In London, where rents are the highest in the UK, the best value halls of residence are attached to Imperial College, with weekly room rents from £136 per week.

Comparing weekly rates in Oxbridge colleges, Cambridge outshines Oxford with room rents from £146 versus £173 at Oxford (2023/24 rates).

Table: Top UK universities ranked by most expensive to cheapest halls of residence ‘starting from’ room rates (weekly).

* N.B. Some of the universities haven’t published accommodation costs for the 2024/25 academic year. In these cases, accommodation costs for 2023/24 were quoted.

Carlton Hood, CEO of Responsible Life, comments:

“The expense of higher education in the UK has reached unprecedented levels, leaving many students burdened with significant debts upon graduation.

“Accommodation, in addition to tuition fees, often constitutes the largest financial obligation for students during their university years. Taking out a maintenance loan to cover rental costs, on top of paying tuition fees, graduates face leaving university with debts that will take years to pay off, if ever.

"To alleviate this financial strain, parents and grandparents often step in to support their children and grandchildren, to prevent them from carrying hefty debts long after graduating from university.

“Equity release is increasingly being utilised by grandparents to provide financial assistance and ease the burden of university expenses. A grandparent can gift their grandchild up to £3,000 per tax year and it will be exempt from inheritance tax.”