Student family accommodation in the UK

[StudentMomma]

Hi, just wondering if anyone has any expirience of 4 bedroom student accomadation in the UK. I know a few university’s offer family accommodations, so I’m thinking of that route when I do my PHD and my husband does his BSc and our eldest does her BSc. We also have 2 other children who will be college age and high school age.
I can’t find prices online, so prices and any info on them would be amazing. I’m just doing my ‘5 year plan’ so looking into PHD plans.

thank you.

I would consider the ages your dc would be and what sort if school you need. Age 14-18 could be tricky. I think most would be private rentals. Edinburgh as an example owns some subsidised rentals for its students but a limited supply and really set up for sharers rather than families.

It's all about the location to be honest - and what happens with the sixth form and high school options for the youngest - are they having to move in the middle of their studies? There are private landlords that specialise in this - John Winter in Cardiff for example - but you really need to work out a location that works for everyone first, because if you can find a place that fits for all then it might be in an area where there are not specialist providers.

Check Zoopla for your guide. Won't uni accomodation be at market price in any case?

It's most likely that you would need a private rental but you might struggle to meet the requirements for the credit check as the only income you would have might be a PhD stipend and you won't be able to afford to rent a 4 bed property on that. You might get away with paying a whole year's rent up front?

They have also clamped down on students bringing family with them so it may be the case that your children may not be able to get a visa.

I’m a uk resident and always have been, I’m not looking for family accommodation as an international student.
I just read about family accommodations in the UK today, and I wanted to look into them so I can widen my search when studying for a PHD. I don’t want to leave the UK, just hoping we could move to the uni that accepts us all (myself, my husband and our eldest).
Also, thankfully my eldest will be starting (once she’s finished college) the same year I start my PHD, my middle child will be starting college at that point so he’ll start college the same year we start studying at uni, our youngest will be in year 9 and is a very social happy child and is happy to study in a new school during the rest of her high school and college. So we’d all apply for education local to the uni/area we pick.
I hope that makes sense.
I have looked into private rent, but the prices are crazy high, plus they are unfurnished (we want to keep our home, my sister in law is gonna move in and pay the bills ect as she’s living with her mum and sister at 30 so she’s excited at the opportunity to live alone for a while), which makes things difficult as we aren’t taking our own furniture.

But what if you don't all get accepted at the same university?

& what if your DD doesn't want to live with her parents when she's at uni?

Family accommodation tends to mean either a couple who are students in a studio flat or parents with young children often studying overseas.

There's some family accommodation at the University of York, OP - but it's limited in quantity (especially for families who need 2+ bedrooms) and probably only for a year, unfortunately!

So my daughter suggested this, she doesn’t want to live in halls unless she can come home if she gets anxious or her ptsd is triggered. So she won’t be living in a possible ‘family accommodation’ just our younger 2 kids. And if we don’t all get accepted we won’t go ahead with the plan, we won’t all only apply for 1 university. Thankfully we live within 30 mins of 4 different universities, so if this plan can’t happen they’ll go to local unis (different ones to each other) and I’ll likely have to either do a crazy commute or live away from home whilst studying which as a mother, the idea of living away from my kids makes me feel sick to my stomach. It’s quite difficult to get a PHD course in the sector I’m looking at. So this was just a ‘Hopeful’ plan.

Most universities do not offer university owned accommodation to PhD students, they instead have accommodation information for private landlords and some (one i specifically know of) allows incoming PhD and masters students to rent halls in august and most of September whilst they search. Family accommodation is very limited and tends to be for undergraduates and not 4 bed either. Some cities are significantly cheaper than others, but perhaps your dc will want to go elsewhere.

I did see York offer family accommodation, and the PHD I want, and the BCs my husband and daughter want, plus the college course my son wants and a high school a 5 min drive away. So it would be like winning the lottery if we got the places and accommodation.

I am very aware there is a lot of ‘what ifs’ this isn’t a solid plan we have. Just something I was looking into. Also, my daughter suggested this for emotional support whilst she doesn’t uni. She can still get the uni expirience whilst having the safety net of having her family super local.

The fact you refer to high school makes me wonder whether you’re in a very specific educational area. Most Y9s would be in secondary school, not high school. Have you checked the differences in school systems?

I’m from Cheshire. Everyone I know calls it high school.

Cambridge will offer this in some circumstances.

you’d probably need to be all accepted by the same college which I can see being tricky.

https://www.uea.ac.uk/uea-life/accommodation/family-accommodation/on-campus-accommodation-for-families

This is an example at UEA - 2 bed - one double, one bunk beds
Very limited number.

But even if you hit the jackpot in York, you would have to move after a year for private rent.

Multi-bedroom rentals in uni areas will be expecting a group of students and probably will be furnished accordingly. Or bring most of your furniture and let your SIL get her own ok eBay or whatever - if you will be letting to her for 3-4 years (I assume she will pay you rent!)

In regards to moving out after a year, York do allow you to stay an extra year (each time your tenancy ends) if you meet the exceptional circumstances. Due to my own disabilities and my son’s disability we do meet that criteria. But we all will be working (me maybe 1 shift a week, my husband 3 days per week) and we’re planning to save like crazy if we don’t get accepted the subsequent year. It’ll just make the first year easier if we manage to win the ‘uni/accommodation lottery’. And we’ll likely at least get approved for the 2nd year. Then in year 3 and 4 of PHD it’s less ‘taught’ and more ‘independent research’ dependant on a few factors. So in year 1 & 2 we’d save enough to pay year 3’s rent. And in year 4 my husband will be (hopefully) qualified and can work full time to support myself and our kids whilst I finish the PHD. I hope that makes sense.

I understand why you all have asked about ‘what if’ and pointed out where some unis don’t offer. I have thought about everything that could go wrong. Like I said, this is just a hopeful plan, not a solid plan.
I am at the very beginning of planning all this, it’s about 2 years away, so I have lots of time to realise my plan isn’t accessible.
But I do feel a tad disappointed in the responses, I thought asking in here would have mothers understand my hopefulness and possibly get some positive advice.

We paid £12k last year for DD's single en suite room post grad accommodation in York for 51 weeks.

If your DD was on a undergrad course there, her accommodation for her 1st year would typically be from the 2nd week in Sept until June. Family accommodation would not be generously sized, so where would she go in the summer or at Christmas when all her flatmates go home for the holidays?

We would all go home together.

But PhD and undergrad course dates don't correspond. A PhD is essentially a full time position whereas under grads aren't there in the summer.

I don’t know what PhD you are looking at, but friends of mine who have done stem phds were doing 8-6 in the lab six days a week for pretty much 50 weeks of the year.

it’s more like a full time job than a taught undergraduate course. Obviously if you are not doing stem you don’t necessarily have to be in person in a lab.

I went to university - undergrad and postgrad - as a parent of two kids, and looked long and hard at family accommodation. I genuinely don’t think anywhere woukd have four bedroom places. One bedroom is common (considered okay for two parents and two kids of different sexes up to age 12, or same sex up to 18), and there are a few two- bedroom units for bigger families.

This is the link for Sussex, where I was an undergrad - fully booked at present, but as you’re planning ahead, you could talk to them.

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/accommodation/families

It’s likely to be cheaper to just rent a house as a regular family, unless it’s very heavily subsidised most uni & student rentals are disproportionately high cost. One DC was in a student house of 6 a couple of years ago. Semi detached Victorian property which would probably have rented for less than 2.5k per month as a 4 bed family home. As a 6 bed student rental the annual rent was £55k.

Would commuting from your current home not be an option?