Bristol, Brighton, Edinburgh, Exeter, Leeds, Manchester & York parents

[SecondTimeUniMum]

Got a student in a private rental (shared house) in one of these cities?

Can you tell me how much they pay for their room, and if that is with or without bills? Shortlisting for UCAS now and I'm having a bit of a wobble about how expensive some of DC2's possible choices are going to be live in!

DC1 is in Cardiff and pays only £85/week without bills. They only get a bit over minimum maintenance loan but all their accommodation and most of their bills are covered by that, at least. First year halls were more expensive but only for 40 weeks so it worked out pretty much the same.

Hopefully someone will come along with up to date information. I had twins (and an older daughter) in Bristol. One of the boys shared a 2 bed flat in 2020/21 for his post grad year which was £1250 (no bills included) divided between 2 people ( 2 bed flat, very central) so £625 each. However in the 2 years before that he rented more typically a large student house. So his year 3 house was for 6 people which was for each person £535 a month.

We are in a very busy period, post covid and lots of students looking and mortgage have gone up so much and landlord taxes changed so much rents will I am sure now be higher. On the other hand that £535 a month (£123 a week) was not likely to be the cheapest in Bristol so it will probably be okay If minimum maintenance loan is £4300 for those with better off parents that leaves a £2k deficit for example.

I do think if possible they should go where they want and what will increase their future earnings rather than a short term view that XYZ is cheaper so best. Even if it means working all summer to save up it can be advantageous to go to some of these more expensive cities (although cheapest of all I think is Oxbridge actually because of short terms and cheap college bills so it is a complicated picture.

DD (Edinburgh) is in uni accommodation this year. They have a small amount of self catering accommodation for returners (£4k for approximately 9 months all bills included). Previously she paid £480 pm (summer 2021) and £550 pm (summer 2022) both excluding all bills.

Are you sitting down ?DD in Bristol pays £165 a week - no bills. House is going up to £178 next year. Thankfully she is moving to Somerset for last 2 years.
Notts DD pays £99 in Notts. Bristol is v lovely, but v expensive

Another one in Bristol- DS has paid 6200 for first year in halls, has now hopefully found a house for next year with four others, 600 a month including bills.

Bristol (not city centre) rent £650pcm utilities 70pcm
found it stressfully hard to find somewhere, competition is huge.

Manchester, £424 monthly plus bills estimated at another £110.

Manchester have issued their students £170 each to help with bills.

Rent is for a full year but half price for July/August.

I agree with @Xenia Go to the best university for the course/career. Rule of thumb is that rents mirror house prices. So northern cities are usually cheaper. University matters for some careers and this should outweigh housing costs. Some housing will be 50/52 weeks. It’s all about supply and demand. Some people always pay over the odds but location in a city and quality of the accommodation affects rent quite dramatically. There are always cheaper areas in cities but some students wouldn’t go near them.

My daughter is in her 3rd year at Manchester. She has a 2 bed flat with a friend in the city centre. It's a lovely flat with 2 bathrooms. Has a gym and sauna too. It's £112 a week without bills.

Crikey. York parent here- first year in halls 8k. 2nd year House, not the most pricey, and eye watering 9.5k. We should all become York landlords in our next career move/life. We do wonder how anyone affords it but there must be cheaper non-standard options

Exeter parent. Just signed a tenancy for next year - £155/week not incl bills for a shared 6 bed house. 11 month contract Sept- July.

Currently paying about the same, but in a house with a terrible EPC - all electric storage heaters!

@monkey42
I don’t think your student looked at cheaper options! Few would pay that outside London!

DC at Manchester in first year halls. I think it's 160 a week, flat of 8, own bathroom. All hall prices online.

DC has sorted next year. House for 7 at £115 a week each. I think it's £143 incl bills (not happy about that as it's £10k) however energy prices are sky high I suppose.

I would say this OP, I know you're worried but going to the DC choice of uni is very important, they can always get a job.

£143 x 52 is £7456. What is £10k?

Sorry wasn't clear - the amount they are paying for bills for 7 of them adds up to that - 52 x £28 x 7

Crikey, mumsneedwine. Is that Clifton. DD is a bit further out and paying slightly over £400 pcm incl bills. But she is a medic and on placement or at GP so does need to be so central.

Dd is abroad this year (rental cost is there) but previously paid about £600 pm in Edinburgh for a large room in shared flat close to library, SU etc plus bills. Ensuite uni halls were around £160pw. Private hall studios cost around £220 pw - mainly overseas and postgrad students. It is cheaper to rent in places like Leith and commute in (free travel for under 23) and/or share a room. There is a shortage of student accommodation there.

Exeter parent, DD 2nd year paying £170 pw. 6 of them sharing 3 storey house, very typical student accommodation!
Finalising details on house for 3rd year and it’s massively cheaper £130 pw but opens straight off the street and rooms are smaller.

I would echo what others have said around choosing the best uni not the cheapest. Part time student jobs around Exeter seem easy to find, lots of retail and catering jobs. Though I would caveat that by saying the course content might make it difficult to work in term time if it’s a course with high contact hours.

Brighton - 625 for room in 3 bed house in not best part ..plus bills

@Needmoresleep Redlands ? 15 minute walk to Uni and 10 minutes to Downs. It is a lovely house (if anyone looking for a 7 bed next year) but they looked around for cheaper and not much going the same distance to town was any cheaper. DD has to get the bus to Langford lots of days at 7.30am so needs to be easy walking distance. Next year it's almost half the price in sunny Somerset.

£461.50 pcm bills included in Leeds. It’s a standard 12 month contract in a 5 bed houseshare.

My DD is at Leeds. Most of the tenancies are 52 weeks.... she has just organised a house for year 2, her share is £125pw fixed including bills, so her share is £6500...maintenance loan does not cover it. She says Leeds is quite an expensive place to live which surprised me as we live in Brighton!

@37KAT your DD’s rent is 1k more than my DS but it’s possible he has benefitted from securing this year’s tenancy before the Truss budget. He’s in his fifth year in Leeds now and apart from the expensive year in halls the rent has generally been around 5.5k for the year, including bills.

I think it is expensive. She says they've looked at multiple houses. I've advised her to look for an 11 month contract, she says they are all for a year! She'll need to get a job next summer & save up. Looked like it needed a good clean and painting so no idea when / how the landlord would do this.

My son still lives in Bristol after graduating there. He pays £600/ month. Three people in flat. That is very much on the low side. Competition is fierce and properties are snatched up instantly. He only got this flat through personal connections.
He lives in Cotham btw