Accommodation in the UK for International Students (2026 Guide)

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Most Pakistani students in the UK live in one of three places: university halls, a private hall run by a company, or a room in a shared house or flat rented from a private landlord. For a first year, and especially for a one-year master's, university halls are usually the simplest choice: you book from Pakistan through your university, bills are included, and the university stands behind the contract.

This guide explains each option, what rooms cost on two universities' own price lists for 2026-27, the renting rules that changed in England on 1 May 2026, and how to avoid the rental scams that target new students. We checked the rules on GOV.UK, the government's renting campaign pages, Action Fraud and university pages on 24 October 2026. Rules and prices change, so the official page is always the final word.

Your three main options

	University halls	Private halls (purpose-built)	Private shared house or flat
Who runs it	Your university	A company, sometimes in partnership with the university	A private landlord or letting agent
How you book	Through your university's accommodation portal, often once you have an offer	On the company's own website	Viewing, then a tenancy agreement
Bills	Usually included	Usually included	Often extra (gas, electricity, internet)
Contract	Fixed length set by the hall	Usually fixed length	In England, usually a rolling tenancy since 1 May 2026 (see below)
Good for	First-year students and one-year master's students	Students who miss the halls deadline or want a studio	Second-year students, PhD students and anyone who has seen the property

Some universities guarantee or prioritise a room for new international students who apply by their accommodation deadline, but each university sets its own rules. Check your university's accommodation page as soon as you accept your offer, because rooms are limited.

What does accommodation cost in the UK?

Prices depend on the city, the room type and the contract length. Here are two real examples from university price lists for 2026-27:

University of Manchester, Whitworth Park (undergraduate halls): £122 to £145 a week on a 41-week contract, which is £4,999 to £5,957 for the year. Heating, electricity, water, Wi-Fi and contents insurance are included (University of Manchester).
University of Glasgow (postgraduate residences): from £141.47 a week for a shared twin room to £311.08 a week in a three-bed flat at Lister House. Contracts start on 11 September 2026 and end in June or September 2027. Utilities, Wi-Fi and contents insurance are included, and a £200 advance payment confirms your room (University of Glasgow).

Prices in other cities, and especially London, differ, so check your own university's list. Two points families often miss:

The contract length matters as much as the weekly rent. A one-year master's runs about 12 months, so a 41-week or June-end contract may leave you needing somewhere to live for the summer while you write your dissertation. Glasgow, for example, offers extensions to some June-end contracts.
Your visa money is separate. UK Visas and Immigration asks you to show a set amount for living costs, whatever your rent is. Our UK country guide gives the current figures, and our cost calculator adds rent, food and travel together in PKR.

England's new renting rules from 1 May 2026

If you rent from a private landlord in England, the Renters' Rights Act changed the rules on 1 May 2026. The government's renting campaign page says:

No more fixed terms. Most tenancies are now rolling "assured periodic tenancies" with no end date. You end one by giving the landlord two months' notice in writing, unless they agree in writing to less.
Limits on rent in advance. Everyone must sign the tenancy before any rent is paid, and the landlord cannot ask for more than one month's rent between signing and the start of the tenancy. This matters for international students, who were often asked for six or twelve months up front.
No bidding wars. Adverts must show the rent, and landlords and agents cannot ask for or accept offers above it.
Student houses. From 2027, a landlord of a student house share can end a tenancy for the next academic year only with at least four months' notice, ending between 1 June and 30 September. Manchester City Council's student page adds that the landlord must tell you in writing before you sign.

Halls are different. The government's page says purpose-built student accommodation contracts signed after 1 May 2026 are not affected by the Act, so a fixed-term contract may still apply. Manchester City Council says university-owned halls and some private halls are exempt from parts of it. So read your halls contract carefully: you may be committed for the full term, and its rules on paying in advance differ.

These changes apply in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own renting laws, so check your university's or local council's page there.

Deposits: what the law says

If you rent on an assured periodic tenancy in England or Wales, GOV.UK says your landlord or agent must put your deposit in a government-approved scheme within 30 days of receiving it. The schemes are the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. A deposit paid by your parents must be protected too.

At the end of the tenancy, the landlord must return the deposit within 10 days of you both agreeing how much you get back. If you disagree, the money stays protected in the scheme until the dispute is settled. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate schemes.

Right to rent checks in England

Anyone renting in England must prove their right to rent to the landlord. GOV.UK says people who are not British or Irish can either give an online share code or show their original immigration documents. You don't need to prove it in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Our first week in the UK checklist explains how to get a share code from your eVisa.

How to avoid rental scams

Action Fraud, the UK's national fraud reporting centre, warns that fraudsters target students looking for accommodation. Its advice includes:

Don't pay any money until you are sure the person and the property are genuine and that the person controls the property.
Be suspicious of rent far below the going rate.
View the property with the landlord before paying, and be wary of anyone who refuses.
Ask for the tenancy agreement and safety certificates, and check that any deposit goes into a government-approved scheme.
Avoid paying through money transfer services such as Western Union or MoneyGram to someone you don't know.

From Pakistan, the safest route is to book through your university's own accommodation portal, or through private halls that your university lists, until you can view places in person. Your university's accommodation office or students' union can tell you which providers it works with. Never pay an agent in Pakistan to "reserve" a UK room. Our guide to avoiding scholarship scams covers the same warning signs.

Council tax

GOV.UK says no council tax is payable if everyone in a household is a full-time student. If you share with someone who is not a full-time student, a bill may still come, though there may be a discount. If you rent privately and get a bill, apply to your council for the exemption.

Your next step

As soon as you accept your offer, open your university's accommodation page, note its application deadline and the contract lengths, and apply for halls if they suit you. Put the rent into our cost calculator so the family sees the full yearly cost in PKR, and use our visa and pre-departure checklist for the rest of your preparation. Always confirm prices and rules on the university's and GOV.UK's own pages before you pay anything.