If you are not covered by our Accommodation Guarantee then we strongly recommend that you look for private accommodation in the city. It is not compulsory to new students who are covered by our Guarantee to live in University owned or managed residences and they can look for rooms/property in the city also. See below for some useful hints or tips about searching for private accommodation:
What types of accommodation are available?
Whether you are looking as an individual or as a group, Exeter has a lot of private student accommodation options available in the city centre and surrounding areas. The options include:
- Purpose-built private halls of residence – offering individual tenancies
- Shared houses and flats through agents/landlords
- Resident landlord/host family – living in accommodation with the landlord and/or their family
You can see examples of these and further advice and information on our website.
How do I search for private accommodation?
Before you can begin your search for private accommodation you need to think about what exactly it is you want. For example:
- Budget – weekly/monthly and if you want bills included or not
- To live on your own, with friends, with family or to meet new people and share
- The areas of Exeter you wish to live (we have a handy list of locations close to our campuses on our website under the ‘local area information‘ tab)
- Whether you want a room with a landlord, room in a purpose-built residence (similar to university accommodation), a flat or a house
Once you know what you’re looking for, you can take a look at the private housing list available via our Studentpad website to see what accommodation is available. Studentpad is a free, easy to use ‘one-stop-shop’ student accommodation site and you are able to search by accommodation type, number of bedrooms or the weekly rent price.
For information and a step by step guide on how to use Studentpad and how to receive the best out of it, take a look at our brand new ‘how to video‘.
Is there support for students living in the city?
Yes, there absolutely is. Our Student Community Wardens encourage the integration of students as active citizens and they work closely with the Students’ Guild, Devon and Cornwall Constabulary and Exeter City Council to support fellow students living off campus.
They wear branded ‘Student Community Warden’ jackets and polo shirts and are always available to chat if you have anything you wish to discuss. To find out more about the Community Wardens, please visit their webpage.
To find out what it’s like to live in city accommodation then take a look at our ‘Looking for private accommodation‘ video put together by current student Poppy Barr.