How to book your room

If you submitted your application by 30 June (UK students) or 31 July (international students), you’re guaranteed the opportunity to book a room with us. All you’ve got to do is wait for us to be in touch on, or just after, A-level Results Day.

As soon as your place at University of Birmingham is confirmed, we’ll let you know by email when and how to book your room through our Accommodation Portal. You’ll then be given a timeslot to complete your booking.

Don’t worry if you missed the above deadlines. You can still apply for accommodation with us through the Accommodation Portal. We will contact you by 20 August with information about booking a room in Birmingham.

Once you've found the room for you, you will need to secure it by paying a £550 Advance Payment. Alternatively, you can pay for your accommodation fees in full.

The Advance Payment is an initial instalment towards your accommodation fees, not a deposit, which means that it won’t be refunded to you at the end of your contract. You can choose to pay this in full, via Direct Debit to help you spread the cost, or by submitting your sponsorship details (if applicable).

If you’ve chosen to live with one of our accommodation partners, you’ll need to pay an Advance Payment or a deposit to secure your new home. They will get in touch with you directly with all the details.  

If you’re an international student joining us in September 2025, you’ll need to apply for accommodation from 1 December 2024. You’ll be given the opportunity to book a room from Spring 2025. Students with an application will be emailed with further details on how to book closer to the time.

International students have up until 31 July 2025 to be guaranteed the opportunity to book a room for September 2025. After this date, there is no guarantee that you will be able to book a room

Please note, only international postgraduate students are eligible for our Guarantee Scheme.

Once you’ve found the room for you, all you need to do is pay an Advance Payment of £550 to secure it. You’ll also have the option to pay for your accommodation fees in full if you prefer.

The Advance Payment is an initial instalment towards your accommodation fees, not a deposit, which means it will not be refunded to you at the end of your contract.

If you missed the Guarantee Scheme deadline or a UK postgrad, we recommend that you still apply for accommodation through the Accommodation Portal. We'll then contact you by 20 August with information on booking a room in Birmingham.

If there is no accommodation available on campus, we will help you find your student home with one of our trusted accommodation partners or a private landlord.

Accommodation applications for the next academic year will open on 1 December. You can apply as soon as you receive your offer letter from us, but, to guarantee your room with us, you’ll need to apply before:

• 30 June if you’re a UK student
• 31 July if you’re an international student

So long as you’ve applied by the above dates, you’ll receive an invitation to book your room within five days of A-level Results Day (undergraduates only).

While we can't gurantee you a room if you're a UK postgrad, we still recommend applying by the UK deadline so we know you want to live with us. If no rooms are available on campus, we can still help you find a student home.

If you’re an undergraduate student and applied for accommodation by the relevant Guarantee Scheme deadline, you’ll be invited to book your room on, or within five days of, A-level Results Day. This is only the case if your place at University of Birmingham has been confirmed.  

You’ll receive your room booking invitation from the Student Living team via email, including details on how to book and your unique booking window. Timeslots are generated randomly to ensure everyone has fair access to the booking system, and start from 10am each day.

If you don't book within your allocated timeslot, you’ll have another chance to secure a room in Birmingham within a week of A-level Results Day, either with us or one of our trusted accommodation partners.

Postgraduate student? You can book your room as soon as you’ve applied for accommodation, up until 31 July. If you're a UK postgrad, you will be sent information about how to book a room in Birmingham by 20 August.

Yes; every timeslot has the same great selection of room types and locations to choose from. So, don’t worry if you know people that have booked before you – you won’t miss out. There will only be a limited number of students per group too, so everyone has an equal chance to find the right accommodation for them.

You can expect to receive your booking timeslot within five days of A-level Results Day if you're eligible for our Guarantee Scheme. Once you do, you'll have 12 hours to book your room.

Once you’ve found your room and made your £550 Advance Payment, a confirmation page will be displayed. This will tell you everything you need to know about your room and your contract. As soon as that’s appeared, you've successfully secured your room at University of Birmingham.

You will also receive a copy of this information in an email.

If you have chosen to live with one of our accommodation partners you may be asked for an advanced rent payment or a deposit.

When you book your room, you’ll have the option to create a student profile. This is a short bio about yourself to share with future flatmates. You’ll also be able to view other students' profiles to help you find like-minded students to live with to enhance your student living experience.

This is completely optional; you don’t need to share any information about yourself if you don’t want to, and you can still book your room without doing so.

Yes – we want everyone to feel at home at University of Birmingham and get the most from their student experience. That’s why, if you’ve listed your additional preferences or requirements (e.g., accessible accommodation) on your accommodation application, we’ll be in touch to ensure your new home meets your needs.

You will therefore not need to book your room; we’ll work with you to find the best accommodation available.

Our system will randomly generate a timeslot for you to book your room. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that you’ll be able to book the same accommodation as your friend at the same time.

There will be plenty of opportunities to meet like-minded people when you start with us though, including at exciting student events, and our Hall Reps will help you to settle into life in your new home.

Yes, we offer a range of mixed-sex and single-sex flats within all our accommodation buildings. Simply use the filter tool during the booking process to find your desired flat.

Due to room availability, we cannot gurantee that a single-sex flat will be available for you to book.

There are plenty of ways to find out more about life at Birmingham. You can take a 360° virtual tour of our rooms online or see some of our rooms in the flesh at one of our open or offer-holder days.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to hear from current students and get a taste of what your life could be like with us.

Your preferences let us know what room types and locations you're interested in. This helps us determine how many rooms to offer of a certain type when bookings open; it does not influence what rooms you can view while booking.

We therefore cannot gurantee that your preferred room and location will be available. However, we have over 7,000 rooms available across our three villages and with our trusted accommodation partners, so we’re confident that you’ll find the right home for you.  

If you’ll be joining us after 17 October, please do not book your room. We’ll get in touch closer to the time to discuss your options.

We know plans can change. Please let us know as soon as possible if you’ll no longer be living at University of Birmingham.

While we can’t refund your accommodation if you change your mind and no longer want to live with us, we can offer full refunds under the following circumstances. If you feel like you have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from living with us, please get in touch.

If you’re an undergraduate student…

You can cancel your accommodation at any time within the seven-day cooling off period (which starts from the date of your booking) to receive a full refund, so long as this is before the start of your contract.

You can also cancel and receive a full refund if you’re no longer coming to study at the University. Just let us know before the start of your contract.

If you’re a postgraduate student…

You can cancel your accommodation at any time within the seven-day cooling off period (which starts from the date of your booking) to receive a full refund, so long as this is before the start of your contract.

You can also claim a full refund if:

• Your offer to study at the University has been declined (you’ll need to provide evidence on these under our ‘No Place No Pay’ policy).
• Your offer of a place at University of Birmingham is withdrawn due to you not meeting the entry criteria. You’ll be released from your contract as soon as you supply us with a copy of your rejection letter before your contract start date.

If none of the above apply, and you decide that you no longer want to study at University of Birmingham, you’ll be charged the £550 Advance Payment and released from your contract, provided we are notified before the 1 September.

For summer lets…

If you’ve booked accommodation for the summer only and wish to cancel your contract, you’re eligible for a full refund so long as you cancel within the seven-day cooling off period after your booking (providing it’s before the start of your contract), or have had your placement cancelled by your department. If this is the case, you’ll need to provide evidence.