Moving into University accommodation
Moving into your new home can be a busy and exciting time. So you can feel at home right away, we aim to make the process as simple as possible.
Rather than us allocating you a room, you can choose the exact one to suit you and your budget through our online booking system.
If you're a postgraduate student, you will be able to book your room through the Accommodation Portal as soon as you've applied for accommodation. If you’ve chosen to stay in one of our student villages, you will need to pay a £550 Advance Payment to secure your booking. This is an initial payment towards your fees, not a deposit, which means you won’t get it back at the end of your contract.
If you have chosen to live with one of our trusted accommodation partners, they will be in touch with you directly within a few days to confirm your booking.
If you’re an undergraduate student, applied for accommodation by our Guarantee Scheme deadline, and your place at University of Birmingham is confirmed, you’ll be invited to book your room within five days of A-level Results Day.
If you didn't apply by the deadline, you will be invited to book a room in Birmingham, either with us or one of our trusted accommodation partners, by 20 August.
What happens when I arrive?
On your moving-in day, you should plan to arrive directly to your accommodation village within your pre-booked timeslot. Our arrival timeslots have been carefully designed to help manage the flow of traffic. It is therefore important that you try to arrive for your timeslot. We know delays can happen though. If you get stuck in traffic and miss your slot, you can still arrive on campus. Just give our Student Living team a quick ring first on 0121 512 2158.
When you arrive at your village, please follow any signage around entrances and exits to help us make sure we can get everybody in safely and efficiently.
If you’re arriving by car, we’ll help you park as close as possible to your student home. Our student helpers will also be on hand to help you unload and carry your items to your new room.
Once you have unloaded, you will be asked to move your car to one of our car parks, so we ensure everybody can move in as easily as possible. You can then stay as long as you like to settle in and explore our Arrivals Weekend activities on campus.
If you have received your student ID card in the post and will be using it as your room key card, you can go directly to your room to get settled in. If you haven’t received yours yet, you will need to collect an access card from your village’s reception; ask one of our student helpers to point you in the right direction.
If you’re an international student, you will need to collect your student ID card at your village’s reception. Please ask our student helpers for directions. You can also find all the information you need in our Accommodation Pass.
Getting to know your flatmates
If your flatmates have opted to share their details with you, you'll be able to access this information when booking your room. Don't worry if they haven't though; your accommodation's Hall Reps will run activities throughout Welcome Week and beyond to help you get to know your neighbours.
The Hall Reps also run our official accommodation Facebook groups, where you can meet and get to know other students in your halls. You can also connect with your future flatmates before you arrive through Unibuddy, an online community where students can find out more about university life and chat to their peers.
Please be aware of unofficial Facebook groups and group chats on WhatsApp and Snapchat set up for 'University of Birmingham freshers' or accommodation sites. Be cautious of who you're giving your information to and bear in mind that many of these groups are set up by promoters who want to sell to you.
Always remember to look out for the Guild of Students' official stamp, which will be included on all Guild Welcome events.