Applying

When allocating we look at a student’s age, nationality, course; and try to find the best possible mix for potential flatmates.  We aim to create a diverse mix of cultures and backgrounds yet also ensure we don’t have students studying the same course all living in the same flat – sometimes when you’ve worked with someone all day, you want to see a new face when you come home!

We aim to have students of similar ages living together which is why we pay close attention to ages when allocating – we do encourage a diverse mix of backgrounds, but if it comes to a 17 year old living with a mature student, we don’t consider that an ideal scenario; so we’ll often have a few flats specifically for mature students.

We also never mix our Undergraduate students with our Postgraduate students (you each have different lease length requirements for a start!) so you’ll never find yourself in the same flat as a Postgrad if you are an Undergrad, and vice versa.

We usually begin allocating from May onwards, and we start with students who already hold Unconditional Firm offers.  We’re one of a few universities who DON’T allocate on a first come, first served basis.  We allocate proportionately; so for example, if we’ve been informed that 10% of students are Unconditional Firm, we’ll only allocate 10% of our accommodation.  That being said, once you ARE Unconditional Firm (UF), we do look at applications in date order; so for example, someone who applied in March but became UF  in August, will be allocated before someone who applied in July and became UF in August.  We are aware that students become Unconditional at various points throughout the year – so we try to make our allocation process as fair as possible for all students.

We aim to have students of similar ages living together which is why we pay close attention to ages when allocating.

If you are starting as a mature student (whether Undergraduate or Postgraduate), we want to make sure that your accommodation is best suited to your needs, and we often reserve a few flats across our residences specifically for mature students.

When you accept your accommodation offer, you will be asked to provide us with one of the following approved payment methods.  You will only have a maximum of 3 days to accept your offer – so it’s important you have your payment method ready to go!

You may choose to either set up a payment plan; pay your rent in full; or select one of our UoE approved sponsors (If your sponsor is not one of our approved sponsors, you will need to accept your contract choosing to pay by instalments or payment in full, then ask your sponsor to compensate you direct). 

If you choose to pay in instalments you may pay:

• by Recurring Card Payments (you will need to register a credit card or UK debit card with us at the point of acceptance; non-UK debit cards are NOT accepted)
• by Direct Debit (only if you hold a UK bank account) 

Payments are automatically collected on the 1st of the month, which means no manual payments are required from you (unless notified by our Rent Payment Team).

If you choose to pay in instalments UG Students pay over 8 or 3 instalments, and PG Students pay over 10 or 4 instalments.

If you choose to pay in full, you may pay:

• by credit or UK debit card
• by international bank transfer, through our partner Western Union Business Solutions.  (You will be able to accept your offer once this payment has been confirmed to us by Western Union.  This process usually takes 2 working days, depending on where you are sending the money from)

We will not ask you for any deposit or pre-payment.

When you accept your accommodation offer, you can opt to make a one-off advance payment of £500, £1000 or £2000.  This advance payment is designed to make your repayments easier to manage but is by no means compulsory.

Bedding is NOT included in your rent.  But why not take the hassle out of buying and transporting your bedding and kitchen items by pre-ordering from our friends at UniKitOut?  All you need to do is choose the items you want, select your residence, then confirm and pay for your goods.

If you’re staying with us over the summer, or place your order later in the year, our trusted courier will deliver the goods to you directly.

For January arrivals, UniKitOut will be in touch directly after any purchase to confirm how they will deliver your bedding pack to your accommodation. 

You’ll be able to order these when you accept your contract; we’ll also let you know what size bed you’ll need to order for, as well as giving you a special discount code.

Applications for accommodation should be made separately from any application to study at the University of Edinburgh. Once you have accepted your offer of accommodation you can apply for accommodation from 72 hours later.  You apply via your MyEd portal and clicking on the ‘Student Life’ tab > ‘Accommodation’ > 'Launch Services'.

Firstly, allow up to 72 hours between accepting an offer to study, and applying for accommodation.

You may need to try signing out, clearing browser history and cookies, and then signing in again. (Using a private or incognito tab may also be able to cancel out problems with cookies).

Please also try a different browser or device; historically, our students always have issues using Apple products (MacBooks, iPhones etc.) despite our IT Team telling us there shouldn’t be any issues with iOS!

If you are still having trouble, please let us know.

We do not place friends within the same flat, we are very lucky at the University of Edinburgh to have an extremely diverse student community, reflected in a mix of nationalities, backgrounds and beliefs. When we allocate students to our accommodation, we aim for a broad mix of nationalities and courses within our flats, so you can meet new people and enhance your experience.

We can make a note on your record to be placed in the same building as your friend but there are no guarantees.

However, if you wish to share a twin room with a friend, you’ll both be asked to list one another’s name on your application form and we’ll be more than happy to try and facilitate this request.

Each of our property pages show the price for a full academic year.  Our rent prices depend on which size room you have, and which facilities you have, so it’s hard for us to give an average price.  You can search for accommodation and view the prices

Unfortunately you cannot move in earlier than the start date on your contract as we use the time before contracts begin to give our rooms a thorough clean and/or refurbishment.

If you require accommodation earlier than the start date on your contract, you may wish to try The University of Edinburgh Hospitality & Events Collection.