Returning undergraduates

Students’ Care Leaver Status can be confirmed if a student meets the following criteria, and has provided evidence of this to their student finance provider:

• You’ve been in the care of, or given accommodation by, your local authority
• You were in care for at least 13 weeks
• Your time in care ended after you turned 16
• You have not returned to the care of your parent(s) before the first day of the first academic year of your course

Students that have been assessed as an independent student with their student provider on the basis of being estranged and have had this confirmed by the Independent student team are also welcome to apply for a room on campus.

The application system opened at 10am on Monday 11 November, and closed at 5pm on Monday 18 November 2024. All applications received will be reviewed and processed on a case-by-case basis rather than on a first-come-first-served basis. Decisions will be made with the involvement of a panel formed by the Disability Services Team, Colleges Team, Student Services and the Accommodation Team. 

If you’re currently on a Leave of Absence, you won’t have automatic access to the application system. Please complete the required form by 10am on Monday 11 November.

If you’re applying for accommodation under the additional requirements criteria, please ensure you include as much information as you can in the additional requirements section of your application, even if you have applied under this criteria previously.

We will not be able to process your application under this criteria without supporting medical evidence. If you have previously submitted medical evidence as part of your application for on-campus accommodation, this will already be stored on our system and you do not need to resubmit it. However, if your circumstances have since changed meaning you need to submit new evidence, please do this as part of your 2025/26 application.

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that your application will be successful, but we will be prioritising students with evidence of additional requirements that cannot be supported off campus. If your additional requirements can be supported off campus or in private sector accommodation, it is likely that your accommodation application will not be successful. 

If you do not fall into the priority groups mentioned on this web page, please look into private sector accommodation. The Student Hub offers a wide range of advice and support for those looking for, or living in the private sector.

• Private sector accommodation web pages
• Private sector events

Accommodation applications opened on Monday 11 November at 10am for returning undergraduates who wanted to apply to live on campus for the 2025/26 academic year. Applications remained open until 5pm on Monday 18 November.

This round of applications are open for returning undergraduates only, postgraduate applications will open in early 2025. Keep an eye on our postgraduate web pages for further details. 

No. Once the application system closes on Monday 18 November at 5pm, applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with the involvement of a panel formed by Disability Services, College Teams, Student Services and the Accommodation Team. 

Students' Care Leaver status can be confirmed if a student meets the following criteria, and have provided evidence of this to their student finance provider: 

• You’ve been in the care of, or given accommodation by, your local authority
• You were in care for at least 13 weeks
• Your time in care ended after you turned 16
• You have not returned to the care of your parent(s) before the first day of the first academic year of your course

Students that have been assessed as an independent student with their student provider on the basis of being estranged and have had this confirmed by the Independent student team were also welcome to apply for accommodation.

We will continue to communicate directly with you about your accommodation, unless you'd like us to talk to someone else, such as a parent or guardian. You will need to give us permission to do this by updating the 'Processing your information' page at the end of your application. You can log back in and edit this at any time.

If you're unable to gather your supporting evidence before applications close at 5pm on Monday 18 November, we would still encourage you to apply and include as much information in the additional requirements section of the application form as possible. While it is not guaranteed that you will be offered a room on campus, supplying us with as much information as you can will help us to review and process your application as accurately as possible. 

If you have a health, welfare or disability requirement, please ensure you have included as much relevant information in the additional requirements section of your application to enable us to offer you the most suitable room for your needs.

If you have previously submitted medical evidence as part of your application for on-campus accommodation, this will already be stored on our system and you do not need to resubmit it. However, if your circumstances have since changed meaning you need to submit new evidence, please do this as part of your 2025/26 application.

No. We do not require an advanced payment to secure your booking.

The rooms we have available on campus are prioritised for students who will be under 18 at the start of the 2025/26 academic year, students with additional requirements that cannot be supported off campus, as well as students who are currently on a study or work placement abroad, and care leavers and estranged students. If you do not fall into one of these priority groups we strongly advise you look into accommodation in the private sector with your friend. 

We are unable to accommodate group bookings for 2025/26 returners accommodation.

The Team are available to contact on +44 (0)1904 322165 or email at accommodation@york.ac.uk during their regular hours of Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, should you need help or have any questions about your application.

We anticipate all applicants will be notified about the outcome of their application during December 2024.

We have a select number of rooms in colleges in which returning accommodation is available. If the college you would like to live in is not on the list then unfortunately, it is not available for returning undergraduate students.

Visit our Finding private sector accommodation web page that has lots of advice and support, including information about upcoming housing events.

No. All rooms allocated to returning students are self-catered.

Yes, you can. If you are currently on Leave of Absence, you will be unable to access the application system at 10am on Monday 11 November. In order to be granted access to the booking system, please complete this form. If you do not complete the form prior to our applications opening, you will need to contact us directly so we can grant you access to our booking system. 

Please note that if you are successful in securing a room and you do not meet the conditions of return on your leave of absence, your booking may be cancelled.

Yes, even if you live in private sector accommodation you will still be a member of a College. Please speak to your College Team for further information.