How to apply for undergraduate accommodation
Full time students who have accepted a firm or insurance offer can apply for accommodation. This page will tell you everything you need to know about the application process.
2024/25 applications
If you're still looking for accommodation for the 2024/25 academic year, please get in touch via email at accommodation
If you've recently arrived to your University accommodation, visit our current student accommodation web pages to learn more about your new home.
Our undergraduate accommodation guarantee
Our accommodation guarantee window for full-time students has now closed for 2024/25. Please check back in Spring 2025 for details on our 2025/26 accommodation guarantee.
Undergraduate Visiting students
You're guaranteed an offer of a single-occupancy room in accommodation owned, managed or approved by the University if you meet the following criteria:
- Accept an unconditional offer to study at York for Semester 2 (starting your course in February 2025) by 5pm on 30 November 2024.
Contact us
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm (excluding public holidays)
Accommodation Services
How to apply
When you apply for accommodation, we’ll ask you to rank your room choices in order. Each choice is for a specific room type in a specific college.
You can apply for different room types across different colleges. Just make sure to include at least three shared bathroom bedrooms in your preferences.
- Login at accommodation.york.ac.uk using your You@York login details.
- Click ‘create application’ for the next academic year.
- On the first page, check that all your personal details are correct.
- Select your application type: single, couple or family.
Remember not to use your school or college email address as your contact email, as you may miss out on important communications after A level results day (such as your room offer) if you lose access to this.
List your top seven accommodation options in order of preference by clicking the rooms banner icon. Each preference will specify a college, room type, let length, catering and bathroom information.
- You can use the dropdowns and slider in the right-hand column to filter your search.
- You can rearrange the order of your preferences by dragging and dropping them in the right-hand column.
If you're a Nursing or Midwifery student, catered accommodation won't be included in your options.
All applications are considered and rooms are not allocated on a “first-come, first-served” basis, but use a computerised auto-allocation system to select impartially from the applicants based on preferences.
You’ll then be asked if you have any additional requirements for health, welfare or mobility reasons. Please don't wait until you have received a room offer to let us know about these, as we may not be able to find you a suitable room at that stage.
- Upload your completed Supporting Evidence Form (PDF , 223kb) using the option provided and click the ‘upload’ button to attach it to your application .
- If you aren’t able to complete the form before you apply, you can upload it at a later date (before our accommodation deadline) by logging back in and selecting ‘edit my application’.
Read our web page to learn more about Accommodation for students with additional requirements
The last thing you’ll need to do is let us know who we can share your data with. This will include who we are able to talk to about your accommodation and room offer (including family members or carers), and the third-party accommodation providers we can share your application data with if we need to.
Once you’re happy with your consent options, you’ll be asked to review all your options and choices before you submit your application. Remember, you can log back in and edit your application at any time.
If you’d like to change your consent options, or allow us to speak to someone other than yourself about your accommodation once you have moved in, please let us know at accommodation@york.ac.uk.
What happens next
1. Application confirmed
Once you’ve applied we'll send you a confirmation email. If you mentioned additional requirements, please ensure you upload the relevant supporting medical evidence. We'll be in touch if we require further information.
2. Receive your room offer*
Room offers are sent out from UK A-level results day and will contain an offer of a room detailing the college, room type and let length.
3. Accept your room offer
You’ll need to accept your offer by the date stated in the email by following the link provided. Make sure you have internet access for this.
4. Receive your room number
Room numbers will be sent out from September. Around this time, you’ll also start to hear more from your college about arrivals and events.
5. Pay your first rent instalment
Your rent is split over three instalments, the first of which will be due in October. We recommend setting up a direct debit.
Your room allocation and offer
For first-year undergraduates:
- In 2024/25, firm offer holders received priority under our accommodation guarantee.
How it works:
- We collect and hold all applications until our guarantee deadline date.
- From UK A-Level Results Day, we put all firm-choice guaranteed students through our ‘mass allocator’ system. The mass allocator will pick out a student at random. That student will get their first choice if possible. If their first choice is sold out, they get their second choice; if their second choice is unavailable, their third choice; and so on, moving through students until everyone in the batch is assigned a room offer.
All applications are considered and rooms are not allocated on a “first-come, first-served” basis, but use a computerised auto-allocation system to select impartially from the applicants based on preferences.
Not everyone will receive one of their top three accommodation preferences, given the variety of our rooms and that some room types are more popular than others.
If you are unhappy with your room offer, there are options to consider. However, most students are happy with their room after moving in, and we receive very few transfer requests.
Please contact us at accommodation@york.ac.uk before you reject your offer. If you reject your offer, or don’t accept in time, you’ll be outside our guarantee. We’ll still try to assist you, but will help those still covered first. Consider swapping or transferring your room instead.
Can I cancel my booking?
If you are a current student with a confirmed accommodation booking, you are not eligible to end your agreement with us, and you are responsible for the accommodation fee subject to the terms and conditions of your residence contract.
If you are a new student with an accommodation booking, and you are not planning to move to York to start your course, please email us at accommodation@york.ac.uk at the earliest opportunity and we'll confirm whether you're eligible to cancel, as well as any choices and steps to be taken and any charges to be paid.
Contact us
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm (excluding public holidays)
Accommodation Services