Accommodation FAQs

Frequently asked questions about applying for accommodation

Portal

Residence life

Call our friendly team on +44 1752 588644

Email us at residencelife@plymouth.ac.uk

Clearing students

We understand how important finding the right accommodation is for our students and so we’re here to help find the best option for you. We have secured a range of halls and private housing for students coming through Clearing, and our dedicated Accommodation and Residence Life team are able to advise you on all the choices available.

Accommodation options

University managed halls of residence

Some rooms will become available in our University managed halls of residence and there is a full process of how you can apply for one of these rooms on our website.

University approved halls of residence

This year we have secured extra rooms for students that come through Clearing in some of the city’s University approved private halls of residence. These are all close to the campus and you would be living with other students studying in Plymouth. Find out more about our private halls options.

Private accommodation

Plymouth Studentpad is our dedicated list of approved off-campus private accommodation. This is the only database approved and inspected by the University for quality and safety and so is a good alternative to halls of residence.

Next steps

Once you’ve had a chance to consider the options available, you can follow the advice on our website to secure your room.

Questions

If you have any questions at all about your accommodation application, please contact our Accommodation and Residence Life team who will be happy to help.

Unconditional and conditional firm students

Already applied?

If you applied before 1 July and meet our published criteria you will be guaranteed your place in halls. Our Accommodation and Residence Life team will be emailing you with your room allocation shortly. You will have seven days from the time we send the email to read your licence agreement, accept your room offer and pay your £250 room booking fee/deposit. If you applied after 1 July, you will have been be placed on our waiting list. You can view your position on the waiting list by logging into the accommodation portal. If a suitable room becomes available you will be notified, so please ensure that you check your email account regularly to avoid missing out on a room (including your junk mail folder).

If you have any questions please contact the Accommodation and Residence Life team on +44 1752 588644.

Not applied yet?

If you haven’t yet applied for a room in halls, there is still time for you to register on our waiting list. Once you have received our welcome email you will be able to log onto our accommodation portal and apply to be on our waiting list. We will then be in regular contact with you on your application progress.

As an alternative, you may also want to consider looking for suitable private accommodation – to do this, you should register with Plymouth University StudentPad. This is the only approved database of private accommodation where you will find a variety of rooms and options at affordable prices.

Please be careful not to sign more than one accommodation contract.

Useful Links

Room availability

Can I have a room in halls?

If you are coming through clearing, see above instructions for your options.
Although our guarantee closed on 1 July you can apply for our University managed halls of residence waiting list.
Once you have received your course offer and the accommodation welcome email you can apply through the portal. The system can take up to 72 hours for your access to the accommodation portal to come through from UCAS.
Subject to availability we will allocate you a room. We will be in regular contact about the progress of your application.
If our University managed halls are full we will be in contact to help you find alternative accommodation.

I have a disability. Will I get a suitable room?

Please contact Disability Assist (DAS) as soon as possible so that we can look at providing a room that's suitable room.
We only allocate disability rooms on the advice of DAS. You will need to include this in your halls application form.

Before you start, make sure you have checked the following:

Have you made Plymouth your firm choice through UCAS?
Do you have your Plymouth University student ID found on your offer letter?
Do you have the email address you used for your UCAS application?
Have you carefully considered your contract length?
Go to the accommodation portal, log in and start an application.

Portal

How do I log in?

Please visit our accommodation portal. If it is your first time visiting the portal you will need to enter your email address you used for your UCAS application and press ‘generate password’. This will send an email to your account within 30 minutes with your six digit password.
Please type in this number rather than copy and paste it as some browsers are not compatible.

I’ve forgotten my username / password. How can I log in?

Your accommodation portal username is your registered UCAS email address.
If you have forgotten your password, enter your email address and click generate password.

My password is not arriving in my email inbox:

High levels of traffic may delay the release of your email. Please wait another 30 minutes.
Have you checked your junk folder?
Check the email address - make sure there are no spaces at the start or end of it. Please do not copy and paste the email address..

I’m getting an error message when I log into the portal.

Status	Reason
Password could not be sent.	We are waiting for your University account to be updated from UCAS. Please try to log in in again in 24 hours.
Your details were not found. Please contact the University directly.	Your password will be a six digit number. If it is not, then we are waiting for your account to be updated by UCAS. If you do have your six digit password there is an error with log in details, please check the email address you have entered.
Please wait for 30 minutes and try logging in again.	You may have entered your details incorrectly, please wait 30 minutes and try to log in again.

Room offers

How do I know if I've been offered a place in University managed halls of residence?

Guaranteed students (applied before 1 July)

An email will be sent to your registered UCAS email address offering you a place in our halls.
You will then need to log in to the accommodation portal usually within seven days to sign your licence agreement and pay your deposit to secure your room.
If you have not received this email please check your junk mail folder.

Clearing students

Once you have applied for our waiting list, if a suitable room becomes available, you will receive an email offer from us.
If you accept the offer, you will be required to pay a deposit to secure the room.
Once this payment has been accepted, you will receive email confirmation.

If our University managed halls are full, we can assist you to find University approved halls of residence or private accommodation.

I don’t like my offered hall room, can I change it?

If you decide to reject your room offer, or you do not accept the offer within the time frame specified, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to make an alternative offer. However, there are three options available.

You can either move into the room offered, go on a waiting list for a room swap and after four weeks we will confirm if a new room is available (on a case by case basis but not guaranteed)
You can cancel your application and re-apply for a room in halls, subject to availability, but there is no guarantee that you will be offered another room in University managed accommodation.
You can cancel your application and look at our alternative accommodation options.

Moving into halls

What is my move in date?

Your time slot will be automatically emailed to you. A copy of this will be sent to you once you have signed your licence agreement.

Medicine/dentistry students or international students - 10 September 2016

All other students - 16/17 September 2016 (depending on your particular hall)

How do I know when to move in?

Your allocated move in time slot will be automatically emailed to you.
Move in days -16/17 September.
Medical/dentistry and international students -10 September.
These dates and times are calculated to ensure the smoothest experience while moving into your hall and that your future flatmates will arrive at the same time.

Route maps will be available on the website. These are calculated with the council’s traffic management team to ensure minimum disruption to Plymouth’s road network on the day..

Will there be anyone to help me move in?

Yes - the Residence Life team and student ambassadors will be here to help you move in.

Can you advise me on where my parents can stay whilst they help me move in?

Here is a list of accommodation in the Plymouth area subject to availability.

Do I need to pay for a TV license?

You need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch or record live TV programmes on any channel, or download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer.

This could be on any device, including a TV, desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, games console, digital box or DVD/VHS recorder. If you do any of the above without a valid licence, you risk prosecution and a maximum penalty of up to £1,000, plus any legal costs and/or compensation you may be ordered to pay. You will also still have to buy a TV Licence if you need one.

To find out more, go to tvlicensing.co.uk/studentinfo

How can I buy a TV Licence?

There are lots of different ways to buy a TV Licence. Whether that’s through weekly cash payments, using your nearest PayPoint outlet, spreading the cost with monthly, quarterly or yearly direct debit, credit/debit card or by post – just choose the one that suits you best.

For more information on the ways to pay, go to tvlicensing.co.uk/payinfo

If I live in halls, won’t I already be covered by a TV Licence?

Your room needs to be covered by its own licence if you're plugged in to watch or record programmes as they're being shown on TV or live on an online TV service, or if you download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer. If there are TVs in communal areas, check with your halls' manager to see if they’re covered by a halls' licence.

What if I live in a shared house?

You'll probably only need one licence between you if you have a joint tenancy agreement for the whole house – this is the most common type of shared house arrangement. You might need your own licence if your accommodation is self-contained. That means you have exclusive access to washing facilities, or your own entrance to the property. You will also need your own licence if you have a separate tenancy agreement for your own room. If you're not sure, check our advice for tenants and lodgers.

Won't my parents' licence cover me?

Your parents' licence will not cover you while you're away at uni unless you only use a device that's powered solely by its own internal batteries and not connected to the mains.

What if I'm not at uni for the summer?

If you're leaving your halls or rented accommodation and moving back home for the summer, there's a good chance you won't need your TV Licence if there's one at home. You can see our policy and apply for a refund online.

What if I don’t need a licence?

If you don’t need a TV Licence, you still need to let TV Licensing know.

Payments

How long is my tenancy?

It will be the length of term you selected when you made your application,
International and medicine/dentistry students arrive a week early, therefore your licence agreement will be at least one week longer.

I missed the time slot I was given to sign my licence and pay my deposit.

This is OK, you can access the portal any time of the day after the time slot you were allocated. Just remember to pay your deposit and sign your licence agreement before the end of the seven day period or you will lose your allocated room.

I’m under 18, I can't sign a contract.

A parent, guardian or carer who is over 18 will need to sign the agreement on your behalf.

Do I have to pay a deposit?

Yes – it is £250 for all University managed halls.
This should be paid through the accommodation portal by either credit or debit card or Paypal.
This must be paid within the time frame specified in your room offer email or you will lose your room reservation.

Is it OK for my parents to pay my deposit/ how long do I have to pay my deposit?

Yes. Please be aware that all deposits will be refunded back to the card or bank account it was paid from, at the end of your licence agreement.

Do I have to pay my deposit from the same card I will use to pay my rent?

No, we don't keep your card details between payments so you can select a new card for each payment.

Do I have to pay any rent before I move in? How much?

Yes, you will have to pay four weeks (one month) rent this is prior to your arrival. This is due by 3 September.
We will contact you by email to explain the process.

When are my payments due throughout the year?

The remaining rent is split into three, at the beginning of each semester. These dates tie in with payments from the student finance company. These are detailed on your licence agreement.

October - rent instalment due
January - rent instalment due
April - rent instalment due

What happens if I can’t afford to pay my deposit?

Unfortunately we cannot make any allowances. If you are unable to pay the deposit you would not be able to secure a room.

What happens if I can’t afford to pay the first four weeks rent before I move in?

If you can pay the deposit but you have difficulties paying the first four weeks rent then you would need to contact the Residence Life office when the four weeks rent is invoiced by email.