While prospective students typically pick out their study destination well in advance, life can sometimes throw a curveball that may cause you to change plans. For example, your A level results might not be as good as you hoped, you may have missed the original UCAS deadline or you may be having second thoughts about the university or course you originally picked. As such, you might need to go through the Clearing process shortly before the start of the academic year. If you do, here’s a short guide to securing some student accommodation near Chester university at short notice.
Check with the accommodation department at your university
Universities typically provide some accommodation for students in their halls of residence, and this may either be catered or self-catered. The University of Chester has a range of options located in areas that are convenient for travelling to the university’s teaching facilities, but if you apply late, the university may not be able to provide you with a room. Nevertheless, it’s worth checking with the University of Chester’s Accommodation Office to see what they have available. If you’re lucky, you may be able to secure some last-minute accommodation, and your search will be over, at least until you need accommodation for your later years of study. If a few days pass without a reply, you may not want to seem like you’re nagging by chasing it up, but it’s better than potentially missing out on some accommodation because your request got lost.
Even if the university doesn’t have any accommodation available, or if you prefer not to live in halls of residence, the Accommodation Office may be able to help you in other ways. For example, it may have a list of trusted third-party letting agents, and it can give you advice about tenancy agreements and which areas to best focus your accommodation search on.
Contact the Student Union
The Student Union is well aware of the challenges facing students in Chester, so it may well also be able to offer advice about getting some last-minute shared student accommodation. This may include the details of letting agents that it knows to be reliable and advice about student housing in general. It may also know about student groups who need a room in their house filling, perhaps because someone in their group has suddenly dropped out for some reason.
Find some student letting agents
Once you have a list of student letting agents, whether from the Accommodation Office, the Student Union, or your own research, you can check out what they have available. Most will list their vacancies online, so it’s easy to check and arrange a viewing for anything that looks interesting. Getting bills-included student accommodation in Chester can be particularly helpful, because it makes it much easier to budget and avoids any arguments about paying bills. Some letting agents also don’t charge any upfront fees to move in, such as in the form of a security deposit.
Good quality shared student housing in Chester typically has all the furnishings you’ll need, including washing facilities and a communal television, but you should consider what else you might need to bring, such as pots, pans and silverware. You should also carefully consider the location, because living at a distance may ultimately prove to be a grind. The Garden Quarter and Hoole are popular student areas that are close to the university campuses and not far from Chester city centre.
Check forums and social media
You’re likely not the only fresher looking for last-minute student accommodation, so it may be worth checking student accommodation forums and announcing that you’re looking for potential housemates, so you can occupy a shared house as a pre-made group. You may also find letting agents and landlords advertising available properties, or someone may just be able to point you to a letting agent or landlord that he or she has had a good experience with.
Facebook groups can also be a place where landlords and agents publish available accommodation and students request accommodation or new housemates. For example, search on Facebook for something like “Chester student accommodation”, and it’ll present some relevant groups. Pick out the most active one in terms of post frequency, because some groups can fizzle out.
It may seem a daunting prospect to secure accommodation at such short notice, but if you take a calm methodological approach, you will find somewhere where you can live comfortably, allowing you to focus on your studies and enjoy your time in Chester.
Written by Henry
