When to look

We would normally be advising students to take their time and not rush into signing into accommodation. The housing market in Exeter is very early starting in late October. This is led by agents keen to secure tenants for their clients 10/11 months in the future. Students can feel pressured or panicked into signing into fixed term tenancy. We see problems every year with household disputes and people wanting to leave tenancies as they may have rushed into them.

This year more than ever we are concerned about the potential implications of signing contracts so early in the year and we are working together to advise students to take your time to sign.

The difficulty

• It is so early into the start of term, that knowing who you want to live with in 10/11 months time is really difficult. We see difficulties with housemates getting on and maybe having rushed into moving in when perhaps they are not compatible to live together.
• In October/November so little time has passed and it may be that you have not had chance to meet others and make lots of friends yet. There are lots of opportunities to make new friends such as at the ReFreshers events in January.

There is lots of accommodation in Exeter for students, so we are confident that there is accommodation for all.

If you are very specific in your needs for housing such as you must be in a house with 6 of your friends within a 5 minute walk of the University, these types of properties may go quicker. However, if you are willing to look further out and consider smaller house shares or purpose built student accommodation, there will be more options for you.

If you are not sure who to live with or about the people you have said you will live with, then take your time.

The University will run Accommodation Provider pop-up events in the Forum Street in October and November. New properties and opportunities come up throughout the year. Do not feel pressured into signing into a contract.