Accommodation FAQs

Holding an offer for a place at University of Cumbria- Accepted

Those Students holding an accepted offer with university, will have been sent information via email from Admissions on how to apply for Accommodation, via our Online Portal. The application and offer of Accommodation processes are paperless, with online prepayment, guarantor form and signing of contract being completed online. All updates are communicated via email therefore we ask that you check your inbox and spam filters during this process.

Once an application is submitted, an offer is sent by our Accommodation Team based on preferences and our availability. Upon the offer completion, your status will change to reserved and a room secured for arrival in September. A pre-payment of £250.00 is required at time of offer stage to secure booking.

Tenancies are allocated based on set Term sessions outlined in the application process, such as 42 week for those on Institute of Health and Institute of Education courses, or Termly Contracts for those on PGCE courses.

International Students are required to pay for their accommodation in full, 4 weeks prior to the arrival date of the tenancy.

Information regarding Halls of Residence can be found in our Halls Handbooks, sent as an attachment to your offer along with our Conditions of Residence. Further information such as ‘What to bring to University’ can be found on our website: https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/student-life/accommodation/

Communications are sent by our Accommodation Team Mid July and following our Embargo Period in August, to provide additional arrival information such as Induction completion and arrival process etc to Confirmed Residential offer’s.

For those looking for information regarding Parking Permits, we advise that refer to your Halls Handbook and the website for further information: https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/about/organisation/professional-services/student-and-staff-services/travel/

Earlier arrivals prior to the start of tenancy date are subject to approval on a case-by-case basis. For those with such requirements, these should be discussed and agreed with the Accommodation Team as soon as possible prior to the arrival date to make any relevant amendments.

Should you be holding a Reserved Residential booking and change your decision, in effect wishing to cancel your accommodation booking, written notice is to be provided to the Accommodation Team email address as prior to the arrival date as possible. Pre-payments are then refunded back to students as this stage.

Further FAQs can be found here: https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/student-life/accommodation/frequently-asked-questions/

Following the Embargo Process in August, those who wish to apply for Accommodation should contact the Accommodation Team to discuss processing an application/offer. Contact information for the team can be found here:  https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/student-life/accommodation/contact-us/

We’ll guarantee you a place in halls at our Lancaster and Carlisle campuses when you accept a place through Clearing and apply for accommodation by 30th August.

Applications made for Accommodation during Clearing are subject to availability, therefore when making an application for Accommodation, we will endeavour to, however cannot guarantee to allocate you based on your preferences based on our current availability at such time.

Once an application is submitted, an offer is sent by our Accommodation Team based on preferences and our availability. Upon the offer completion, your status will change to reserved and a room secured for arrival in September. A pre-payment of £250.00 is required at time of offer stage to secure booking.

International Students are required to pay for their accommodation in full, 4 weeks prior to the arrival date of the tenancy.

Further FAQs can be found here: https://www.cumbria.ac.uk/student-life/accommodation/frequently-asked-questions/

From mid-February, once you have accepted your offer of a place on the UCAS website, you will be sent an automated email within 48 hours from Admissions. This email has a link on it to access the accommodation information and online application. 

You need to log in and complete the online application accommodation form and submit as soon as possible. We allocate on a first come first served basis. 

We will allocate your accommodation once we have received your application. You will be sent an email confirmation once this has been done.  Please note that all offers of accommodation for halls of residence will be sent by email to the address that you provide on your accommodation application form. Please check your inbox regularly (including your junk folder) for your offer of accommodation. There are lots of attachments on the email we will send, so please ensure sufficient space in your inbox. 

On the Accommodation Application Form, you will be asked if you would like to share a Flat with anyone in particular. You need to write the name of your friend(s) on this section of the form and the Accommodation Officer will try their best to meet your request. If possible, it would be helpful if you could return your form together with those of your friend(s). 

The link to the online application form for Undergraduate and Postgraduate accommodation will be sent by email once applications are live and you have accepted the University of Cumbria as your first choice (normally around the End of February) 

 
If you have any enquiries please email;

Carlisle – carlisleaccom@cumbria.ac.uk 

Lancaster – lancasteraccom@cumbria.ac.uk 

Ambleside – amblesideaccom@cumbria.ac.uk 

You can only apply for Accommodation if you have accepted a place to study at the University; you must have accepted your place as your first choice to be able to apply. 

Also, you must wait 48hrs from your acceptance of a University place to allow the Accommodation system to be updated. After the 24hrs of accepting a place of study you can apply for Accommodation online. 

How to register on the accommodation portal

Students are bound by their Booking Agreement to pay rent for the entire duration of the contracted length of stay, even if you vacate your room for a period of leave before the end of the Booking Agreement. 

Please refer to the "Student Handbook” which forms part of your Booking Agreement for more information and any break-in-agreement clauses, then email your accommodation office with your request. You will be contacted as soon possible. 

We ask that all students provide a guarantor. The guarantor will need to be a UK National and provide 2 proofs of identity, 1 photographic proof of ID (e.g. Driving licence or Passport) and 1 proof of address (e.g. Utility Bill or Driving Licence, providing it has not been used as photo ID.)

If you are International or cannot provide a guarantor you will be required to complete a Housing Hand application, who can act as a Guarantor and subsequently upon completion allow students to pay rent in instalments. Please visit https://housinghand.co.uk/ for more information.

Where a Guarantor can not be provided, all students are to pay the academic year in advance.

If you reject your offer of accommodation, you will not be able to repeat an application at this stage. If you wish to proceed with a further application, please contact the Accommodation team to check availability. 

You are able to log onto your online accommodation portal, where it is viewable to you along with Accommodation Documents. 

You must notify Accommodation Team as soon as possible if you are having Visa problems. Please see the international guide for more information.

If you wish to extend your Booking Agreement past the end date,  please contact Accommodation Team who will advise on our availability. Please note that where this may be possible, it will require an additional room move for consolidation purposes. We are able to provide 52 weeks accommodation where applicable.

The full postal address of each campus residence and further information is listed on the individual residence page for each campus which can be found on the Accommodation webpage.

Please refer to the information on each individual campus residence page

 
Carlisle – Brampton Road & Fusehill Street

Lancaster

Ambleside

Luggage should only be sent to arrive after the students are in residence. The University cannot guarantee secure storage of luggage, and belongings will not be covered by the University's block insurance policy until the student is in residence.

Accommodation includes the Christmas and Spring Holidays therefore You can leave your belongings in your room during such times.

Please download these guidelines to help you decide What to take to University Checklist. 

While you’ll want to make sure you have everything, there are a number of items either already available in the Halls or not allowed on campus, including: 

Kettles, toasters, grills, rice cookers, deep fat fryers, chip pans, fridges, freezers, “one cup” elements, microwaves, washing machines and dryers, halogen lamps, candles, incense burners, sun-beds, heaters, barbecues, weapons, ornamental swords, amplifiers, illegal substances and pets. 

International Students can find advice about travel adaptors on the Electrical Safety First website

The law regarding TV licensing changed on 1 September 2016 

Everyone must now be covered by a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand. This applies to any device and provider you use. 

Don’t forget, you still need a TV Licence to watch or record programmes on any channel as they are being shown on TV, or live on an online TV service. 

This is the case no matter what device you’re watching on (whether it’s on a TV, a laptop, a mobile phone or a tablet), and no matter how you’re receiving the programmes - via an aerial, satellite, cable or streaming through the internet. It’s the law, and anyone without a valid TV Licence who watches or records television programmes as described above is at risk of prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000. 
 
For up-to-date cost information and details on the many ways you can pay, please visit the TV Licensing website. 

You will almost certainly need a TV Licence if you: 

• Watch live TV (except where it is a communal TV in Halls) 

• Watch catch-up TV on the BBC iPlayer (via any means i.e. Freeview / online) 
• Have a TV tuner attached to your computer 
• Watch TV via a PC or laptop 
• Watch TV via a games console 

If you are in halls or a shared house - you will probably still need your own TV Licence to watch any BBC content (some exceptions apply). 

More information is available: Students - TV Licensing 

The routes most commonly travelled by students are well covered by public transport and the University of Cumbria is committed to encouraging students and staff to consider alternative modes of transport in a bid to reduce the Universities overall carbon footprint.  

With the University's sustainability and green initiatives and the green transport plan, we do not encourage students to bring cars to the University. There are car parks at all sites, but these have extremely limited spaces. A permit is required to park in one of these car parks and can be obtained from the Travel section of the site Click Here. 

Yes you can but you are not permitted to store bicycles within the residences. Bicycles must be stored in cycles sheds where available or in cycle racks. Further information on where you can store your bikes can be found in the Hall Specific Information sheets at the back of the Accommodation Handbook 

No. For special medical requirements, pharmacy fridges can be provided on request during the application process. Please contact your accommodation team if you have a requirement for a separate fridge.

Heating, lighting, water and internet costs are included in your rent and full-time students don't pay council tax. 

We provide free Endsleigh insurance for all Students in Accommodation; we recommend you take up the insurance that we provide. To take advantage of this offer you need to activate the policy, details for this are included in the pre arrival emails sent to you and during Welcome upon arrival. 

Each hall has laundry facilities operated by Circuit Laundry available for students to use. The washing machines and dryers are operated by downloading the Circuit Go App. You will be provided information how to use these during arrivals weekend.

If you are a Tier 4 student, you must confirm in advance, where you intend to live while studying in the UK. We strongly recommend that you live in accommodation at or on your study campus. If you choose to live in private rented accommodation, you must not live more than one hour away from your campus. 

Once you have accepted your offer of your study place you will receive an email from our admissions team with information about the accommodation application process. Please use this information to let us know your preferred places to live. 

Please complete the application form; ensuring you choose the correct term session e.g 42 Weeks International. Once your application for accommodation is received, we will allocate a room to and email to you a booking agreement.

Please refer to the Guarantor section in addition where you will find information for those wishing to pay in instalments.

For our international students, we would encourage you to live with our home (UK-based) residential students. However, if your preference is to live together mainly with other international students, this can also be arranged. 

Prior to arrival at your allocated hall of residence, the accommodation team will send out useful documents and checklists to ensure you have everything you need before leaving home. 

No, we do not provide bedding and kitchen packs to those students travelling from overseas, therefore please buy these in advance. Uni Kit Out will deliver direct to campus where we can place in your rooms upon arrival. Please visit https://www.unikitout.com/

The University gives all possible support to disabled students and those with limiting long term illness. To enable us to work with you to help meet your individual requirements, it is important that you provide full information on your application form of anything that is likely to impact on your accommodation needs. 

The University understands that disability is not always visible and related to physical impairments and the Student Services Teams can also provide additional support. We have a number of adapted rooms and we encourage you to visit the accommodation to see facilities and talk to our Accommodation Team before you accept a place in residence. If you want us to take into account your special circumstances, please let us know as soon as possible. 

For further information on disabled access please visit Disabled Services

If you have any religious requirements, please advise the Accommodation team and they will do what they can to accommodate your needs or signpost you to the Campus Chaplin.

On campus we have a Prayer room for students to use should they choose to.