Accommodation at Essex

Applications for 2022-2023 are now open

All full-time undergraduate students are entitled to accommodation for the first year of study provided they fulfil the following condition:

• You return your application by midnight, Friday 26 August 2022.

 Further information on applying for accommodation can be found on our new students page. 

New undergraduate students are not required to make an advanced rent payment (previously known as a prepayment).

Contact your Student Services Hub if you have any queries relating to accommodation applications.

Applications for 2022-2023 are now open.

All full-time postgraduate students are entitled to accommodation for the first year of study provided they fulfil the following condition:

• You return your application by midnight, Sunday 31 July 2022.

 You are welcome to apply after the deadline and we will make you an offer as soon as we can but you are no longer guaranteed campus accommodation.

New postgraduate students are required to make a £250 advanced rent payment (previously known as a prepayment) when accepting the offer.

Further information on applying for accommodation can be found on our new students page. 

Contact your Student Services Hub if you have any queries relating to accommodation applications.

Returning accommodation applications for 2022-2023 will remain open until 5 September.

2022-23 returning students will continue to be able to apply for accommodation but this will be via the waiting list which will open on 6 September.

We are continuing to send out accommodation offers for the current and new academic year, therefore, please make sure you check your email account regularly for updates, including your junk folder and accept any offers within the given deadline.

Currently students arriving in the UK are not required to quarantine or self-isolate. As information may change, it is best to regularly review the UK Government website for up-to-date information for the country you are travelling from.

If you have booked University owned or administered accommodation and are not able to arrive for the start of your contract, please let us know your arrival date as soon as possible. You will still be liable for the rent on your contract from the contract start date.

Our friendly Residence Life team host a range of social activities for students living on and off campus, for you to participate with and meet new friends and make new connections.

The Students’ Union will also organise a broad range of virtual and in-person activities; further information will be available nearer the beginning of the new academic year.

Full details about how you can get involved with these events and activities can be found on our Welcome pages and the University events calendar.

We know that you might be worried about incurring costs should a national/local lockdown happen in the UK and you want to return to your home address. The University has an Accommodation COVID-19 commitment for the academic year 2022-2023 which should be read alongside the standard terms and conditions of tenancy document. This commitment is designed to provide you with clarity and guidance on how pandemic-related events may affect you, your accommodation agreement and your rental liability.

Protecting the health and wellbeing of our students while delivering a high-quality education guides everything we do. Despite very positive signs that the vaccination programme is limiting COVID transmission in the UK, we cannot guarantee that we will be unaffected by pandemic-related restrictions at any point during the next academic year.

Our approach to planning for the academic year 2022-2023 will ensure that we will be able to offer all of our students a transformative, campus experience; with flexibility to adapt to periods of heightened COVID security if needed. Our priority will always be to ensure your safety while supporting you to continue with your education - irrespective of any further disruption caused by the pandemic.

We will comply with all Government guidance, and in addition to this will make our own additional judgements about what works in our campus environments. We have all learned a great deal from our experiences of the last year, and we will be ready to flex our approach to if the circumstances require.

Our housekeeping team will be busy undertaking enhanced cleaning, to ensure your accommodation is as hygienic as possible. All kitchens will be cleaned weekly, and shared bathrooms cleaned 3 times a week. We will be regularly cleaning all high level touchpoints in accommodation entrances and communal areas. We will also clean all lifts daily.

Hygiene is a key factor in controlling the virus, therefore it is important that all residents play their part in ensuring your accommodation remains safe. To help with this, we will also provide you with how-to guides and advice on hygiene.