Accommodation at Essex

Our waiting list is temporarily closed, as we are not accepting any new applications for the current year due to the pandemic. However, please keep checking the page for updates. Once applications open again and you have accepted your offer, your room and key will remain available until you are ready to arrive and we will not charge you for your room until you have moved in.

The accommodation guarantee deadline for the current academic year has now passed, so we can no longer guarantee you accommodation for your first year, but you can still apply when applications open again. If we can’t offer you campus accommodation then we’ll put you in touch with SU Homes, an agency run by our Students’ Union.

Applications for the 2021-22 academic year for new students are now open and the guarantee deadline is 3 September 2021.

All full-time fully-registered undergraduate students living at our Colchester or Southend Campus from October, are entitled to accommodation for the first year of study.

If you are a full time and fully registered student and your course starts in April 2021, then please email the Student Information Team for an accommodation application form. 

Please note, we do not have student accommodation at our Loughton Campus.

We understand that a number of you are planning to study remotely at first and then arrive onto one of our campuses at a later date.

As part of our commitment to putting our students at the heart of all we do, we are extending our flexible accommodation arrangements:

• For students who have not yet moved into University accommodation, either because they deferred occupancy or are studying on courses that commence in January, or for those who have paused their tenancy during the autumn term, accommodation charges for the Spring Term will only commence from the point that you move in. 

Whenever you intend to arrive, please make sure you sure you are familiar with where you need to collect your key by checking our arrival information for Colchester or Southend.

If you decide you no longer want your campus accommodation, then please email accarriv@essex.ac.uk and we will cancel it. Please also email us once you know your confirmed date of return if you have paused your contract.

All students arriving from overseas as of 4am on Monday 18 January 2021 will be required by law to isolate for 10 days, even if you have received a negative Covid-19 test. Further information relating to this can be found on the Government webpages.

Students arriving for the new academic year 2021-22 will be offered free quarantine accommodation for a period of 10 days prior to the start of welcome week. You will need to apply for this accommodation in addition to your full year requirements and an application form will be able here nearer the time. 

You will be living with other students, where some facilities will be shared, so please make sure you try and use these, when others are not.

To help you settle in and so you do not have to leave your accommodation unnecessarily, we will provide you with a quarantine pack (basic food such as pasta, rice, tea etc/bedding/kitchen utensils) which you will need to order. Details on how to book this will be available nearer the time.

Please then make sure you read the guidance on self-isolating, so you are aware of what support services are available to you, including how to order food deliveries. However, if you do have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Student Information Team. 

If you live in University accommodation and need to self-isolate due to COVID-19, appropriate arrangements will be made by our dedicated Residence Life team to provide you with advice and practical support. Information regarding how to self-isolate, who to inform and how we can further support you will be made available for you, with further information in your Welcome Book.  

We’re hoping to make your experience of living with us as normal as possible, but recognise we may have to do things a little differently this year.  

On arrival into your accommodation, we expect you will form a social bubble with students in your flat (who are staying in the rooms around you). This means that you’ll be able to spend time with your flatmates without the need for keeping socially distanced from each other.  

Current guidance states that, at least initially, you won’t be able to have other people from outside your household visiting your flat. But all our accommodation is surrounded by award winning green spaces, and with social facilities close by where you can easily meet with people from outside your household whilst following the social distancing guidelines.  

We also have a dedicated team who are developing a variety of social distancing events and virtual events to attend to make sure you have every opportunity to meet new people, safely. More details of these will follow in due course.

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 (the maximum number of people per lift will be limited to help maintain social distancing).

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. 

The University takes the health and wellbeing of our students and staff very seriously and this has been one of the focuses to ensure students can study on campus – safely.

To protect our community on campus we have introduced the following measures:

• Enhanced cleaning and sterilising regimes
• Social distancing in line with international guidance
• Signage and floor markings in key locations to help you move around our campuses safely

We’re asking you to wear face coverings in all public campus areas where social distancing is difficult to maintain or in specifically designated locations. We’ll be supporting you by giving two washable face coverings to all students and staff.

We’ll also be introducing training for all students, to make it easier for everyone to understand our expectations.