Student accommodation in Leicester is among the most affordable of any major university city in England. Across the current Leicester listings, prices remain relatively low whether you want a studio or an en-suite room. There are 13 properties available now through Mystudenthalls.com, with rooms from £99.00 to £175.00 a week and a current city average of £146.31 a week. The cheapest rooms, at £99 a week, are at Regents Court and The Grange, while the £175 rooms are premium self-contained studios, so there are options at both the lower and higher end of the market.
Leicester student accommodation here splits into three room types: self-contained studios with your own kitchen and bathroom, en-suite rooms in shared flats where you get a private bedroom and bathroom and share a kitchen, and larger cluster flats. For context, the Unipol and HEPI Accommodation Costs Survey put the average annual student rent across England at £7,566 for 2023/24, which works out near £145 a week over a full year, so Leicester sits at or below that national figure. Prices like these are a big part of why students rate the city for value, and you can filter the current listings by price, area or room type to find a room that fits.
There are two routes into a room in Leicester. The first is university-run accommodation: both the University of Leicester and De Montfort University guarantee a place to first-year students who apply by the published deadline, and the University of Leicester advertises rooms from £74 a week for 2026/27. The second route is private student accommodation, which is everything listed here.
Private buildings, often called purpose-built student accommodation or PBSA, and co-living schemes are open to students at any university and in any year of study, not just first years. This is useful for second and third years, postgraduates and international students who are not eligible for, or do not want, a university room. Many of these buildings welcome postgraduates and mature students, and most run their own social calendars, gyms and study spaces. Booking conditions and eligibility vary by property, so check the filters or confirm directly with the provider before you apply. The advantage of going private is that you choose and book the room yourself, rather than being allocated one.
The cheapest current rooms in Leicester start at £99 a week, at Regents Court on Rawson Street near the University of Leicester and The Grange on the De Montfort University campus. Queens Court follows close behind at £105 a week, a one-minute walk from De Montfort. If you are weighing up cheap student accommodation in Leicester against how close it is to campus, those three give you the lowest prices without pushing you out to the edge of the city.
Geographically, the most affordable rooms tend to sit either right on the De Montfort campus on the west side of the centre, near The Newarke and the River Soar, or in Highfields, the residential area between the city centre and the University of Leicester. Highfields is cheaper than Clarendon Park and keeps you within walking distance of both campus and town. The average for purpose-built apartments in Leicester at around £146.31 per person per week, so the £99.00 to £175.00 rooms here are at the value end of that market. Studios cost more than en-suite rooms everywhere, so if budget is the priority, an en-suite room in a shared flat is almost always the cheaper pick.
Leicester is compact, with most student areas within a 20-minute walk or a short bus ride of one campus or the other. Where you base yourself usually comes down to which university you attend and how central you want to be.
Clarendon Park, centred on Queens Road about a 12 to 15-minute walk south of the University of Leicester through Victoria Park, is the most sought-after student area in the city, with independent cafes, pubs and a settled, mixed atmosphere. The city centre suits De Montfort students in particular, because the DMU campus sits inside it, and it puts the Lanes, Leicester Market and most of the nightlife on your doorstep. Several of the central buildings stand out: The Summit on Eastern Boulevard, The Aspen on Millstone Lane, St Georges Tower, and Lumya Leicester on Southgates, which has more than 500 en-suite rooms plus a gym, games room and cinema. The Glassworks and Dover Street Apartments add two more central choices for anyone after student flats in Leicester close to the action. Quieter, leafier neighbourhoods such as Stoneygate and Knighton, south of Clarendon Park, are popular with postgraduates who want calm over nightlife.
The two campuses sit in different parts of the city, so the right area depends on where you study. Between them the University of Leicester, with 18,990 students in 2024/25, and De Montfort University, with 23,155 students in 2024/25, give the city more than 40,000 students.
For University of Leicester student accommodation, the campus sits south of the centre on University Road and London Road, next to Victoria Park. Regents Court on Rawson Street is a short walk from campus, Study Inn Reynard House on Welford Road has strong on-site facilities, and Dover Street Apartments gives modern en-suite rooms with good city access. Highfields and Clarendon Park are the classic University of Leicester neighbourhoods.
For De Montfort University accommodation, the campus is in the city centre on the west side near The Newarke. If you want student accommodation near De Montfort University, Queens Court is roughly a minute from the campus, The Grange sits on it, and Primus Place and Edge Apartments is on the corner of the campus and handy for the Leicester Royal Infirmary if you are a medical student. 41 Castle Street is about an eight-minute walk from DMU, and iQ Grosvenor House on Newarke Street is one of the more competitively priced central options. DMU guarantees first-year university rooms, but plenty of returning and international students choose private accommodation near DMU in the buildings nearby instead.
Leicester is one of the easiest student cities to get around because so little of it requires a journey at all. Both campuses are walkable from the main student areas and from the city centre, and most days you will not need transport.
When you do, buses run frequently between the residential areas and both universities, and cycling is popular, helped by investment in cycle paths and a hire scheme across the city. Most of the buildings here include secure bike storage. Leicester railway station, around a 15-minute walk from both campuses, sits on the Midland Main Line, where the fastest direct East Midlands Railway service reaches London St Pancras in 1 hour and 3 minutes, with good links to Nottingham, Birmingham and Sheffield. A railcard takes up to a third off fares. Living a little further out to save on rent rarely costs you much in travel time here, because the city is so small, but the cheapest central rooms mean many students skip the trade-off entirely.
Most private student accommodation in Leicester is offered with bills included, which typically covers electricity, gas, water and broadband in a single weekly rent, though the exact package varies by property so always check the listing. That all-in pricing is one of the biggest differences from a traditional rented house, where you pay utilities on top.
On room types, you will find three main options here. En-suite rooms give you a private bedroom and bathroom with a shared kitchen and communal space, and are the best-value private choice. Studios offer the most independence, with your own kitchen and bathroom behind one front door, and they sit at the top of the price range. Larger cluster flats and shared student apartments house small groups with their own bedrooms around a shared kitchen, ideal when you want company without sharing a bathroom. One thing to budget for separately: if you watch live TV or use BBC iPlayer, you need a TV Licence, which costs £180 a year as of 1 April 2026 and is not part of your rent. Most buildings layer on extras such as on-site gyms, study rooms, social spaces and 24-hour support, though amenities differ between properties.
Contract lengths in Leicester vary by property, but commonly run from 44 to 51 weeks. A 44-week contract roughly matches the academic year and suits undergraduates who go home over summer, while 51-week contracts give you the room year-round and are common for postgraduates and international students. Check the start and end dates against your course before you sign.
Because Leicester is in England, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 applies. That caps the security deposit at five weeks’ rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, and caps any holding deposit at one week’s rent, so you should never be asked for more. Full-time students are also exempt from council tax: a household where everyone is a full-time student pays nothing, though you usually need to apply to Leicester City Council with a student certificate rather than having it applied automatically. Most providers ask for a UK-based guarantor, normally a parent or guardian. If you are an international student or cannot provide a UK guarantor, many providers accept a guarantor service such as Housing Hand or allow you to pay rent in advance instead. Policies differ, so confirm with the provider before applying. If you want to read up first, the Mystudenthalls.com guide to the best UK universities for international students is a useful starting point.
Leicester has a strong cultural and food scene for a city of its size. It is one of the most diverse cities in the UK, and Belgrave Road, the Golden Mile, hosts Diwali celebrations widely described as the largest outside India. Leicester City Council notes the festival began as a neighbourhood event in 1983 and now draws tens of thousands of people to the Golden Mile each year, with switch-on crowds reported at around 40,000 to 50,000. The city also runs an annual Caribbean Carnival and the long-running Leicester Comedy Festival.
For day-to-day life, Leicester Market has been trading for more than 800 years and is the largest outdoor covered market in Europe, and the city has a strong reputation for vegetarian and vegan food alongside the curry houses of the Golden Mile. The National Space Centre houses the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium, which it describes as the UK’s largest fulldome planetarium, the Curve theatre anchors the Cultural Quarter, and Phoenix is a popular independent cinema with students. Green space is easy to reach, with Victoria Park next to the University of Leicester campus and Abbey Park along the River Soar to the north. Day-to-day costs are low by UK standards, which is a large part of why Leicester is so consistently rated for student living.
Right now, rooms in Leicester run from £99.00 to £175.00 a week across 13 properties, with a current average of £146.31 a week. The £99 floor is for en-suite rooms at Regents Court and The Grange, while studios sit at the upper end. As a market comparison, the Unipol and HEPI Accommodation Costs Survey put the England-wide average annual rent at £7,566 for 2023/24, near £145 a week, so Leicester is competitive on price. Prices change as rooms book up, so the current listings are the place to confirm.
The lowest rents are on or beside the De Montfort University campus on the west side of the centre, and in Highfields, between the centre and the University of Leicester. Highfields is noticeably cheaper than Clarendon Park while staying within walking distance of campus and town. The cheapest rooms available now are at Regents Court and The Grange at £99 a week.
In most private buildings, bills included means your electricity, gas, water and broadband are covered by one weekly rent, with nothing extra to set up or split with flatmates. The exact contents vary between properties, and a TV Licence is usually separate, so check each listing for what is and is not covered.
Full-time students do not. A household where everyone is a full-time student is exempt from council tax, which covers most purpose-built and shared student buildings. You may need to apply to Leicester City Council with a student certificate from your university to have the exemption applied. If you live with someone who is not a full-time student, the property can become liable, though a discount may still apply.
Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, which applies in England, the security deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent where the annual rent is below £50,000, and a holding deposit cannot exceed one week’s rent. Many purpose-built providers ask for no deposit or a small reservation fee, so the cap is an upper limit rather than a standard charge.
Most providers ask for a UK-based guarantor, usually a parent or guardian, who agrees to cover the rent if you cannot. International students and anyone without a UK guarantor can often use a paid guarantor service such as Housing Hand, or pay some rent in advance instead. Each provider sets its own policy, so check before you apply.
Yes. Private student accommodation in Leicester is open to students in any year, including first years, and is not limited to one university. First years sometimes choose a private studio or en-suite over a university room for the location or facilities. Booking conditions vary, so confirm any age or year requirements with the provider.
Contract lengths vary by property and commonly run from 44 to 51 weeks. A 44-week term roughly matches the academic year, while 51-week contracts cover you through the summer and suit postgraduates and international students. Always match the dates to your course before signing.
Leicester’s letting season tends to run a little later than some cities. Many students start looking from October or November, with demand peaking in November and most rooms in the popular areas gone by February. First years and international students should aim to search by January at the latest, though rooms do remain available later in the cycle.
The current listings cover en-suite rooms in shared flats, self-contained studios and larger cluster flats. Some students looking for a traditional shared house may also come across these listings, but the properties here are purpose-built and co-living buildings rather than HMOs, which means private studios and en-suite rooms with shared kitchens rather than a whole shared house. For most people that is exactly what they want, bills and on-site facilities included, and there is even a small premium, luxury end to the market among the central studios.
Purpose-built buildings are designed with security in mind, typically with key-fob or secure door entry, CCTV and on-site or 24-hour staff, and many can be filtered by those features in the listings. Leicester is a compact city where most student areas are busy and well used, which adds to the sense of safety, though as anywhere it is sensible to check the specific security features of each property.
If you study at the University of Leicester, south of the centre by Victoria Park, Highfields and Clarendon Park are the natural choices, with Regents Court, Study Inn Reynard House and Dover Street Apartments all close by. If you are at De Montfort University in the city centre, the central buildings and those on or beside the campus, such as Queens Court, The Grange and Primus Place and Edge Apartments, put you closest. You can compare the options for both universities through Mystudenthalls.com.
For the first time in years, the student accommodation market has tipped in students’ favour. Occupancy across the UK’s private purpose-built buildings fell to 85.4% this academic year, rents are rising more slowly than inflation, and providers are really competing for 2026/27 bookings with a vast range of discounts and incentives. None of that makes…
There are dozens of sites promising to help you find somewhere to live at university, and choosing the right one can be harder than it looks. Some let you compare lots of different providers side by side. Some only show you their own buildings. Some are aimed at international students booking before they arrive in…
Whether you’ve managed to bag your spot at one of the UK’s most prestigious seats of learning, or you’re just happy to have gotten a place in your university of choice, one thing is for sure – if this is your first year of university, you’re almost certainly going to catch freshers’ flu. A common…
