Living in campus accommodation

When you’re at university, your room is your space to call 'home' and where you live can play an important role in making new friends.

There are a lot of benefits to living on-campus at the RAU. You’ll get to know the University, have your lectures on your doorstep and be right in the heart of the action.

We have a mixture of catered and self-catered accommodation with the half board option as standard. The bedrooms are a mixture of standard rooms with shared bathroom facilities and en-suite rooms, and we offer quiet bedrooms for students who prefer a more tranquil environment. Have a look at the halls of residence guide for more details about our halls of residence and the accommodation each of them has to offer. 

You can find a transcript of the video here.

Your room will not just be a place to study and sleep, it will be your space to call home and the location will play a key part of meeting new people and making new friends.

Living on-campus is a great way to meet fellow students and to be where the action is, and comes with many benefits such as:

• With welfare and pastoral support from tutors, the student services manager, accommodation officer, community assistants, and university nurse. There is always someone on hand in the case of an emergency
• Security on-campus to keep you and your belongings safe
• Free internet access in all rooms on our main campus
• You are close to all campus services. The Tithe Barn and bar, The Restaurant, cafe, library, sports facilities, launderette and university shop
• Prices for half board and self-catered accommodation are shown below. 
• The housekeeping service means your bedroom is cleaned regularly and the communal bathrooms daily
• All RAU halls of residence are fully compliant and covered by the Universities UK Accommodation Code of Practice

Car parking

Free parking is available on-campus. Please register your vehicle online using the student portal. Registered vehicles can only be parked on campus in student spaces and is on a first come, first parked basis. 

Catering

Half board catering meal options are available as part of your package and additionally lunch is available to purchase in The Restaurant, offering a selection of hot and cold dishes. Catering staff are able to cater for special dietary needs but please advise of your requirements at the time of booking your accommodation. 

Accommodation fees to pay 2025-26

*Half board is based on 14 meals per week (breakfast and dinner).

**For Academic year 2025-26 we are now also able to offer postgraduate students short term stays on a ‘room only’ basis in our Main Building. These rooms will cost £40 per night and are subject to availability so please contact shortstay@rau.ac.uk regarding any queries, in advance of your proposed dates.

Disabled and neurodiverse students who need a room that is not a standard room type (shared kitchen and bathroom) can contact Student Services StudentServices@rau.ac.uk to enquire about partial funding that may be available due to a disability related need. The University will consider the application and then, if agreed, pay the cost difference between a standard room and the alternative room type, which a disabled student requires to support their disability.

Please share any medical evidence which supports the need for adjustments to standard student accommodation with Student Services StudentServices@rau.ac.uk.

Accommodation application

All applications should be made through the myRAU accommodation applicants portal. You will receive instructions on how to access the portal once you have accepted your offer of a place to study at the RAU.

You will then receive confirmation of your application submission and information regarding payment of a £300 deposit, which will be returned at the end of the academic year, less any charges that have been incurred during the contract dates. The deposit will be refunded to students who do not meet the necessary requirements to join the University or if the accommodation offer is declined. If you choose not to take up your accommodation having been offered a room, you must inform the University within seven days.

Payment plans and Accommodation contracts will be sent out later in the year. The first terms accommodation payment must be made before access to your accommodation can be given.

We will do our best to allocate you the type of accommodation you would most like but cannot guarantee this. Rooms are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

For queries regarding accommodation, please contact accommodation@rau.ac.uk.

For payment queries, please contact studentfees@rau.ac.uk.