How to apply for accommodation

We allocate accommodation in date order of applications, regardless of whether a student has a Conditional Firm (CF) or an Unconditional Firm (UF) status.

New students with an Unconditional Firm offer may be informed of their accommodation prior to examination results being released.

Students with Conditional Firm offers will receive their accommodation offers after A-level exam results have been published in August and their status has changed to Unconditional Firm.

Please note:

No accommodation offers will be sent to any student during the normal UCAS embargo period.

Notification of room offers and instructions on how to accept your offer online will be sent to the email address you registered when applying. Please remember to update any school email address to an alternative one before July.

To proceed with the offer, you have to follow all the instructions on the online process, including: 

• acceptance of Terms and Conditions
• a £115 non-refundable pre-payment is due when you accept the offer online. For large studio/one bed flats, a £115 pre-payment is required, together with proof of sufficient funds to meet rental fee based on a 51-week licence
• pay all accommodation fees in full*, or set up a payment plan for three instalments to be paid in September, January, and May.

After you have done this, you'll receive an online induction and your check-in details around 14 days before you are due to arrive.

One payment in full at time of acceptance (we will give you a £250* bonus on your Student ID card to use towards University catering, which will be added in three instalments :

• £100 October
• £100 January
• £50 April.

Students must accept their offer online by the deadline stated in the licence, or the offer may be withdrawn.

Your accommodation is not ready for occupation until the start day of the licence, and you must complete the Guarantor process first before access to the online induction process is available which gives you moving in details and where to pick up your keys.

Read full Terms and Conditions.

Accommodation fees

During the online acceptance process of your accommodation offer, you will need to pay either:

• one payment in full at time of acceptance (we will give you a £250* bonus on your Student ID card to use towards University catering, this will be added in 3 instalments - £100 October, £100 January, and £50 April).

OR

• an initial £115 pre-payment if choosing to pay by 3 instalments.  When you select the instalment payment option and provide your card details, a payment plan is set up enabling recurring debit or credit card payments. This initial payment will automatically be deducted from your first instalment payment. Please note: if you select this option, you will need to provide a guarantor at the same time you accept the offer.

Instalment dates

Exact payment dates will be provided in your individual offer. Approximate dates for students on the most common full year licences are split into three instalments.

Recurring card payments

If you're paying in instalments, your fees will be taken by Recurring Card Payment (RCP), from the bank and card details you enter when you accept the accommodation offer and contract.

Your payment instalments will be automatically collected from the account linked to the card details provided, unless you notify Accounts Receivable that you would like to change the card details. If you need to change the debit or credit card from which your instalments will be collected, you must contact the Accounts Receivable team, and they will send you a link to the appropriate webpage to enable you to update your details securely.

NB: PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY CARD DETAILS WHEN YOU EMAIL THE TEAM.   

You must ensure that there are sufficient funds available to meet the payment on the due date.

If you do not have the funds available or are experiencing problems with your student finance maintenance loan payment, please contact Accounts Receivable before the payment is due. It is important that you contact this team if you are experiencing financial problems so they can discuss with you how you intend to manage them.

EU or International students

If you are a self-paying student, then you will need to pay as per the details above. Please view your e-document for full payment details.

Students who are sponsored by their agency/provider, home university, or college do not need to pay directly to Canterbury Christ Church University, as your institution should pay us direct. Please check with them that they are doing this. 

If you are an EU or international student and do not hold a UK bank account, the first instalment can be paid using debit/credit card or bank transfer. The remaining instalments are to be paid for by recurring card payment once you have opened a UK bank account.  All payments must be made in pounds sterling.

Cancellation prior to arrival 

Once you have accepted the accommodation contract (usually online), you have a 7-day cooling off period to cancel. You must contact Accommodation if you wish to cancel in this period. We will cancel the agreement and refund any advanced rent payment made if you cancel in this period only.

There is no cancellation period after this, and the full fees will be due unless there is an acceptable replacement Canterbury Christ Church University student to take your room, who is not already in our accommodation. Finding a replacement student cannot be guaranteed. For further information please refer to the Licence Agreement – Part E.

Prepayment

Your prepayment of £115 is automatically deducted from your first instalment. The pre-payment is a payment towards the accommodation fees due. The pre-payment is not a refundable deposit.

Further information

Read full Terms and Conditions

For more detailed information, please refer to www.canterbury.ac.uk/payaccom

Students with a medical condition or disability

Students with a medical condition or disability, and special requirements in their housing needs, will be considered as a priority for a study bedroom.

To be allocated the most appropriate accommodation, students should note that they have a medical condition, disability, or specific requirement during the online application process by ticking the Medical box under the Questions section of the Personal Preference Page of the application.

A separate email will then be sent out advising you what to do next, including registering with our Disability Team. If a student fails to disclose this information, or only does so after they have been allocated accommodation, the Accommodation Team cannot guarantee the reallocation of more appropriate accommodation.

The University’s Student Disability Service works closely with Accommodation to identify the needs of students with medical conditions and disabilities to ensure that the most suitable accommodation is allocated. Disabled students and students with special requirements are given priority in the allocation of accommodation, as long as they can provide appropriate supporting medical evidence to the Disability Team, when required.

If a continuing full-time student has difficulty in finding suitable accommodation in the private sector, permission may be given for future lets  of a study bedroom within University accommodation, usually with new first year undergraduates. The student must have previously kept all licence terms, including payments.

Care leavers

Care leavers will be guaranteed accommodation in their first year of study.

Single sex accommodation

Students who wish to live in single sex flats should indicate this on their form, but it can’t always be guaranteed.

Students under 18 

Students under the age of 18 on arrival will be given priority allocation to the most appropriate accommodation at the selected campus. The University does not take the place of parents’ responsibility (in loco parentis), and student accommodation is generally intended for use by adults. Additional safeguarding measures may be required, such as details of a UK Guardian being provided, and monthly meetings with the Residence Officer for your site. 

Mature students (over 21s)

Over 21s have the same eligibility as other undergraduates. We will try to place mature students together where possible, but this can’t be guaranteed. University accommodation may not always be suitable for much older students, and consideration to the private sector is advised; we are able to signpost to accredited landlords in the area.

International students

International students will be allocated with home and other students. 

Families

We do not have any specific family accommodation. Students with families are generally signposted to the private rented sector. Further information can be found on our Student Family Accommodation Advice webpage.

Couples

All of our accommodation is offered on a single occupancy basis only.

Alcohol-free accommodation 

Alcohol-free accommodation requests can be considered but are not guaranteed.

We offer accommodation to Insurance, Clearing, and late acceptances where possible, but this is subject to availability and is not guaranteed.

If Canterbury Christ Church University is your Insurance choice, you can apply for accommodation only when you have been through the Insurance or Clearing process, as you will need to be released from the contract by the university who originally gave you a UF or CF place.

If accommodation is not available, you can be added to a waiting list or given advice. There is a wide variety of rooms available for students in the private sector.

We will do our best to give you an offer of accommodation. When applying, please ensure your preference choices are mixed (not all ensuite), and make sure your maximum weekly budget is filled in.