Accommodation in Glasgow

There is plenty on offer and you will be spoilt for choice of quality accommodation across the city.  West End is popular as the University is located here, but students also love trendy flats in the city centre on some prefer to be closer to the main teaching hospitals (Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Govan or Glasgow Royal Infirmary in the city centre).
If you want to stay in the university offered accommodation, best to contact the accommodation office as early as you can via: www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/accommodation/

If you rather go for a private rental flats, the same link offers information on different ways to secure a contract: www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/accommodation/privateaccommodation/

Meanwhile, I have asked couple of IMU transfer students to share with you their experiences of finding suitable accommodation and how to go about finding these – below are their thoughts and tips to help you plan your move to Glasgow – I hope these are helpful.

Anushka, Year 4 transfer student from IMU:

"For the first year after transfer, more than half of the year is based mostly in Glasgow University as it is Phase 3 during that time. So, it is better to get a place near University. Starting year 4 you can think about moving a bit more towards an area you are fonder of, since you will pretty much be on postings the whole year so the key would be distance to bus, trains and subway.

Next would be to decide on whether you want to consider student accommodation or privately rented flats. Advantages of student accommodation is that they really take care of everything for you including bills and if you book ones near Partick, you have very easy commute everywhere. Additionally, they do host quite a few events that you can go to if you want to mingle with more people. You can also opt in to stay in the same flat as your friends if it is available. Disadvantages would just be the price which is quite high and also availability as it gets booked out very fast (especially the popular ones); also be sure to read reviews before you book as some of them are fantastic but others are really not.

The other option would be to get a shared flat with your friends. The advantages would be high privacy, low cost, more freedom in terms of where you want to get the flat. However, the main disadvantage is because you arrive to Glasgow a bit late, it might take quite a few weeks to get it sorted as you need to do flat viewings and negotiate contracts and you have to settle your own bills. If you have people you are sure you want to rent with, this is a good idea. If you intend to move into a flat later on, say in year 4, you can also take student accommodation for one year while you get to know Glasgow and make some good friends and then from next year onwards, you can move into a shared flat.

Price wise, anything close to the university and the West End area is generally slightly more expensive and if you are looking for a private flat with more than 2 of you in total, there is a need to look for flats with HMO license (you can google more information on that , unless you are siblings/couple/related in some way, then you can get the non-HMO flat)."

Vivian, Year 4 transfer student from IMU:

"There are few ways to find an accommodation in Glasgow. It depends on your preference.

  • University website

  • Private accommodation
    - Student Accommodation (Shared apartment, Studios)
    - Flat (One bedroom or a shared apartment with 2-3 bedrooms

I am now a resident in Private Student Accommodation.

I get to know different types of private accommodation through student.com

Once I have looked through the available choices in student.com, I would google for their original website for more information.

For example, Scotway House Glasgow via atboho.com, Vita Student via vitastudent.com and West Village via Downing Students.

I was a resident in West Village (2018-2019), a private student accommodation under Downing Students. Downing students offer buildings placed near the University Campuses across the UK.
In Glasgow, they have West Village and West View (a newly built accommodation). They have choices like shared apartment, as well as studio (different types of small self-contained apartments/rooms). Not sure about the latest rental prices. They are all en suite rooms.

I find these accommodations convenient, as they are near to the supermarkets and public transport.

Other than Downing students, there are other private accommodation like Glasgow Hyndland house, Vita Student, and BOHO Scotway House Glasgow (new). They are all located near to Downing Students accommodation as well. I heard they are all equally fine and very convenient for living."