Dubbed as the most cost effective city to study in, is it any wonder that Leeds has a large student population of over 200,000! With two top notch Universities and many well known colleges, Leeds sees a large influx of students every year and whether you want to live in the Halls, a student house or room shares, Leeds offers diverse student accommodation to suit every pocket.

The main student areas in Leeds are the Woodhouse, the eternally infested Hyde Park, Burley and Headingley. Leeds has a thriving sports culture as well as an exciting nightlife replete with music festivals, comedy acts, bars, clubs and cinemas. Shopping and eating out are a delight here as most venues offer students discount and plenty of variety to choose from. All in all, Leeds is a fun place where you are bound to enjoy your student life and make friends for life.

The Leeds Met University like all other universities provides catered and self catered accommodations and there are special rooms and flats for people with special needs and families. Most of the Halls of residence have flats with small and large single rooms with shared facility as well as En-suite and some of them are large enough to accommodate 6-7 students. Most of the accommodation is centrally heated and provide round the clock security along with well equipped kitchens and rooms.

The advantage in living in the catered halls is that you get to interact with lot of people. Since most accommodations are located close to the campuses, if you choose wisely, you would be only minutes away from where your classes are held. However with so many students living under the same roof, it can get very noisy and chaotic at times and you will have to be careful with your belongings lest they get stolen. You also have to pay a £200 deposit upfront to book your accommodation which is non refundable and have to sign a contract for minimum of 41 weeks.

Bed-sits are ideal for students who are looking to spend time with a local family and are doing short courses. The lodgings usually contain a single room with a bathroom and you may be offered meals as well. One bedroom flats for students who are looking for complete privacy are available at Hyde Park and the city centre and cost from £75 onwards. Rentinc is a good letting agent, they do not charge deposits and their charges include fuel bills and utility bills.

The Tannery owned by Unite with its close proximity to both the Uni’s as well as the city centre is another popular student accommodation. Owned privately it offers both studio apartments as well as En-suite rooms. The rent starts from £89 per week and facilities include heated apartments, plasma TVs and game rooms with well equipped kitchens and parking spaces. The other places like Sky Plaza and Concept place are steeply priced, the rents start at £110 per week and are well located. The contract is typically for 43 weeks starting from September and you need to pay an upfront deposit as well.

Properties mentioned on the Unipol site are also worth looking at as the organization gives a clean chit to only those properties that meet with their standards and code of conduct. If you are renting out private property for the first time then Unipol listed properties are a safe bet. If you have friends willing to share a large house then in the long run it turns out to be cheaper and more cost effective as well.