Ask three London students what they pay for housing and you'll get three wildly different numbers — and at least one horror story. The truth is that "how much is student housing in London?" has several honest answers depending on which route you take. Here's the 2026 picture, without the brochure gloss.
The Three Routes (and What They Really Cost)
1. University Halls and PBSA: £250–£450/week
Purpose-built student accommodation is the default for first-years, and it's priced like it knows that. In 2026, London halls commonly run from around £250/week for a basic room up to £450+ for an en-suite studio in a shiny new tower. Bills and WiFi are usually included, which is genuinely convenient — but you're paying a premium for the branding, the common-room ping-pong table and the location of the building, not the size of your room.
2. Private Flatshare: £180–£320/week — Plus Everything Else
A room in a private flatshare looks cheaper on the listing — and that's exactly the trap. The advertised rent almost never includes electricity, gas, water, WiFi or contents insurance, and you'll organise all of it yourself with three housemates you may not have met yet. Add roughly £120–£180 a month for bills in a typical London flat, then a deposit of up to five weeks' rent, often a guarantor requirement, and usually a twelve-month contract that doesn't care when your course ends.
3. Co-living: £215–£355/week, Genuinely All-In
Co-living sits between the two: a furnished room in a managed shared flat, with WiFi, electricity, water and council tax bundled into one weekly price. At Nook, rooms start from £215/week (subject to room availability), the deposit is two weeks' rent rather than the five weeks the law allows, and contracts flex from three months — useful when your course runs ten. The full picture is on our student housing in London guide.
The Costs Nobody Mentions at the Open Day
Whichever route you choose, budget for the extras that catch new arrivals out:
Upfront cash. Deposit plus first rent payment is the big one. On a five-week deposit at £300/week you'd hand over £1,500 before buying a single textbook; a two-week deposit halves the pain and then some. Here's how deposits actually work.
Council tax. Full-time students are usually exempt — but in a private flatshare, if one housemate isn't a full-time student, the household gets a bill. In co-living it's typically baked into your weekly price, so it's never your admin.
Setup costs. Unfurnished private rooms mean a bed, a desk, a kettle and a hundred small purchases — £400–£800 easily. Furnished routes skip this entirely.
Summer void. A twelve-month contract on a nine-month course means paying for three months you might not be there. Flexible-term housing fixes this quietly and saves more than any weekly-rate haggling ever will.
A Realistic 2026 Weekly Budget
For a masters student in east or central London sharing a flat: rent £215–£300 all-in, groceries £45–£60, transport £25–£40 (Zones 1–2 with a student Oyster discount), phone £10–£15, and a social life that flexes with willpower. Call it £320–£420/week all told. The single biggest lever is housing — which is why it pays to compare what's actually included rather than the headline number.
The Bottom Line
Halls buy convenience at a premium. Private flatshares buy a lower headline rent that quietly grows once bills, deposits and furniture arrive. Co-living buys predictability: one number a week, two weeks' deposit, and a contract shaped like your academic year. If that sounds like your kind of maths, browse our rooms across Canary Wharf, Central London, Islington and Whitechapel — or book a viewing (video calls welcome if you're still abroad).
