Finding a place to live
Most LSE students live in privately rented housing and commute to the School every day. Arranging this type of accommodation is generally not possible before you arrive as you should always inspect a property to ensure its suitability, and because landlords rarely make commitments to unseen tenants. This means that in order to find somewhere to live, you should come to London before the beginning of the academic session. We would advise you to allow a minimum of two weeks to search for accommodation (students with children should allow longer).
August/September temporary accommodation
From the middle of August until the end of September a number of places are reserved in LSE residences to provide temporary accommodation for students. Staying in these places while they look for a place to stay is the way in which most students find their housing each year as the halls provide not only a cheap temporary option, but also an opportunity to meet other students with whom to share. For more details please see the Temporary accommodation booking| page.
Additional source of information on private housing
The LSE Accommodation Office runs a listings, information and advice website called LSEStudentPRS|.
Comforting thoughts
Please do not be daunted by the amount of information published here. This website was designed primarily to help students who have never looked for, or lived in, private sector accommodation before; and whilst it may seem to be a lot to take in, most of it is just common sense.
Every year two thirds of the entire student population of London live in the private sector and most enjoy the experience and the independence immensely. You may well find that after the initial period of uncertainty, hall accommodation would not have been suitable for you anyway. If not you can always keep yourself active on the Accommodation Office waiting list that runs throughout the academic year.
FAQs
If you have any further please see our FAQs| site.