Accommodation booking FAQs

You will need your BU Student Login, which comprises a username and password.

• Your username along with your password was sent to you by email when you first applied to BU (please check your email records).
• If you have lost this email then you can search your email folders for an email from BU Account Notification or with the subject title Your BU Student Account (remember to check your Junk and Deleted items).
• Once you have located this email you can retrieve your username and password (you can even reset your password from a link in this email if you wish) to log in to the Accommodation Portal.

If you cannot locate your email then you should contact our AskBU team on +44 (0)1202 969696, Monday-Friday, 08:30 to 17:00 (16:30 on Friday)

If you have your username and have already registered your BU account then you can reset your password at the password reset page.

• If you have not yet registered your BU account then your password (and username) was sent to you by email when you first applied to BU (please check your email records).
• If you have lost this email then you can search your email folders for an email from BU Account Notification or with the subject title: Your BU Student Account (remember to check your Junk and Deleted items).
• Once you have located this email you can retrieve your username and password (you can even reset your password from a link in this email if you wish) to log in to the Accommodation Portal.

If you cannot locate this email you should contact our AskBU team on +44 (0)1202 969696, Monday-Friday, 08:30 to 17:00 (16:30 on Friday) who can reset your password for you.

January 2025 entry

The Accommodation Portal is now open for bookings.

September 2025 entry

You will can now log in to our online Accommodation Portal to register your interest in our accommodation. We will email you with instructions on how to do this when you become eligibile.

Eligible students will then be able to log in and book a room from March 2025.

For full details on elgibility and further information visit our How to Book Accommodation web page.

Yes, here at BU we do not choose and allocate your room for you. Instead, we operate an online self-selection process where you search, choose and then book the room of your choice from what is available at that time.

If your preferred room is available you can book it. If it's not then you need to widen your search for another available room.

We think this is the fairest method so you get to decide where you live.

During your booking you will also be given the opportunity to create a personal profile for other potential flatmates to see.

You can change your room preferences, as there may still be rooms left in your preferred accommodation.

If there are still no rooms available, you will need to widen your search and choose a different accommodation property. 

Rooms will only be added back to the Portal for rebooking if we receive cancellations.

If a room in your preferred accommodation is not showing then we recommend that you don't wait to see if there will be any cancellations but to widen your search for other available rooms.

If you do choose to wait to see if there are any cancellations you risk not booking a room at all. 

This information is not made public and is only used to help us to try and locate accommodation that is suitable for your needs. We work in conjunction with the Additional Learning Support team and our accommodation partners on this. 

You should not share your BU login credentials with anyone. You will therefore need to make the necessary arrangements to be able to login and choose your own room. 

When you’re writing it think about the sorts of things you’d like to know about your future housemates. It’s a simple way to tell other students a bit about yourself and to help you find housemates who you’ll get on with.

Don’t spend too long writing your profile though as the rooms are booked on a first come first served basis.

If you’re an undergraduate applicant, you need to update your personal details on your UCAS Hub or contact UCAS. Please note that it usually takes 24 hours for any changes made on UCAS to display on our online accommodation portal. Postgraduate applicants can do this through myHub.

We do not restrict friends living together. If you want to live in the same flat then you can login at the same time, look for a flat with enough available rooms and then each book your room at the same time. 

The rent you pay for all accommodation in the BU accommodation portfolio includes the following:

• All utilities (gas, electric, water and sewerage)

• Internet / Wi-Fi

• ResLifeBU (a team providing a safety net for welfare/wellbeing issues as well as a varied and inclusive calendar of social events/activities to help you settle in and build a strong community throughout your stay)

• Personal possessions insurance through Endsleigh. Visit their site to check:

  ✔ What is covered
  ✔ Key exclusions and limitations
  ✔ Your policy excess
  ✔ How to make a claim, extend and personalise your cover.

  It is important to find out exactly what you are covered for as you may find that the contents cover is not sufficient and you need to extend it to protect all of your possessions both inside and outside of your room.

• And whilst booking your room you will also have the opportunity to book your 12-month BU bus pass worth £295 (Also see below for "Do I have to pay for an annual bus pass when I book my room?" ). 

The annual pass gives unlimited travel on all UNIBUS services (U1, U2, U3 & U4) as well as all Morebus services within their Zone A network. A network map can be found at the Morebus passenger website (pdf 352KB).

If you don't need the bus pass, you can opt out of it when before you book your accommodation, or you can cancel it within the first term (see our Academic dates web page for details). For more information about the bus service check out the UNIBUS web pages.

No, you don't have to include an annual bus pass in the price of your rent. You will have the opportunity to op-out of this before you confirm your room booking. However, most students find this to be a very useful addition as the pass provides you with unlimited use of the UNIBUS services for travel to and from campus as well as around the local area for non-academic activities. 

You will get a 12-month BU bus pass. The annual pass gives unlimited travel on all UNIBUS services (U1, U2, U3 & U4) as well as all Morebus services within their Zone A network. A network map can be found at the Morebus passenger website (pdf 352KB). 

If you decicde you don't need the bus pass, you can opt out of it when before you book your accommodation, or you can cancel it within the first term (see our Academic dates web page for details). For more information about the service check out the UNIBUS web pages.

Your password must be ten characters long and include at least one upper case letter, lower case letter, base 10 digit (0-9) and non-alphanumeric character (¬`!\"£$%^&*()-_=+{}[]:;@’~#<,>.?/|\;}).

A number of flats are for single sex occupancy. When you log into the online accommodation portal, you will be able to see the ratio of male to female residents. You should change your room preference to ‘yes’ against Single Sex and therefore will only be able to choose a room in a flat that specifies all male or all female.

There are also non-gendered rooms available for you to select. 

What is a Guarantor?

A Guarantor is a person who agrees to secure or ‘guarantee’ your tenancy agreement or contract. The Guarantor effectively takes on many (or all) of the commitments of the tenancy agreement or contract. In other words, if you sign a tenancy agreement, the Guarantor will be responsible for fulfilling many of the terms of the agreement if you do not.

The main obligation that the Guarantor is taking on is rent. What this means is, if you don’t pay your rent, the Guarantor will be required to pay it. Depending on the tenancy agreement, it can also mean that the Guarantor is liable for other costs, such as damages.

Do I need a Guarantor?

It all depends on which accommodation you book. If you book a room in Dorchester House, Student Village, St John's or a Unilet property then BU is the landlord and you do not need a Guarantor. If you book a room at any of the other halls of residence you will need a Guarantor. For non-UK based students, some of the partners will accept an International Guarantor. You can see the full breakdown of which accommodation requires a UK based Guarantor and may take a non-UK based Guarantor on our Accommodation Price Guide.

BU is unable to act as your guarantor. If you are struggling to find a suitable guarantor then there are private companies who, for a fee, offer services for students in need or a guarantor (and/or referee); Housinghand and RentGuarantor are both organisations that offer these services (please note: BU is in no way affiliated with these companies and students who choose to use these services do so at their own risk).

If you have any further questions regarding your accommodation please contact us:

Tel: +44 (0)1202 969696
Email: [email protected]