With lots of students in big friendship groups rushing around house hunting for next year, it can be a stressful time for those who might not have yet found a group they want to live with.

If you haven’t, don’t worry; you’re not alone, and it’s actually still very early! There will still be plenty of bedspaces available come January, and there is lots of free support available for those looking on their own.

Here are a few pointers for you if you haven’t found a group of potential house mates, which should hopefully help you to relax and have a worry-free Christmas break:

• Firstly, it’s only December!

If you moved into a new flat with strangers in September, it’s not surprising if it turned out that you’re all quite different and you don’t fancy living with them again. 3 months is a very short amount of time to make close friends in a new city, so why not give it a bit longer?! There will still be plenty of choice after the new year and even into the Spring. Yes, the larger and more popular properties may have mostly been taken by that point, but there were still lots of Unipol’s own bedspaces available up until the summer this year, so you won’t be left with nowhere to stay.

• You can rent individual rooms in shared houses and flats

An option which you might not have known is out there, is the possibility of renting an individual room within in a shared house or flat. Unipol directly lets many of these, which you can view on our website here. Look for those with ‘Will let individually’.

This is a good option if you don’t have a group but also don’t want to live on your own. Where possible we always try to place better suited students in houses or flats together, ie. based on year of study, and the university you’re studying at etc.

• Your Students’ Union and Unipol can help

Mixers and house hunting events are a great way to meet new people and introduce yourself to others in a similar situation. Often small groups will also come along to find someone to fill a space in a house they’ve already found, or to replace someone who’s dropped out.

Unipol is holding a mixing event at the beginning of next term on 5th February 2020. You can book onto it here.

Your Students’ Union also might host similar events, so speak to the SU Advice Centre, or visit their website where they will have details of any upcoming events.

• Visit the Unipol Noticeboard

This is a really useful area of the Unipol website where students can advertise spare rooms in rented properties, or post if they’re looking for a group to share with. It’s free and easy to use and you don’t need to display any personal details unless you wish to. Take a look here.

So now you know that there’s no need to panic to get it sorted before Christmas, enjoy the break and try not to stress! 🙂