From horror housemates to absentee landlords, there’s an endless list of things that students hate about their accommodation...
Updated: 29 Apr 2025
Living in student accommodation, whether it's university owned halls of residence, private halls or a student house/flat can be some of the best times of your life.
But it's not all fun and games and you'll be lucky if you don't find something about your accommodation to moan about.
Student Furniture have compiled a list of the top things most students hate about their accommodation. Can you relate?
What’s worse than an overall lack of furniture in your accommodation? Furniture that’s older than you are.
Cracked leather sofas, 90s wallpaper, and carpets that look old enough to enjoy a drink – no student wants to find these in their accommodation. Especially when you consider how much wear and tear furniture in student accommodation is put through.
Old mattresses also deserve a mention here. You know the ones we mean: full of springs and seemingly designed as torture devices rather than surfaces to sleep on. Or, as you'll find in halls – mattresses covered in plastic, which makes a weird crunchy sound every time you turn over!
Whether it’s for work or leisure, we are a generation glued to our devices, and we all know the familiar dread of the internet connection dropping halfway through your latest Netflix binge. No student wants to live somewhere with an unreliable WiFi connection, especially if you want to study from the comfort of your bedroom rather than having to use the campus computer rooms and you've got a deadline to meet.
Rent prices are going up, and along with that, so are students’ expectations. Annoyingly, a double bed is still seen as a “luxury” addition in some halls rather than a standard. Bed preferences aside, in student housing most people tend to use their bedroom as a social space, and trying to cram all your friends onto a single bed for movie night is not ideal.
The cause of kitchen cupboard wars amongst many students living in shared accommodation; a lack of storage spaces is an inconvenience both in communal and personal areas. There is nothing worse than living with strangers and then having to have the awkward “my cupboard, your cupboard” conversation, or trying to solve the mystery of your disappearing milk.
Outside of halls, finding somewhere close to university and to the local nightlife can prove a difficult task. No student wants to endure a 45-minute bus ride first thing on Monday morning – or any day of the week, for that matter. Of course, as the location of your accommodation gets more central, your rent tends to go up – as well leaving you with two options: either commit to a longer commute, or pay up.
Anyone who has ever lived in student accommodation can relate to this. Whether it’s the party animal, the food thief, or the one who seems to have a phobia of washing up, we have all had what we consider a hellish housemate.
Although living with people from different walks of life is one of the great things about student accommodation, you might find that you don’t end up getting on with everyone you live with. Thankfully, most halls now have Facebook groups where you can see who you’ll be sharing with, which makes it easier to spot any red flags.
You know the one we mean. When you view the accommodation, your potential landlord seems friendly, assures you he’s always in reach if you need anything, and goes on about how much his previous tenants liked him. Then, the second your boiler breaks or your WiFi router dies, he is nowhere to be found. Like a modern day Houdini, he pulls a disappearing act so good you’d be impressed if you weren’t so frustrated.
Next:
Beatrix Matyas writes for Loft Living, providers of stylish, high-quality furniture for student accommodation.