Ultimate Student Guide to Nottingham
Not sure where to live next year? Get opinions from real students about the area.
View GuideStudent areas in Nottingham
Student accommodation in Nottingham
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen. Nottingham is much more than just the legend of a hooded man stealing from the rich; it’s a thriving city, absolutely heaving with art, history, culture and caves. You read that right – caves. With two unis, plenty of nature, a bustling city centre and more independent creativity than you can even begin to imagine, Nottingham is a fantastic place to study, and we’re here to help you find the perfect place to enjoy it.
Why use UniHomes?
We’ve been helping students find accommodation in Nottingham since 2020, so it’s safe to say we’re experts on the Nottingham scene. We work with 20+ Nottingham letting agents to showcase the city's best student houses, flats and halls from across the market in one convenient place. Simply filter by number of rooms, area and price to find your next student home - and remember, with UniHomes, bills are already included in the price! That's one less thing to worry about.
Nottingham student housing market: trends explained
It's no surprise that Lenton is traditionally Nottingham’s most popular student suburb - with the University of Nottingham just around the corner and Nottingham Trent University a mere 30-minute walk away, it’s handy for students of both unis.
Located near Nottingham Castle and Nottingham Canal, Lenton also boasts cafés and restaurants aplenty, and the drinking options aren’t too shabby, either (check out The Organ Grinder for a proper pub experience, complete with a quiz on Mondays). Lenton offers a great mix of student housing, from 1-bed student flats up to 6-bed student houses, making it a great option for any Nottingham student.
While Arboretum's greenery and great choice of 1-4 bed student flats and houses has seen it overtake the city centre in popularity, the heart of Nottingham remains a popular place to live. The centre offers a great retail scene alongside characterful bars like Pitcher & Piano, a cocktail venue that's nestled in an elegant old church and filled with Instagrammable stone archways and glass windows.
Beeston owes its popularity to its proximity to the main UoN campus, and it's also home to the Beeston Crawl, a (you guessed it) pub crawl consisting of well over 20 venues. Highlights include the Beeston Social (an oh-so-popular cocktail bar) and The Crown (a warm and welcoming old-fashioned pub). West Bridgford rounds out the top five areas, offering views of the River Trent and easy access to NTU.
No matter where you choose to live, Nottingham’s extensive public transport network means you’ll never be far from the action, whether that be uni or the shops.
Student life in Nottingham
Nottingham is a city with plenty of past and a whole lot of present to enjoy, offering a great mix of history, culture, creativity and nightlife to make your student experience truly unique. Let’s start with the bit you won’t expect – the caves. Nottingham has the UK’s largest network of underground caves, with over 800 man-made caverns hidden right beneath the city centre. It’s truly bonkers.
It’s safe to say that Nottingham truly takes advantage of these caves. From subterranean tours via the city’s museums to underground paintball at The Alley, exploring this dark part of Nottingham's history has never been easier. There are even loads of bars built into these; see Hand & Heart and Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem for traditional pub experiences, or head to the secretive The Lost Caves for a cavernous gin bar hidden away beneath Nottingham’s streets.
Nottingham has managed to maintain Purple Flag status both above and below ground, making it one of the safest cities in the UK for a night out. So whether you’re headed to Canalhouse (an old pub with an actual canal running through it) or Rock City (Nottingham’s most legendary live music venue, having hosted the likes of Oasis, The Smiths and David Bowie), you can feel safe and secure in knowing that you’re safe and secure.
Of course, a lively nightlife isn’t all that Nottingham has to offer. As England's Home of Sport, Nottingham is famed for its football and hockey teams alongside the many state-of-the-art facilities that come hand-in-hand. Pop over to West Bridgford to see Nottingham Forest play or to visit the huge National Watersports centre, or give rock climbing a go at The Depot in the city centre. No matter your preference or skill set, there’s a sport for you in Nottingham.
To find out more about student life in Nottingham, check out UniHomes Brand Ambassador (and current Nottingham student!) Uwa’s day-in-the-life video.
Did you know?
Not only has Nottingham given us one of the most notorious English folklore figures in history, but it’s also played a pivotal role in creating one of the most recognisable British institutions of the modern era: the iconic, the inimitable, the incomparable pub chain J. D. Wetherspoon. That’s right, Spoons’ very own founder Tim Martin graduated from the University of Nottingham, having studied law (did that come as a surprise to anyone else?).
Read more about student life in Nottingham
Want a deeper look at what it's really like living in Nottingham as a student? Check out our ultimate guide to student life in Nottingham.
And dive into the best posts by our Nottingham Content Ambassador and current NTU student George Okonkwo:
- Nottingham's top independent restaurants for students
- Most Instagrammable places in Nottingham
- Student guide to Radford
- How to spend your summers in Nottingham
- Best alcohol-free activities for Nottingham students
What students in Nottingham say about using UniHomes
Trustpilot user Agnes says:
"The best website for cheap student accommodation. The website is transparent. You can easily navigate what kind of room you're looking for with preferred locations and distances. To top it off, they highlight the cheapest and most affordable rooms for students, all of which include all bills. I haven't seen any other website that has rooms for this cheap. So please check this out. It's truly amazing."
Karishma says:
"Compared to other accommodation sites, the accommodation prices here are student-friendly, and also the details are quite clear. The floor view (amongst other aspects) is a great option to understand the housing facilities. Overall, it's a good choice for students."
Tolani says:
"It's really easy and straightforward to find exactly what you want."
Frequently Asked Questions
Searches for Nottingham student accommodation consistently peak in mid-November each letting season on UniHomes. While there will still be plenty of student housing left after Christmas, if you've got your eye on a specific area or property size, make sure to get in early enough to beat the competition.
The average pppw for Nottingham student accommodation for 2026-2027 advertised on UniHomes is £158. Remember, this price already includes utility bills as well as rent!
So far in the 2026-27 letting season, Lenton is the most in-demand area among Nottingham students on UniHomes. With an 18% growth in searches, Arboretum has overtaken the city centre into second spot from the 2025-26 season, while Beeston remains another popular option.
4-bed student houses are the most-searched student accommodation in Nottingham on UniHomes so far in the 2026-27 letting season, closely followed by 2-bed flats.
It was a similar story in the 2025-26 letting season, with 2-beds most popular, followed by 4-beds and 3-beds.
What students are saying about us
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