78% selected 6+ months before. 11% selected i left it to the last minute; 6% selected 3–6 months before; and 6% selected 1–3 months before.
How all 18 respondents answered
Respondents selected one answer from four options.
Percentages are based on the published response counts. Where whole-number percentages are shown, totals may differ slightly from 100% because of rounding.
Accommodation searching starts early for most respondents in this poll
Six months plus dominates
Fourteen respondents selected 6+ months before.
Last-minute searching is uncommon
Two respondents said they left their search to the last minute.
The middle windows are small
One respondent selected 3–6 months before and one selected 1–3 months before.
Housing decisions can begin long before move-in
Starting six or more months ahead may reflect pressure to secure the right combination of price, location, property type and housemates before preferred options disappear.
Early searching can also mean students make housing decisions before they know exactly how their finances, friendships or study plans will develop, which makes clear information on contracts, deposits, bills and cancellation terms especially important.
How to report this poll accurately
Keep the response base and indicative audience label attached to the headline finding.
How this poll was recorded
- Question
- How far in advance do you start looking for student accommodation?
- Responses
- 18 total responses
- Date recorded
- 7 August 2026
- Collection
- Instagram Stories
- Evidence label
- Indicative first-party Unifresher audience poll
This is an audience poll rather than a population survey. It is useful as a snapshot of the respondents who took part and should not be described as representative of every UK university student.
Questions readers ask next
What was the most common answer?
78% selected “6+ months before”, making it the largest answer in this poll.
How many respondents chose the top answer?
14 of 18 respondents selected “6+ months before”.
What was the second most selected answer?
11% selected “I left it to the last minute”, equal to 2 responses.
Is this representative of all UK students?
No. This is an indicative Unifresher audience poll with 18 responses, not a nationally representative student survey.
How should this result be reported?
Keep the 18-response base, collection date and indicative-audience label attached to the finding.
Explore more student attitudes
Cite this poll
Unifresher poll, “How far in advance do you start looking for student accommodation?”, 18 responses, recorded 7 August 2026. Unifresher Data Hub.
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