Private accommodation

Many students look for private accommodation in St Andrews, either sharing with other students or by themselves.

You can use Studentpad, the University’s student accommodation search engine, to help you find student houses, apartments and lodgings in or near the St Andrews area. The website lists properties that are available to let directly from the landlords themselves and also includes additional information on how to rent and where to get information.

Properties on Studentpad are required to provide the University with copies of HMO licences, gas safety certificates, and landlord registration to ensure they meet minimum standards.

There is a Facebook group Get a room, St Andrews and the Students' Association also has useful private accommodation web pages including information on local letting agents as well as a guide on how to rent.

If you are a property owner find out about the University's direct leasing scheme.

If you are not covered by the University accommodation guarantee, you may wish to consider accommodation with one of the private providers.

This accommodation is not operated by the University and you will be signing a legally binding agreement with a private company.

The University is not responsible for the contents of the links below and has not carried out any checks on these accommodation providers.
There are several estate agents in St Andrews who let their properties out to students. Many of the estate agents release a list of all the available student properties for the upcoming year in late January or early February.

Contact the estate agents directly:

When looking for private property, location is one thing to consider. Not all students live in St Andrews. Some students prefer a more rural location, cheaper accommodation outside of the town, or city living in Dundee.

Below is a list of the commuting distances of the towns and villages close to St Andrews:

Town or village	Distance from St Andrews (miles)	Accessibility
Guardbridge (village)	4.72	Accessible by regular bus route.
Leuchars (village with train station)	5.91	Accessible by regular bus route.
Kingsbarns (village)	6.78	Bus times can be limited but are fairly frequent throughout the day.
Anstruther (coastal town)	9.37	Bus times can be limited but are fairly frequent throughout the day.
Crail (coastal village)	9.9	Bus times can be limited but are fairly frequent throughout the day.
Cupar (town in central Fife)	9.91	Accessible by regular bus route.
Dundee (city with two other universities)	13.02	Accessible by regular bus route.

When viewing a potential property, you should consider things like the state of the furnishings, whether there are enough bathrooms and toilets for the house, and if the bedrooms are equally sized or not.

You may want to speak to the current tenant (if you can) as they will be able to provide an picture of what it is like to live there (for example, is it cheap to heat, what the neighbours are like, and so on).

You should also ask the following questions:

What are the dates for the tenancy agreement?

Does it cover the academic year only or is the property for a whole calendar year? This can affect the suitability of the property as rent may be required for a period of time when it is unoccupied.

What is the rent per month and how is it to be paid?

Are you aware of the rent per month, and is the rent affordable? Rents can be payable either monthly or as lump sums throughout the year. The method of payment should also be considered such as debit or credit card and transaction fees. Rents are generally cheaper the further away you live from the town centre.

How much is the deposit?

It should not be more than the value of two months’ rent.

What utilities (if any) are included within the rent?

Utilities such as gas, electric, phone and broadband are not usually included as part of the rent. You should make sure you have the appropriate funds to pay for these every month, as well as other living costs.

Private accommodation

Private student accommodation providers

Private estate agents

Location

Viewing a property

Living outside St Andrews