The London School of Sound does not provide accommodation for students, but we can help out and give you advice on where to look. A good place to start is the University of London’s website, http://housing.london.ac.uk/cms/. Here you’ll find a list of agents specialising in low-price student housing, short-term accommodation and general advice. To check out the location of a potential property go to www.streetmap.co.uk, while www.tfl.gov.uk will show you how well connected the area is to public transport. Remember, London is an expensive city but there’s plenty of cheap accommodation out there!

Short-term accommodation

The cheapest kind of short-term accommodation available in London is a hostel, which usually provides a one-room dorm set-up. One of the best hostels is the centrally located Piccadilly Backpackers www.piccadillybackpackers.com. For a list of other hostels, www.studenz.com provides excellent information for overseas students.

Hotels and guesthouses tend to be more expensive.
Ones to try are the Elena Hotel in Essex Road close to the School www.londonnethotels.co.uk/Elena_Hotel.htm, and the Lincoln House Hotel www.lincoln-house-hotel.co.uk.

Slightly more expensive but providing excellent quality in a vibrant location situated close to the School are the Jury's Inn and the Holiday-Inn Express. To search a wider range of hotels go to www.londonhotelsinc.com.

You may also want to consider staying with a host family, as these have less restrictions on the period you have to stay compared to rented flats. They also have the option of having meals with the family, and provide a more welcoming environment for newcomers to the city. Arranging host family accommodation can usually all be done online; try www.londonhostfamilies.com, www.host-family.co.uk/accommodation.html,
www.uk-homestay.com/index.html and www.britanniatravel.com/homestay.html.

Flatshares

If you’re intending to stay in London on a longer-term basis, flatshares are a good option as they usually work out cheaper than studio flats and you don’t always have to sign a fixed-length contract. One of the most popular flatsharing websites is www.gumtree.com, which contains ads from both students and young professionals. www.moveflat.com is also a good independent community for people looking for rooms to rent, while www.flatshare.com charges a low fee to reply to ads. The newspaper Loot is also a great source of private accommodation, and has an online format at www.loot.com.

Rented accommodation

Renting accommodation independently usually requires you to go through a Letting Agent, and you’ll be asked to sign a contract for a minimum of either 6 or 12 months. There will also be fees to pay to the Agent, including credit-check fees and admin costs, and it’s possible that a month’s rent will be requested in advance as a deposit. Websites like www.propertyfinder.com and www.findaproperty.com provide a searchable database of accommodation advertised through Letting Agents all in one place, so you don’t have to trawl individual sites. A list of agencies can, however, be found on the University of London’s website, http://housing.london.ac.uk/cms/.

Additional costs

On top of rent, if you’re living in a let property you will also probably have to contribute to utility bills and Council Tax. In some cases, these will be included in the cost of the rent, so make sure you find out before you sign a contract. Information on Council Tax and student discounts can be found at www.direct.gov.uk. You’ll also have to get a TV license if there is a television in the property, or else you may be fined. Go to www.tvlicensing.co.uk for details.

Buckingham Palace

Er... not really. But during the summer it's possible to buy a ticket to visit some of it, then go back home and compare the size of your garden with that of the Queen.