Settling Into Your New Student Home

Now that you’ve moved out of your old student accommodation (using our 10 tips for moving house as a student, of course), it’s time to actually settle into your new place.

But knowing where to get started and what to do can be pretty overwhelming, especially when you’re surrounded by a million and one cardboard boxes. To give you a hand, we've put together a list of things to keep in mind when moving in.

How to settle into your new student home

1. Document your accommodation 📸

This one’s easy to forget amidst the hustle and bustle of moving in, but it’ll come in handy later: take photos of each room in your new student house, making sure to document any existing damage that you come across before the deadline given to you by your letting agent.

Take time to go through the inventory, too, and note down any issues you have with the condition of the property or any furniture it came with.

Doing these things will help protect your deposit later on when it comes to moving out, and it also helps your landlord to know what (if anything) needs sorting straight away.

2. Start unpacking 📦

It might seem obvious, but one of the first things that should be on your to-do list when moving in is unpacking all of your stuff.

You don’t have to worry about doing everything in one go, though, otherwise you’ll soon burn yourself out. Our top tip is to focus on prioritising the necessities first, like making the bed – you could even make a “first night box” with your toothbrush, toiletries, charger, and a change of clothes in it, so that way you don’t have to rummage through loads of boxes immediately.

3. Make your house a home 🪴

Need a way to break up the monotony of unpacking? Decorate your new room! Not only is decorating an easy way to step back from putting all your belongings away, it’s perfect for making your new place feel more like home.

Put up some fairy lights and photos for instant personalisation (avoiding any Blu Tack or pins that’ll damage your walls and cost you your deposit), and grab a plant or two and plenty of cosy bits like cushions and blankets.

If you’re stuck on where to get started, check out our blog post on 7 renter-friendly ways to decorate your room, and give our post on the easiest houseplants for students a read.

4. Get to know your house 🏠

Save yourself from stressing later by checking out all the essentials. Use this time to find out which days your bins go out, give your smoke alarms a quick test to make sure they’re in working order, and find out where things like the thermostat, boiler, stopcock and fuse box are; you’ll be grateful you did all this should there ever be a power cut or a leak.

Our blog post on what you need to know about heating your student home can help you with any questions you have about how your thermostat works, and you can always contact your letting agent for advice.

5. Take your meter readings ⚡

Make sure you send your moving-in meter readings to your utilities provider as soon as possible to help ensure your tenancy is stress-free from day one – doing this means that there’s a record of what utilities the previous tenants used, so you can’t be over-charged.

Not sure how to take your meter readings? Here’s our guide to reading your gas and electricity meters for everything you need to know (and if you haven’t actually got your bills sorted yet, get a quote for UniHomes’ utilities packages here!)

6. Life admin ✅

Don’t be the kind of student who forgets to register with the GP or dentist – you’ll likely regret it later if you don’t sort this out straight away. Plus, it only takes a few minutes.

It’s also sensible to update any billing addresses to your new place, and to update your bank that you’ve moved house (after all, you don’t want your post going to your old accommodation!).

7. Explore the local area 🗺️

There’s no time like the present to get to know your new neighbourhood. Scout out the nearest amenities (i.e. the shops, pharmacies, parks, gyms and, of course, pubs), and get to know what buses are running nearby and when.

A good idea is to get your bearings in relation to uni, as well. Take a trip to campus and see how long the journey takes you, so that way you know ahead of time the best and fastest ways to get to and from your lectures.

8. Sort out housemate living 💙

Whether your housemates are people you’ve lived with before or not, it’s nice to bond as a group with an activity like a house meal. You can all pitch in to make something easy and student-friendly (meal inspo, anyone?), and use it as an opportunity to set living expectations and cleaning rotas.

You can share what you guys are and aren’t willing to share, and you can even set up a kitty for communal things like washing up liquid – whatever works best for your house.

9. Time for a food shop 🍴

Get that first food shop out the way! Stick to a budget so that you don’t overspend, and see if your housemates want to chip in and share bits like milk and tea bags so that way you don’t end up with loads of milk bottles taking up space in the fridge.

Make sure you've all figured out which kitchen cupboard belongs to who first, though.

10. Home for the summer ☀️

If, after a few days, you’ve grown tired of adult life, the most obvious thing to do is to run home to the safe haven of your parents’ place. But remember to lock all doors and windows before you go, and set a reminder to bring your house key back with you when you return.

Our tips and tricks should make settling into your new student accommodation go smoothly, but if you've left finding your house to the last minute then search for your next home with UniHomes.