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Nottingham guide

The high-stakes guide

Where to Live in Nottingham

Lenton, Dunkirk, the city centre or Beeston? What a room in a shared house costs on Unipol’s figures, and what the rules that changed on 1 May 2026 mean for you.

Rents checked 10 Oct 2026 · Unipol’s averages per person per week, with bills (at least electricity, gas, water and internet) and, in brackets, without; weighted by adverts on its own site, leaving out one- and two-bed homes and purpose-built blocks, with no period or sample size given. Unipol’s page was last updated on 26 June 2026. There’s no official figure for Radford or Clifton, and Sneinton isn’t listed. For comparison, NTU’s own accommodation is £98.84–£230.16 a week in 2026/27, bills and internet included, and rooms in the University of Nottingham’s Access to Affordable Living scheme are £139–£199

  • Lenton

    £129 (£113 excl. bills)

    Orange 34, 35, 36 and Pink 28, 30, 31 buses · free 906 hopper on term-time evenings

    A lively, student-heavy area close to the University of Nottingham, with a strong social atmosphere and Wollaton Park and Highfields Park for green space, says Unipol; the city centre is about a 30-minute walk. Lenton & Wollaton East ward is in the council’s selective-licensing scheme (some or all of it), so check whether a one- or two-person let needs a licence.

    Wrong forLight sleepers: Unipol’s own words are lively and student-heavy.

    Best for: University Park, by bus or the free evening hopper.

  • Dunkirk

    £121 (£104 excl. bills)

    Right next to University Park, says Unipol

    Quieter than Lenton but still very student-friendly, says Unipol, and right next to the University Park campus. With bills, it’s the cheapest of Unipol’s five areas. Check on the council’s map whether a one- or two-person let here needs a selective licence.

    Wrong forNTU students: Unipol says they more often choose the city centre or the Arboretum.

    Best for: walking to University Park.

  • City centre

    £133 (£123 excl. bills)

    NTU’s City campus · tram and bus links

    Unipol calls it ideal for NTU students, with excellent tram and bus links, and with bills it’s the dearest of its five areas. The average leaves out purpose-built blocks and one- and two-bed flats, so it says nothing about studios, and Unipol doesn’t say where its city centre ends. Castle ward is in the council’s selective-licensing scheme (some or all of it).

    Wrong forTight budgets: once bills are in, it’s the most expensive of Unipol’s areas.

    Best for: NTU’s City campus.

  • Arboretum

    £125 incl. bills

    About 5 min walk to town · Turquoise 77, 78, 79 buses and the tram

    A peaceful area about five minutes’ walk from the city centre, for students who want quieter surroundings, says Unipol, and NTU students often choose it. Unipol’s figure without bills is only £2 lower, against £10 to £26 in its other four areas: too small a gap to rely on, so it isn’t given here. Hyson Green & Arboretum ward is in the council’s selective-licensing scheme (some or all of it).

    Wrong forUniversity of Nottingham students who’d rather not take a bus or the tram to lectures.

    Best for: NTU students who want quieter streets.

  • Beeston

    £125 (£99 excl. bills)

    Orange 36 or the tram to University Park · 906 hopper on term-time evenings

    A mix of students and professionals with a strong community feel, says Unipol. It has the lowest rent of Unipol’s five areas before bills, but bills add the most here, £26 a week, so with them it’s £4 more than Dunkirk. Beeston is in Broxtowe, not Nottingham City: only houses of five or more sharers need a licence, and council tax goes to Broxtowe.

    Wrong forAnyone relying on licensing: in Broxtowe, a house of three or four sharers doesn’t need one.

    Best for: the tram to University Park.

  • Radford

    No published figure

    Pink 28, 30, 31 buses

    On the Pink Line, which the University of Nottingham lists for Lenton, Radford and Wollaton. Unipol lists Radford as a search area but publishes no average rent for it, and there’s no official figure. Radford ward is in the council’s selective-licensing scheme (some or all of it), so check whether a one- or two-person let needs a licence.

    Wrong forAnyone who wants a benchmark before a viewing: there’s no published average rent for Radford.

    Best for: the Pink Line to campus.

  • Clifton

    No published figure

    Navy 4 to NTU’s Clifton campus · Navy 1, 3, 4, Grey 53, 54 and the tram

    For NTU’s Clifton campus, which NCT serves with the Navy 4. Unipol publishes no current average for Clifton. No Clifton ward is named in the council’s selective-licensing scheme, but the citywide licence for three or more sharers still applies.

    Wrong forStudents at NTU’s City campus or the University of Nottingham, who’d face a bus or tram ride every day.

    Best for: NTU’s Clifton campus.

The five traps

Each one costs students real money, every single year.

  1. Being rushed into signing. The University of Nottingham says there’s no shortage of housing and no need to rush: if a landlord or agent says you’ll miss out, ignore them. A landlord who signs you up more than six months before you move in can’t use Ground 4A to take the house back for the next group, so Unipol expects houses to be reserved with a holding deposit instead, capped at one week’s rent.

  2. Paying more than a month’s rent up front, or a deposit of more than five weeks’ rent. Since 1 May 2026, no rent can be taken before you sign and at most a month in advance after, and a deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent. Some local advice pages haven’t caught up.

  3. Signing for a house that should be licensed and isn’t. Anywhere in Nottingham, three or more sharers from two or more households need a licence, and in parts of 15 wards so does a let to one or two people. Check the address on the council’s MyProperty map, which also shows applications still in progress. If a licence is missing, you can apply for up to 24 months’ rent back.

  4. Assuming Nottingham’s rules apply in Beeston. Beeston is in Broxtowe, which licenses only houses of five or more sharers, so a three- or four-person house there needs no licence. Check which council a house is in: it’s also the one you ask for the council tax exemption.

  5. Paying council tax you don’t owe. An all-student house is exempt, and the University of Nottingham and NTU send the city council lists of their students. Check your course counts, though: GOV.UK says it must last at least a year, Broxtowe at least 24 weeks, and the city council an academic year with at least 24 weeks of study, all with 21 hours a week. On a course shorter than a year, ask the council first.

Your rights

What changed on 1 May 2026, from the official pages. For shared houses and flats: purpose-built blocks run under an approved code have their own rules.

  • No rent can be taken before you sign, and at most one month’s rent in advance after you do. Landlords must advertise a price and can’t take higher bids. GOV.UK

  • A holding deposit is capped at one week’s rent for the whole house, and the tenancy deposit at five weeks’ rent. GOV.UK

  • Your deposit must go into a government-approved protection scheme within 30 days. If it doesn’t, a court can order up to three times the deposit on top. GOV.UK

  • New private tenancies have no fixed end date: you can leave with two months’ written notice, and rent can go up only once a year. GOV.UK

  • Landlords of shared student houses can take a house back for the next group between 1 June and 30 September (Ground 4A), but only if they told you before the tenancy started. GOV.UK

  • A household of full-time students doesn’t pay council tax. GOV.UK

  • Anywhere in Nottingham, a house shared by five or more people from two or more households needs a mandatory HMO licence. Nottingham City Council

  • Since 1 January 2024, additional licensing has covered every house in multiple occupation in Nottingham, so a house shared by three or more people from two or more households needs a licence anywhere in the city. The scheme runs to 31 December 2028. Nottingham City Council

  • In some or all of 15 wards, including Lenton & Wollaton East, Radford, Hyson Green & Arboretum, Castle, Dales and St Anns, a privately rented home needs a selective licence even when it’s let to one or two people. The scheme runs from 1 December 2023 to 30 November 2028: check an address on the council’s MyProperty map. Nottingham City Council

  • Licensed shared houses are on the council’s public register, an extract of which is published monthly. Applications still being processed aren’t on it, but you can check them on the MyProperty map by postcode. Nottingham City Council

  • A landlord who lets an unlicensed shared house can face a civil penalty of up to £40,000, and up to 24 months’ rent can be reclaimed by the tenants or the council. Nottingham City Council

  • Since 11 March 2012, turning a family home into a shared house for three to six people has needed planning permission anywhere in Nottingham. Nottingham City Council

  • Beeston is in Broxtowe, which runs only the national mandatory scheme: a licence is needed for five or more people from two or more households. Nottingham’s licences for three or four sharers, and for one- or two-person lets, don’t apply there. Broxtowe Borough Council

  • Since 26 March 2022, turning a house into a shared house for three to six people has needed planning permission in parts of Beeston and Beeston Rylands. Broxtowe Borough Council

  • In Nottingham, a home where every resident is a qualifying student is exempt from council tax. The University of Nottingham and NTU send the council lists of their students, so if you’re at either, contact its Council Tax office to apply; students elsewhere need a certificate from their university or college. Nottingham City Council

  • In Beeston, Broxtowe Borough Council exempts a house where every resident is a full-time student; its application forms are on its students page. Broxtowe Borough Council

  • If you’re a student, the Nottingham Rental Standard recommends renting a property accredited under one of Unipol’s Codes; its site links to Unipol’s list of members. Nottingham Rental Standard