The cheapest is not always the best. It’s just the cheapest. There is no such thing as a good deal on a ten-by-four-foot room that smells of your Uncle Boris and is simultaneously running as a re-homing programme for the local neighbourhood's man-eating rats. It’s far better to fork out a little extra each month for somewhere you’ll be able to sleep, study and just kick back and relax, without losing a limb. If you can’t, you’ll only end up more miserable and no better off, because you’ll be constantly be paying for the bus to the library and for food and drink when you get there.

When choosing a place to live, sniff about like a dog in a meat-packer’s. Try talking to someone who’s lived there before or is living there now, just to get an idea of what you will be getting for your money. Ask about any hidden costs (such as a heating system that uses fuel but seems incapable of producing heat) and get their opinion on how well – and how quickly – the landlord sorted out any problems they’ve had with the house.

This is another advantage of living in. Universities tend to look after their tenants better than most landlords and it’s easier to find out the problems up front and (usually) easier too to get something done about them.

If you’re living out, the more people you share with, the more the cost of the bills can be spread and the smaller your own proportion of the rent. There is the danger of increased tension amongst housemates, but more people can also mean that tensions are spread more thinly.

A huge factor in the amount of rent you actually pay is how long you’re there:

Find out if you have to pay rent during the holidays. Most privately owned, off-campus accommodation requires that you do, but university digs usually have 30 to 38 week contracts that match the length of the terms.

Don’t rent over the summer break, unless you absolutely have to. You could slog your guts out all summer, working for Peanuts (the local cornershop) only to see most of your wages disappear on rent.  By not renting for more than the nine months of the year that you actually need, you might save yourself more than £600.

Private landlords are likely to want some of your cash over the holiday, but it’s worth asking for a summer reduction (try for at least half price) if they don’t offer one. And if you do have to pay rent over the holidays, there is nothing to stop you staying there and finding work rather than going home, though a better option might be sub-letting to cover the costs then work at home instead.

Calculate what accommodation is going to cost you over the year, before saying yes to any landlord or hall. Multiply the weekly or monthly rent by how long you’re actually going to live there and add appropriate amounts for anything that’s not included (such as bills or furniture).

• Renting and housing
• Dosh drains: where the money goes
• Choosing housing: what to consider

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