Where to Live in Birmingham

There are many areas of Birmingham for students to live, but here are some of the more popular locations where students tend to live.

City Centre - B1-B5

There are many advantages to living in the city centre. Being close to your university campus and the vibrant social scene can be the biggest draw into the city for students. The choice of large purpose-built student developments located in the city has increased rapidly over the last few years. Rent levels are a premium in the city centre in accommodation types with typical average rents of around £150 per person per week for a en-suite bedroom in a purpose-built private student accommodation block.

Hockley and Hamstead - B19

Located on the fringe of the city centre and is a 20 to 40 minute walk to the city centre campuses or a short 10 minute bus ride. Accommodation in this area is largely traditional terraced housing and flats with mixed dwellings of local residents and students. The area is popular with students wishing to live within close proximity to the city centre at lower rent levels, which are around an average of £85-£95 per person per week.

Edgbaston - B16

The second largest student community with a mixture of City South students, University College Birmingham and Aston University students as well as BCU’s city centre campuses. Particularly popular with City South students due to its proximity to the campus. Mostly comprising terraced houses for groups of 4, 5 or 6 students with weekly rentals either side of the £100 per week mark. Some landlords offer ‘all-inclusive’ of rents and often summer rents are discounted (typically half rent for July and August).

Bordesley, Saltley and Small Heath - B10, B8, B11

Located to the east of Birmingham’s city centre and ideally suited to BCU’s city centre campuses. These are the fastest growing student accommodation areas since the opening of BCU’s new Curzon Building in 2015. Home owners and accommodation providers in these areas are quickly discovering that there is a sizable student demand for houses in these areas and are slowly catching up with the likes of Edgbaston. This means that the number of properties available is still limited and the areas are predominantly non-student residential families. Rents are around the £100 per week mark which means that for a short walk (or even shorted bus ride) you have a much cheaper option the city centre purpose-built student accommodation in private halls.

Harborne - B17

This area is considered to be one of the nicest locations in Birmingham and is ideally suited to BCU’s City South campus or anyone on placement at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Generally house prices are higher than other parts of Birmingham meaning that you should expect to pay more for your rent. Although it is still possible to find houses to rent for groups under £100 per week, you will find that the majority of the better properties are £105 per week or higher.

Selly Oak - B29

The highest concentration of student accommodation in Birmingham due to University of Birmingham being on the doorstep. However this does tend to push the rents up to and over the £100 per week mark with no reduction for the summer rent making Selly Oak one of the higher priced houses in Birmingham. Most properties are terraced style houses which have been converted to accommodate groups of between 4 to 7 people. A number of BCU students like to live in Selly Oak due to the large number of other students living in that area, however you need to take into consideration the distance from the main BCU campuses. For example it is 5 miles to the city centre which will involve catching either a bus or train, or cycling to get to your lectures.

Moseley - B13

Moseley has a bohemian feel to it with regular music festivals and farmers’ markets. Easy bus routes into the city centre and offers some student accommodation, in traditional properties. Not known as a key location for students to live, more families and young professionals, but certainly an area to be considered.

If you are having difficulty finding suitable accommodation, or have some specific requirements, please contact the office by email or call us on 0121 202 4696