Student-led #HousingAdvice campaign shortlisted for 2017 Student Accommodation Awards

The student led

london/" target="_self">#HousingAdvice campaign has been shortlisted for the Innovation of the Year award at the 2017 Student Accommodation Awards.

Abigail Collier and Maya Abraham-Steele, both Communications Officers at UCL Accommodation and current UCL students, led the development of this campaign supported by the UCL Accommodation Student Experience team.

With advice for UCL students from UCL students and experienced housing professionals, the website covers everything a student needs to know about finding their perfect place, getting a good deal and settling in, from finding flatmates to fair contracts, from storage to personal safety.

Commenting on the development of the campaign, Abigail Collier said: 'Moving from halls to private accommodation was quite daunting. I wanted to share my experience with other students and create a useful resource to aid their transition.'

Following the launch earlier in the year, thousands of students have already visited the site. Students are finding the campaign extremely beneficial.

"I found the website extremely useful for looking at areas of London that would be within my price range. I think the legal aspect of moving into private accommodation is extremely important and it's hard to know what rights we have. The website outlined a lot of things that I did not know before. This made me feel much more confident about approaching landlords and asking questions about housing," said Ada Liebenau, a second year Chemistry student.

Abigail and Maya are currently working on phase two of the campaign, which will introduce more student led content and the announcement of new external partners. If you are a current student and would like to be involved in the campaign and share your experiences, please get in touch with Maya Abraham-Steele, Communications and Marketing Officer, UCL Accommodation.