King's houses all its undergraduates for the full three or four years of their course. Roughly half of the undergraduate rooms are based on the main college site, and the rest are in 'hostels' (blocks of student rooms), which are a few minutes' walk from the College.
The undergraduate rooms cover a wide range in terms of size, shape, age, and rent. All have a bed, a desk, a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, bookshelves and a reading lamp. Some also have an easy chair and coffee table. Many rooms have the cosiness, interesting shapes and features associated with old buildings.
Some of our rooms are very old, with the full complement of all the features you would expect: mullioned windows, beautiful views, uneven floors, interesting architectural features, and quite often several flights of stairs to the nearest loo and bathroom! Most have their own washbasin, and some of these are 'sets' which are two rooms (a bedroom and a sitting-room or study).
On the other hand, some rooms are very modern – such as those in Old Garden Hostel and Keynes, which were refurbished in 2021. Most of the more recently built rooms have their own shower room. All rooms have toilet and bathroom facilities in fairly close proximity, as well as some shared kitchens.
Most buildings have either shared kitchens or 'gyp rooms' (rooms where snacks can be prepared). Kitchens are fairly simple, but have fridges and microwaves (some have cookers and ovens, but this depends on an ongoing fire safety review). In general, the hostels off the main College site have larger cooking spaces with full cookers, whereas rooms on the main site only have gyp rooms without cookers. In addition, some bedrooms have their own small fridges.
Some hostels have additional common areas where students can socialise or study. Hostels outside of the main College site have laundry facilities. For rooms in or adjacent to the main College site, there is a large, central laundry room. On the main College site there are also some music practice rooms, a large bicycle storage shed, and a small gym.
First-year students are allocated a room by the College Accommodation Officer during the summer vacation. You will be given a choice over two things: your preferred building and the length of lease. You can also specify if you wish to be guaranteed a room at the lower end of the rent scale. The Accommodation Officer will also take into account any students with special accommodation needs (such as disabled access). For 2024-25, first-year students will be allocated a room in either the Keynes building or Spalding Hostel. This changes from time to time according to circumstances. You will be living with other students studying a range of subjects.
The Keynes building is on the main site. It is very close to the main college facilities such as the canteen and bar. This building has 93 (en-suite) rooms, all of which are reserved for first-year students. Some rooms have views over Chetwynd Court. The building is equipped with newly refurbished kitchens.
Spalding Hostel is situated across the road from the King's College Porters' Lodge. This building has 51 (non-en suite) rooms over 5 floors. All rooms have access to shared modern kitchen and bathroom facilities on each floor, a large common room on the first floor and laundry facilities on the ground floor.
Around halfway through the academic year, students choose their rooms for the following year. First-year students are assigned a ballot position using a random number generator. This is the order in which they choose their rooms. The list is then reversed for the next year, so if you get a low ballot position when choosing your second-year room, you will have a high position for your third year. Third years always choose before second years. Groups of friends can enter the ballot together so they can choose rooms at the same time.
All undergraduate rooms are available on either a “short contract” (i.e. a 28/29-week lease, covering term time and a bit either side) or a “long contract” (i.e. a 35-week lease, running from October to June minus 2-3 weeks over Christmas). Some rooms are only available on a 28-week lease (because they are used for interview candidates at Christmas, and for school visits and conferences at Easter). Other rooms are available for rent either on a 29- or 35-week lease, so students are able to choose which length of contract they prefer.
Rents for rooms are set according to a new methodology which was voted for by KCSU, KCGS and Council in 2024.
The new methodology is based on a rolling 5-year average of CPIH (consumer price index including housing), with the intention of providing a predictable basis for students to plan. In periods of spiking inflation, the College will take on greater costs to protect student budgets. Increases produced by inflation spikes will also be spread across successive student cohorts, rather than place a heavy burden on those who happened to be in education at the time. This method is set until the next rent review in 2029.
Rents at King’s are then organised into six “bands”, ranging from cheapest (band 1) to dearest (band 6). The particular rent band that a given room falls into will depend on a set of criteria (recently refurbished, size, amenities, desirability, location etc.). We guarantee that undergraduate students can choose a room at a low rent band in the ballot if they wish.
For 2024-25, all 93 rooms in Keynes will be charged at band 4 and are only available on a short contract. The rooms in Spalding Hostel vary in terms of rent, between bands 1-5.
Students who take out long contract receive a 5% discount on their weekly rent compared with those on short contract, in recognition of the greater number of weeks rent to which they are committed. For undergraduates on short contract, band 4 rent (i.e. the baseline) is £1,917.00 per term; the cheapest rent (i.e. band 1) is £1,474.33 per term; the most expensive rent (i.e. band 6) is £2,212.00 per term. For undergraduates on long contract, band 4 rent (i.e. the baseline) is £2,168.33 per term; the cheapest rent (i.e. band 1) is £1,661.00 per term; the most expensive rent (i.e. band 6) is £2,506.67 per term.
King's College accommodation is accredited by ANUK.
