Service · Stays
Student housing and temporary stays in the UK, Canada, Australia and Germany
Start with your university’s accommodation office, then book a temporary place for your first nights so you can view long-term homes in person. Never pay a deposit for a place you have not seen or verified. StudentFlow searches temporary stays by city and dates and keeps the booking with your plan; it is not a letting agent and lists no long-term rentals.
Checked against official sources on
Stays at a glance
- Best for
- Students moving for a first term, newcomers house-hunting in person, professionals on assignment and families visiting.
- Choose by
- How long you need it, how much you want to be tied in, and what you can verify before you pay: university housing, a hotel or serviced apartment as a bridge, or a private rental once you are there.
- Check first
- Who the landlord or operator is, what the monthly cost includes, how the deposit is held, and the cancellation terms.
- Pairs with
- A flight that lands on your check-in date, an airport transfer to your address and a local eSIM so you can message the host.
Who needs this?
Student
Your university’s accommodation office is the first stop: halls and approved providers, with deadlines that can come early. Book a temporary stay for the first nights so a missed deadline does not leave you stranded.
Newcomer
A furnished temporary stay gives you an address on arrival and time to view homes in person. Tenancy rights depend on your province, so read your provincial page before you sign anything long term.
Professional
Hotels, serviced apartments and extended-stay apartments suit assignments. Ask for a booking confirmation you can forward to your employer, and check whether your employer already arranges housing.
Parents & family
Parents visiting a child can book a hotel or serviced apartment near campus with space for luggage. Check access, lifts and sleeping arrangements with the operator before you pay.
Traveller
For a city break, a hotel is usually the simplest booking. Compare the cancellation terms and what is included, and check the neighbourhood and distance to the airport.
How it works, step by step
Ask your university first
Most universities run an accommodation office or list approved private providers. Check their page and deadlines before anything else, because halls can fill early. Newcomers and professionals can ask a settlement agency or an employer what help exists.
Decide what you need now
Separate your first nights from your long-term home. A temporary stay gives you a base and time to view places in person; a long-term tenancy is a contract you read carefully once you are there.
Search in StudentFlow
Enter a city, check-in and check-out dates, the number of guests and a type: student housing, hotel or serviced apartment. The city and your travel date are prefilled from your plan when you have them.
Compare packages
Each result shows the partner, what is included, the price and the cancellation terms. Stay packages have fixed lengths, so StudentFlow tells you when a package is longer or shorter than your dates and that check-out follows the package.
Book and keep the details
Tick the partner terms and pay. You get a booking reference, the move-in date and what to bring, and the matching task in your plan is ticked off. The booking stays in your orders.
Check in, then find the long-term home
Photograph the room when you arrive. For a longer tenancy, use your university’s advice and the official tenancy pages below, and work through the checklist here before you pay any deposit.
What StudentFlow does for you
- Searches temporary stays by city, dates, guests and type (student housing, hotel or serviced apartment), and shows which package is closest to your dates.
- Prefills the search from your plan and says plainly when a package is longer or shorter than the dates you asked for.
- Shows the partner, what is included, the price and the cancellation terms before you pay, and labels every partner as a demo partner in this preview.
- Keeps the booking reference, move-in date, address and what to bring with your orders, and ticks off the matching stay task in your plan.
- Adds housing tasks to your plan, including shortlisting places and a reminder never to send a deposit for a place you have not verified.
- Is not a landlord or a letting agent: it does not list private long-term rentals or give legal advice about a tenancy.
What to check first
- You have checked your university’s accommodation page and any application deadlines.
- You can name the landlord or operator, and you have verified them independently of the listing: through the university’s list, an official register where your country has one, or a video tour of the actual address.
- You know what the monthly cost includes: utilities, internet, furniture, cleaning and any fees.
- You know how the deposit is held and returned and have it in writing. Rules differ by country and region, so read the official tenancy page for where you will live.
- The contract or booking terms are in writing, and you have read the notice, leaving-early and cancellation terms.
- You are paying through the method named in the contract, not to a personal account or through a link sent in a chat message.
- You have the address, check-in time and what to bring (passport, offer or permit papers, booking reference) saved offline.
Common mistakes
- Paying a deposit or rent for a place you have not seen, to a landlord who is “abroad” or too busy to show it.
- Choosing by photos alone, or trusting a listing whose price is far below similar places.
- Signing before reading how notice, deposits and extra charges work, or assuming your home country’s tenancy rules apply.
- Booking a temporary stay that ends before your long-term contract starts, leaving a gap.
- Paying by a method that cannot be traced or reversed because the seller insists.
- Skipping photos of the room’s condition on check-in, which are your evidence when the deposit is returned.
Official sources
We link the official page for anything regulated, with the date we last checked it. Rules change, so confirm there before you pay or submit anything.
- GOV.UK: private rentingTenancy types and what to expect when renting privately in England.www.gov.uk
- GOV.UK: deposit protection schemes and landlordsHow tenancy deposits are protected in England and Wales.www.gov.uk
- Ontario: renting in Ontario, your rightsThe province’s own guide for tenants.www.ontario.ca
- British Columbia: residential tenanciesTenancy information from the BC government.www2.gov.bc.ca
- Alberta: residential tenanciesTenancy information from the Alberta government.www.alberta.ca
- IRCC: renting a home in CanadaFederal newcomer guidance on renting, with pointers to your province.www.canada.ca
6 more official sources
- NSW Government: renting a place to liveTenancy information for New South Wales. Each Australian state has its own rules.www.nsw.gov.au
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: rentingTenancy information for Victoria.www.consumer.vic.gov.au
- Queensland Residential Tenancies AuthorityTenancy information for Queensland.www.rta.qld.gov.au
- Scamwatch: buying and selling scams, including rental scamsAustralia’s scam reporting service describes the signs of fake rental listings, which look the same in any country.www.scamwatch.gov.au
- DAAD: student dormitory finder (Germany)Student halls across Germany. For binding details, ask the local Studierendenwerk or your university’s international office.www.daad.de
- Make it in GermanyThe federal government’s portal for living and working in Germany. Its deeper pages sit behind a bot check that we cannot verify automatically, so we link the front page only.www.make-it-in-germany.com
Stays: common questions
Should I book accommodation before I arrive?
Yes, at least for your first nights. Book a temporary place you can verify, such as university housing, a hotel or a serviced apartment, so you arrive with an address and a base for viewing long-term homes in person. Leave the long-term contract until you can see the place and read the terms.
What is the difference between student housing, a hotel, a serviced apartment and a private rental?
Student housing is built for students, often with fixed terms. A hotel suits short stays with a reception and daily terms. A serviced or extended-stay apartment adds a kitchen and space for longer visits. A private rental is a tenancy contract with a landlord, with rights and duties set by local law, and is usually arranged once you are in the city.
How do I know a landlord or listing is genuine?
Ask for a viewing or video tour of the real address, search the address and the person’s name independently, ask your university’s accommodation team, and check any agent against the official register where your country has one. Be cautious if the owner is abroad, the price is far below similar places or you are pushed to pay quickly.
Can I pay a deposit before I see the place?
It is safer not to. Fake listings often ask for a deposit or rent before a viewing, and money sent to a personal account is hard to recover. Ask for a written contract, confirm how the deposit is held under local rules, and pay only through the method named in that contract, once you have verified the place.
Where can I find official tenancy rights for my country?
Rules differ by country and region. Our official links cover England and Wales, the Canadian provinces of Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta, the Australian states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, and student halls in Germany through DAAD. Your university’s accommodation office can point you to the rules for your city.
What should I check in a tenancy agreement?
Check who the parties are, the start date and length, the rent and what it includes, the deposit and how it is returned, notice rules, rules on visitors and repairs, and what happens if you leave early. If a clause is unclear, ask in writing, or ask your university’s advice service, before you sign.
Does StudentFlow list long-term rentals?
No. StudentFlow helps you book a temporary base and plan the long-term search with checklists and official links. It does not list private rentals, act as a letting agent or give legal advice about a tenancy.
Is booking through StudentFlow real?
In the current preview, stay search and booking run on demo partners, so no real room is reserved and no real money moves. When live accommodation partners are connected, this page will say so and show who provides the stay, its address and its cancellation terms.
Keep going
Guides that help
Student accommodation abroad: the basics
Halls, private blocks, shared flats and homestays all work differently. Learn how to compare them, what to ask before paying and how to spot scams.
VerifiedFinding a home in Canada: tenant basics
From temporary housing to a lease: how renting works in Canada, what landlords may ask, tenant rights by province and how to avoid fake listings.
VerifiedExtended-stay housing for assignments
Hotel, serviced apartment, short-let or tenancy for a longer assignment: what differs, which terms to read and how to avoid paying for the unverified.
VerifiedStudy abroad scams: red flags and what to do
Fake offers, visa guarantees, fake rentals and impersonation calls target students. Learn the red flags, how to verify, and where to report.
VerifiedLine up your first stay with your flight.
Tell us where you are going and when. We show the housing steps, the dates and the services around your first nights, so nothing gets booked in the wrong order.
Free to plan. No card needed. Not legal or immigration advice.