The Glasgow School of Art

If you have decided not to live in The Glasgow School of Art's Halls of Residence or have not been offered a place, then you may wish to look for accommodation in the Private Sector. This is usually housing rented out by independent landlords. This could mean living on your own, sharing with a number of other students, or living in the landlord's own home. Glasgow also has an excellent choice of commercially run student accommodation that you may wish to consider.

We can provide general information about Glasgow and some of the areas that you might consider living in.

Finding somewhere to live is a combination of hard work, persistence and determination on your part. Be prepared and plan your strategy. The following guides are primarily for those who are new to Glasgow and flat hunting, and provides useful information to help you:

• Accommodation Guide
• Top Tips for virtual property viewings
• Viewing/moving in checklist
• Looking for a GSA flatmate
  

Email welfare@gsa.ac.uk for further information

Please note, the private sector accommodation market is currently very challenging across Glasgow (and many other cities in the UK) at present.  There is a shortage of private sector accommodation in the city and this has led to an increasingly competitive and expensive market in the areas where students traditionally choose to live.  Students are advised to search the market every day, book as many viewings as possible and be ready to pay the rental deposit when a suitable property becomes available (see guide above for info on safely securing a property).  It is also recommended that students broaden their search area tolook further out from the City Centre/West End or to look for accommodation outside of Glasgow. Glasgow is a small city and has a large population of students, it’s very easy to get around with great transport links throughout the city and beyond.


GLASGOW TRANSPORT LINKS:

Student concessions on buses, coaches and trains

If you are a young person under the age of 26 years, or older but in full-time education, then you may be able to get travel discounts on certain coach and rail services:
https://www.firstbus.co.uk/greater-glasgow/plan-journey/students

If you are under the age of 22 and living in Scotland you may be eligible to apply to travel by bus for free:
https://www.transport.gov.scot/concessionary-travel/young-persons-free-bus-travel-scheme/#overview

Glasgow ScotRail: For rail travel within or out with Glasgow, you could buy a Young Person’s Railcard for £30 and reduce the cost of most UK travel by up to 1/3. Anyone between 16 and 25 (or mature students aged 26 or over and in full time education) can apply for these cards: Student railcard. One of the main things to watch with this card is it cannot be used before 10am on weekdays.
ScotRail:  https://www.scotrail.co.uk/   

The Glasgow Subway
Although there is no actual student discount, you may be able to make some savings via Smartcards and Zonecards.   
Subway: https://www.spt.co.uk/travel-with-spt/subway/


STUDENT WELFARE PRIVATE ACCOMMODATION ZOOM DROP-IN SESSIONS:

Student Welfare are hosting Zoom drop-in sessions to discuss finding accommodation in Glasgow.   Sessions will provide info & advice around navigating your search, answer questions and discuss any current difficulties with finding accommodation in Glasgow. Unfortunately we're not able to provide or advertise accommodation in the sessions. 

These sessions are run on a drop-in basis so there is no need to book in advance.

If you would like to join the sessions you can use the following links: 

Monthly on Tuesdays at 1pm (UK time)

 4th April, 2nd May, 30th May, 27th June, 25th July, 22nd August 2023

 Join Zoom Meeting

https://gsa-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/94336987998?pwd=ZWFYcUNOM2dDemcxY3ZUQ1BZWHZhQT09Links to an external site.  

Monthly on Thursdays 3:30pm (UK time)

 20th April, 18th May, 15th June, 13th July, 10th August, 7th September 2023

 Join Zoom Meeting

https://gsa-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/93304235546?pwd=ZzhjeUFLbW5zd3ZtYmNwNXRQdWlXUT09Links to an external site.  

For private accommodation advice and guidance please contact welfare@gsa.ac.uk