Updated February 2026
Starting from the 2025/26 Academic year, Imperial introduced a revised rent framework for undergraduate halls of residence to support fair access to accommodation while ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of our halls.
At Imperial, we are committed to offering a high-quality undergraduate halls experience that delivers good value for money in London. We are also supporting students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, ensuring they can study and thrive at Imperial. We aim to keep our undergraduate accommodation competitively priced within the London market, alongside one of the most generous bursary schemes in the sector.
Imperial aims to operate its undergraduate halls on a financially sustainable, break-even basis, which means rental income must cover the cost of delivering and maintaining the halls, to avoid diverting resources from other activities.
To support this, we have set out a planned overall rent adjustment of approximately 24%, phased over a three-year period to reduce the immediate impact on students.
Rental rates are reviewed periodically to ensure they remain fair, competitive and reflective of rising operating costs, including wages, maintenance, utilities and insurance. These reviews include consultation with Imperial College Union (ICU).
Our rent framework explains how rents are set across different room types and locations, providing clarity on how pricing decisions are made.
The rent framework
- Group A – Priced with affordability in mind, aligned with sector guidance around maintenance loan levels. These bedspaces are intended to support students with the greatest financial need. Currently, approximately 38% of undergraduate bedspaces fall within this group.
- Group B – Forming the largest proportion of our accommodation (approximately 54%) these bedspaces are priced with reference to comparable university accommodation in London.
- Group C – premium bedspaces (approximately 9%) priced in line with comparable market options.
The proportion of rooms in each group and the precise rental levels are updated annually to reflect demand and costs.
There are sufficient lower-cost rooms to support students receiving an Imperial bursary, and we continue to work with Imperial College Union to review allocation processes to ensure fairness and transparency. In the 2025/26 academic year, 92% applicants received one of their allocation preferences.
While ICU do not endorse rent increases, we are grateful for their constructive engagement throughout the process.