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Mature student, moving for uni with a pet cat

Hello!

I am applying for the 2026 intake to study Speech and Language Therapy. There are no universities in my local area for this so I will have to move away regardless, however am 27 and independent with no support (ie. partner/family). I have my lovely 7 year old cat who I have had since she was a kitten and am distraught at the thought of possibly needing to find her somewhere else to live to fulfil my uni dreams.

Has anyone had success in affording and securing pet friendly accommodation while they study? I am looking at Reading, Plymouth, Chichester, Leeds and Essex as my choices. I have minus levels of interest in going into halls, but just conscious that I don't think I will be able to afford a privately rented studio/flat...... advice would be welcomed!

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Student halls is certainly a no, I've never heard of student halls allowing pets. As you're not keen on those anyway you can probably just rule that out altogether to start with.

So outside that probably the tricky bit is that, if you're looking to live in shared private rental you a) need to find a shared rental where the landlord is happy with both students and pets b) find a shared rental where your flatmates are also happy to live with a cat and c) that you are comfortable with said flatmates living with your flat (as if you aren't confident they won't accidentally let your indoors only cat out or similar, that could be a problem).

It's not impossible but obviously it's a real convergence of different things you need to look for, which makes it much harder and will limit your choices for both where to live and who to live with considerably.

Living by yourself will probably simplify a lot of those matters because then you can remove the entire flatmate element from the equation so it's just about finding a landlord that's happy to take a student with a pet for a studio or 1 bed flat or similar. Of course, this adds a higher financial burden so that's worth considering.

I would recommend looking at what the rental markets and cost of living in each of those areas are budget against what your expect sources of funds would be. You would most likely be entitled to the maximum maintenance loan and possibly some bursary from your uni as being over 25, your student finance will be assessed only against your own income and with where the thresholds sit I think it would be hard to not get the maximum loan if working only part-time (if at all), which is the likely scenario (since working full-time while doing a full-time degree seems unlikely!). This may help offset some of those rental/living costs.

In this scenario then your decision on which uni to go to once you receive your offers might be significantly driven by the financial element...!

Reply 2

EssexStudentRep

Official Rep

Original post

by linzik

Hello!
I am applying for the 2026 intake to study Speech and Language Therapy. There are no universities in my local area for this so I will have to move away regardless, however am 27 and independent with no support (ie. partner/family). I have my lovely 7 year old cat who I have had since she was a kitten and am distraught at the thought of possibly needing to find her somewhere else to live to fulfil my uni dreams.
Has anyone had success in affording and securing pet friendly accommodation while they study? I am looking at Reading, Plymouth, Chichester, Leeds and Essex as my choices. I have minus levels of interest in going into halls, but just conscious that I don't think I will be able to afford a privately rented studio/flat...... advice would be welcomed!

Hi @linzik👋

Hope you are well. Unfortunately, we are not pet friendly in our accomodations so you will not be able to bring your cat but I do recommend having a look at private houses instead and checking with them. There is support with student finance so do have a look at them to check that you are eligible and they can help with housing costs and hopefully that will ensure you can bring your cat with you 😊

Essex Student Rep - Lavanya 💜

Reply 3

ringi

From May private landlord will find it a lot harder to object to pets in rental home (not flats or per room HMOs), I expect Leeds with have the cheapest homes to rent. See if you can find two people to share with, or look at Spareroom.com for groups wanting an addation tenant.

Reply 4

ringi

It you can quality for a mortgage based on your current job (no need to tell them your plans) then buying home and having two lodgers can work out well.

Reply 5

UniofReading

Official Rep

Original post

by linzik

Hello!
I am applying for the 2026 intake to study Speech and Language Therapy. There are no universities in my local area for this so I will have to move away regardless, however am 27 and independent with no support (ie. partner/family). I have my lovely 7 year old cat who I have had since she was a kitten and am distraught at the thought of possibly needing to find her somewhere else to live to fulfil my uni dreams.
Has anyone had success in affording and securing pet friendly accommodation while they study? I am looking at Reading, Plymouth, Chichester, Leeds and Essex as my choices. I have minus levels of interest in going into halls, but just conscious that I don't think I will be able to afford a privately rented studio/flat...... advice would be welcomed!

Hi there @linzik ,

It is great to hear that you are considering Reading to study Speech and Language Therapy! 🙂

As far as I am aware, the University does not allow pets in any buildings or properties, including university accommodation. This information can be found on our website here.

If you do have any further questions, I would suggest that you reach out to our very friendly accommodation office who will be happy to inform you further or answer any questions. They can be contacted here

I hope this helps and do let us know if you have any more questions about studying or student life at Reading!

All the best,
Millie 🙂
BSc International Development

Reply 6

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

Original post

by linzik

Hello!
I am applying for the 2026 intake to study Speech and Language Therapy. There are no universities in my local area for this so I will have to move away regardless, however am 27 and independent with no support (ie. partner/family). I have my lovely 7 year old cat who I have had since she was a kitten and am distraught at the thought of possibly needing to find her somewhere else to live to fulfil my uni dreams.
Has anyone had success in affording and securing pet friendly accommodation while they study? I am looking at Reading, Plymouth, Chichester, Leeds and Essex as my choices. I have minus levels of interest in going into halls, but just conscious that I don't think I will be able to afford a privately rented studio/flat...... advice would be welcomed!

Hi,

Most, if not all, student halls don’t allow pets, so that’s usually not an option. However, you could look for private rented flats or house shares with others who are happy to have pets. It’s also worth starting your search early, as pet-friendly properties can be limited, especially near universities.

Hope this helps,

Tayba
Student Rep