Accommodation Service / How to List

How to list accommodation

Conditions for listing and disclaimer

The Accommodation Service will list your offer on these conditions:

We always reserve the right, in our absolute discretion, to not accept your request, or else to remove your offer of accommodation from our list at any time. We are under no obligation to disclose our reasons why.

Subject to our right not to accept your offer of accommodation, or to remove
it from our list, your offer of accommodation will generally be advertised
for 4 weeks only from the available date, after which time it will be
removed from our list of currently available accommodation.

We ask that you inform the Service if any details of the accommodation change, so that we can ensure the information we provide is accurate.

We ask that you advise the Service when the accommodation is no longer available.

Please note that the Accommodation Service does not provide screening of students. You may wish to seek references from potential tenants in order to satisfy yourself concerning the person seeking accommodation, however you need to consider that many students have no prior rental history and my be moving out of home for the first time.

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General information

Our service is free of charge.

Everyone is able to use the Service to offer accommodation to students.

All students of the University of Sydney, international and local, use this service. The Service is not available to members of the general public to seek accommodation.

What sort of accommodation do students want?

  • For all students the cleanliness and security of the accommodation is very important.
  • Most students prefer share accommodation (their own room in a shared house or flat), because it tends to be the cheapest option, and provides social opportunities.
  • Other students prefer to rent a studio or flat by themselves or with friends.
  • Some students prefer to live in a full board or homestay situation as they want to have their meals provided and are seeking a family-style living situation.
  • Some international students choose share or homestay accommodation because they want to have the opportunity to get to know local people and improve their English language skills.
  • Some students seek accommodation in exchange for work, as a way of reducing their living expenses while making a contribution to a household.
  • Some students, such as visiting international medical students or other international postgraduate students, need furnished, inexpensive, temporary accommodation close to their campus, for periods ranging from a few weeks to a few months.
  • See Types of accommodation for more detailed information about the various types of accommodation listed on the Accommodation Database. This includes estimated prices for the various accommodation types.
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Where do students want to live?
In general students prefer accommodation within walking distance or within easy access by public transport to their campus. For information about our campus locations go to: Campuses of the University of Sydney. If you don't get a response to your offer, it may be that students are able to find accommodation closer to their campus.

What can students afford to pay?
As students' circumstances vary, so too do their accommodation needs. Some students are able to afford accommodation at the higher end of the market, however most students prefer relatively inexpensive accommodation.

Do I need to furnish the accommodation?
There is a demand for both furnished and unfurnished accommodation, so it is your choice. International students, and students from outside the Sydney metropolitan area tend to prefer furnished accommodation.

What age group do students prefer to share with?
Although many students prefer to live with other students and young people, there are many students happy to share a home with mature people in established homes. This is particularly the case for mature-age or postgraduate students.

What time of year do students need accommodation?
Our service operates all year. Most students want to find somewhere to live before the start of their university year, so our busiest times are January, February and March for semester 1, and July for semester 2. A smaller number of students need accommodation at other times.

Does the Accommodation Service inspect my property?
We do not have the resources to inspect your property, and rely on the information you supply to us for accuracy. Therefore, we request that the information you provide is a true and accurate representation of the accommodation you are offering. Please also see Conditions for listing and disclaimer.

Can the Accommodation Service find me the "right" student?
The Accommodation Service does not find students for your accommodation. It is up to the student interested in your offer to contact you via phone or email directly and arrange to meet you and inspect the room/property. You will need to interview the potential housemate/tenant and decide yourself if they are a suitable candidate.

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Types of accommodation listed

The categories of off-campus accommodation listed on the Accommodation Service database include:

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Process for listing accommodation and contact details

In order to list your accommodation we will need to ask you a series of questions to get details about your offer.

This is done over the telephone and takes about 10 minutes. Alternativelly, there ia list of these questions can be emailed to you. We ask that the information you provide is a true and accurate representation of the accommodation being offered.

The information is put onto the Accommodation Database which students of the University access either by visiting the Accommodation Service or, if you agree, via the University of Sydney Intranet. The Intranet is an internal network of the University which students access using their personal security code.

Subject to our right not to accept your offer of accommodation, or to remove it from our list, your offer of accommodation will generally stay on our database for 4 weeks from the available date.

If you have not found a suitable housemate or tenant within 4 weeks and would like to keep your accommodation listed, you are able contact the Service and request this.

Otherwise, after 4 weeks the listing will be removed from our list of currently available accommodation, but the information remains stored on the database. This means the listing can be re-activated, if you wish to offer the accommodation again in the future.

The information you provide is available only to students of the University of Sydney, who will be provided with your first name and telephone number, and the details about your household. For your security, we do not provide your surname or the street number of the advertised accommodation, so initial contact from the student/s will be by telephone. It is up to you to decide, when telephone contact is made, whether you would like to offer the student an appointment to meet you and to inspect the accommodation.

We ask that you let us know as soon as the accommodation is taken so we can discontinue the advertisement.

Please telephone on 02 9351 8686 Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm or e-mail us on E-mail: The Accommodation service is open all year.

Our office location:
Room 726, Level 7, Education Building A35,
University of Sydney NSW 2006

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Information about your legal rights and responsibilities as a landlord or in share housing

Share housing
The Share Housing Survival Guide is a helpful resource for people living in share accommodation. It provides information about your legal rights and responsibilities, things to consider when meeting prospective housemates and to ensure household relationships run smoothly, how to set up a house and what you can expect it will cost.

Rights and responsibilities as a landlord or tenant under The Residential Tenancies Act
The Office of Fair Trading
Renting Services
Level 4, 234 Sussex Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: 02 9377 9100
Freecalls for: Tenancy 1800 451 301
and Rental Bonds 1800 422 021

Tenants Union
The NSW Tenants Union website includes an on-line copy of the very helpful "Tenants Rights Manual" as well as "Tenants Facts Sheets" giving clear information about topics such as starting a tenancy, paying a bond, boarders and lodgers, sharehousing, how to give notice, etc.

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How do I comment on, compliment, or complain about the Accommodation Service?

You can talk or write to the Accommodation Officers or the Head of Equity Support Services. If this does not resolve your concerns you can contact the Director Student Administration and Support or, if appropriate, the Staff and Student Equal Opportunity Unit.
Anything you have read on this website may be followed up with the Accommodation Officers who will be happy to discuss any questions or issues you have.