Accommodation room selection FAQs
Find answers to common questions about selecting your accommodation, including room availability, booking sessions, Campus and Partner accommodation, payments and what to do if you experience any problems during the room selection process.
For step-by-step instructions on selecting and booking your accommodation through the portal, including screenshots of each stage, download our guide.
Rooms are released in stages across the different booking sessions. This gives students in each session fair access to the available accommodation.
Popular rooms can be selected very quickly. A room may also be temporarily unavailable while another student completes their booking. If the contract for the booking is not downloaded and accepted within 15 minutes, the room may become available again.
Not necessarily. We do not release every room during the first room selection session.
The number released in each session is based on:
- The proportion of eligible applicants,
- The rooms available across the accommodation portfolio and
- Students’ campus of study.
This helps us release a fair proportion of rooms at Cyncoed and Plas Gwyn during each session.
Campus rooms are very popular and may be selected quickly. If no campus rooms are displayed, you should consider the partner accommodation available to them.
As locations start to fill , the number and range of rooms available will reduce.
The portal can support a limited number of students at one time. Separate sessions help us manage demand and give students fair access to the rooms available.
A proportion of rooms is released for each session. Students invited to a later session are not simply left with whatever remains after the first session.
In some cases, where rooms are not fully booked from a previous session, these rooms will be available during a later session.
No. The accommodation guarantee means that eligible students, who meet the terms of the Accommodation Guarantee will be offered suitable accommodation.
It does not guarantee a particular building, location, room type or room preference.
The accommodation offered may be in Cardiff Met campus halls or with one of our approved accommodation partners.
The accommodation application records your preferences and eligibility. It does not reserve a room.
Room selection gives eligible students more choice. It allows you to view information about the accommodation currently available before deciding where you would like to live. This is also usually quicker than waiting for the Accommodation Team to allocate and send individual offers.
Some students, including those who require a particular room or specific adjustment, are considered separately. They may receive a room offer through our manual allocation process.
Your room selection-invitation gives you an opportunity to select from the accommodation available during your session. A particular room, room types or location cannot be guaranteed.
It is important that you log in during your allocated session. If you cannot take part, or experience a technical problem, please contact the Accommodation Team.
Partner halls form an important part of Cardiff Met’s accommodation portfolio. They are managed by established student accommodation providers and offer purpose-built student rooms.
All partner hall locations are accessible by public transport to either campus.
All our partner halls offer Cardiff Met exclusive flats, so you can be sure you’ll be living with other Cardiff Met students.
The location, facilities, contract arrangements and prices vary, so you should read the information provided before making their selection. View further information on our website: Partner Halls | Cardiff Metropolitan University
Please do not worry. Please contact the Accommodation Team to explain your circumstances and ask for a new session. We will aim to fit you in to a later session to complete your booking.
Check your emails regularly, including their junk or spam folder. Room-selection invitations include the date and time of your session.
If you have access to the internet, you should be able to log in using a phone or tablet to access the Accommodation portal. It takes an average of 10 to 15 minutes to complete the process fully.
If you cannot take part or have missed it, please contact the Accommodation Team to request another session.
Only applicants who are currently eligible to book will receive an invitation.
If you have a conditional course offer, you may not become eligible until your place at Cardiff Met is confirmed following your results. Invitations will then be sent to eligible applicants in line with the Accommodation guarantee and our allocation priorities.
Please also:
- Check your junk or spam folder
- Check the email address you used for your accommodation application
- Log in to the Accommodation portal and check your portal messages (copies of emails sent from Accommodation can be found in your messages folder)
- Make sure you have completed and submitted your accommodation application
Room availability changes while a booking session is open.
A room may be temporarily held while another student completes the contract stage. If they do not complete it within the permitted time, the room may return to the available list.
Logging out and back in does not guarantee that more rooms will appear. Do not repeatedly refresh the portal while completing a booking as this could interrupt your session.
You should:
- Check that you are using the correct Cardiff Met login details.
- Try a using another device such as laptop, tablet or mobile phone.
- Take a screenshot of any error message.
- Contact the Accommodation Team, giving your student number and details of the problem.
You will not be disadvantaged where a verified technical problem prevented you from using your room-selection session. We will review the case and extend or rearrange the session where appropriate.
We are aware that a small number of students have experienced difficulties, including login problems or pages not loading.
We recommend that you follow the login instructions below to ensure ease of access to the Accommodation portal:
To log in please use your Student (ST) Number and Password (this is included on university correspondence/emails) STXXXX@outlook.cardiffmet.ac.uk
In order to enhance the security of your account, you'll need to register for Multi Factor authentication (MFA). This will involve you periodically using your phone as a secondary form of authentication. Please visit: https://library.cardiffmet.ac.uk/help/mfa where there are full instructions and a video guidance on how to set up authentication using particular devices.
If you have forgotten your password, please visit: Password Management
Most students have completed their booking successfully. Students experiencing a problem should take a screenshot and contact us so that we can investigate their individual booking.
Any technical issues will be investigated fully with our provider.
Alcohol-free and low-stimulation rooms should only be shown to students who selected the relevant preference in their accommodation application.
If your booking shows a community profile that you did not requests, please contact the Accommodation Team. We will check your application and booking and, depending on availability, we may be able to offer an alternative.
Do not try to pay again or begin another booking.
Contact the Accommodation Team immediately and include your name, student number and any screenshots you have.
We will check your payment and booking records as a priority.
Email: accomm@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Please include your student number in your email.
Telephone: 029 20 41 6188
Business Hours: Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.
We aim to respond within two business days. Booking or payment problems affecting an apparently completed booking will be prioritised.
We receive a high number of calls during peak periods. If our telephone lines are busy, please email us including your student number and details of the problem.
We appreciate your patience if all our lines are busy, we experience high call volumes at peak times and aim to respond as quickly as possible.