Every university is different, which is why it is worth reading your accommodation guide before spending anything. But some patterns hold across most UK halls.
Usually provided
- **Bed, mattress, desk, chair, wardrobe, shelving.** Always.
- **Waste bin and recycling bin.** Nearly always.
- **Curtains or blinds.** Nearly always.
- **Kettle and toaster in the shared kitchen.** Common in self-catered halls, and often prohibited in bedrooms.
- **Microwave, oven, hob, fridge, freezer.** Standard in a shared kitchen. You get a shelf or a labelled section of fridge.
- **Desk lamp.** Sometimes. Roughly half.
- **Mattress protector.** Occasionally, but often thin and worth replacing.
Almost never provided
Bedding of any kind, towels, crockery, pans, cutlery, laundry equipment, a drying rack.
The bed size trap
UK halls beds are usually **single (90x190cm)** or **small double / three-quarter (120x190cm)**. A standard double duvet set will not fit either. Small double is the one people get wrong most often, because high street shops rarely stock it — check your guide and buy for the size you actually have.
The thing to actually do
Find the PDF your university sent you, and read the section headed "what is provided" and the section headed "prohibited items". It takes ten minutes and it is the difference between buying a second kettle and not.