Understanding student living costs

Students studying at university or college can have different living costs depending on where and what they will be studying, their lifestyle and any financial commitments they might have.

Student Space offer advice and support to all, including information on where to find extra funding to help with your living costs and budgeting tools. Why not check out their guidance on how to create a budget to find out what your living costs at university or college might add up to?

If you’re unsure about what additional costs may be involved as a result of your studies, you should ask your university or college for more information. Examples could include:

• accommodation costs – such as rent

• travel

• course materials

• food and drink

• utilities – such as gas and electricity bills

Find out what Student Finance you could get as a minimum and maximum in the 20232024 to 20242025 and 20242025 to 20252026 academic years.

What you could get as a minimum

Student Finance England (SFE) provide a Maintenance Loan to help you with your living costs. All eligible students can get the basic non-income assessed minimum amount of Maintenance Loan to help with these costs. The minimum amount you can get is:

Living arrangements	20232024 to 20242025 academic year	20242025 to 20252026 academic year
Living with your parents	£3,597£3,790	£3,790£3,907
Living away from your parents, outside London	£4,524£4,767	£4,767£4,917
Living away from your parents, in London	£6,308£6,647	£6,647£6,855

What you could get as a maximum

If you apply for student finance based on your household income then you may be entitled to even more Maintenance Loan to help with your living costs.

For example, full-time undergraduate students with a household income of £25,000 or less would get the maximum additional Maintenance Loan. Students with a household income above £25,000 would get a lower amount of loan based on their household income.

The tables show some examples of what the difference is between the maximum Maintenance Loan and the amount you could get based on your household income.

20242025 to 20252026 academic year

Living with your parents

Household Income	Maximum Maintenance Loan	Amount available to you	Difference from maximum
up to £25,000	£8,610£8,877	£8,610£8,877	£0
£45,000	£8,610£8,877	£5,716£5,897	£2,894£2,980
£58,307£58,349	£8,610£8,877	£3,790£3,907 (only eligible for minimum amount)	£4,820£4,970

Living away from your parents, outside London

Household Income	Maximum Maintenance Loan	Amount available to you	Difference from maximum
up to £25,000	£10,227£10,544	£10,227£10,544	£0
£45,000	£10,227£10,544	£7,304£7,532	£2,923£3,012
£62,347	£10,227£10,544	£4,767£4,915 (only eligible for minimum amount)	£5,460

20232024 to 20242025 academic year

Living with your parents

Household Income	Maximum Maintenance Loan	Amount available to you	Difference from maximum
up to £25,000	£8,400£8,610	£8,400£8,610	£0
£45,000	£8,400£8,610	£5,576£5,716	£2,824£2,894
£58,291	£8,400£8,610	£3,698£3,790 (only eligible for minimum amount)	£4,702£4,820

Living away from your parents, outside London

Household Income	Maximum Maintenance Loan	Amount available to you	Difference from maximum
up to £25,000	£9,978£10,227	£9,978£10,227	£0
£45,000	£9,978£10,227	£7,125£7,304	£2,853£2,923
£62,343	£9,978£10,227	£4,651£4,767 (only eligible for minimum amount)	£5,327£5,460

There are different rates for students living in London and for other circumstances such as if there are other students living in your household, you’re in your final year of your studies or if you get benefits. Use the student finance calculator to get an estimate on the amount of Maintenance Loan available to you based on your specific circumstances.

Making up the difference

Students are expected to make up the difference between the Maintenance Loan amount available to them and their total living costs.

Financial support may be provided by the student’s parents or partner. But there are several other sources of funding available for students who don’t have access to household support, or for students who need more funding because even the maximum Maintenance Loan available isn’t enough. These could be:

• part-time employment

• savings

• university bursaries and scholarships

• Local Authority support such as the Higher Education Bursary

You can find more information about some of the alternative sources of funding and guidance on how to budget for university our cost of living page.