Choosing Melbourne student accommodation: campus, room type and terms
Check which campus your classes are at first, then the building name. One university can have several campuses, and from a city building to Monash Clayton you take a train, then a bus.
Key points
- 1Check which campus your classes are at
- 2Check the door-to-door route
- 3Room types: look at bathroom and kitchen
- 4Compare rent together with the term
- 5Get the full agreement before paying
1Which campus are your classes at? Check that first
The building name does not matter: what counts is how far it is from your classroom.
Campuses of the same university can be far apart. Monash University's Clayton and Caulfield campuses are about 8 km apart, with a free inter-campus shuttle, and the University of Melbourne's Parkville and Southbank campuses are a couple of kilometres apart, in different directions.
Two real examples from Yeeliving listings: Scape Berkeley 1 in Carlton is a 2-minute walk to the Parkville campus but 21 minutes to the Southbank campus. Realm Caulfield is a 6-minute walk to Monash's Caulfield campus but 10.8 km from the University of Melbourne's Parkville campus. A fine arts or music student with classes at Southbank who searches near Parkville ends up on the wrong side of town.
The minutes only count the walk to the edge of campus. Campuses are big, so once you have your timetable, save your usual building on the map and measure again. Yeeliving had no student accommodation listed near Deakin Burwood or La Trobe Bundoora on 3 October 2026; for those campuses, look at the university's own accommodation in the eight-campus guide.
| Campus | Areas to look at first | Yeeliving listings (walk to campus) | Weekly rent from |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Melbourne, Parkville campus | Carlton, Parkville (trams on Swanston Street run to the campus gate) | Scape Berkeley 1 (2 min), UniLodge Carlton (4 min), UniLodge Lincoln House (4 min) | 329–445 |
| RMIT University, City campus | North of the CBD, south of Carlton (walk, or trams on Swanston Street) | Scape Swanston (2 min), Scape La Trobe (2 min), Scape Franklin (3 min) | 369–459 |
| Monash University, Caulfield campus | Caulfield North, Caulfield East (walk, or Caulfield station) | Realm Caulfield (6 min), Caulfield Place (7 min) | 625–730 |
| Monash University, Clayton campus | Clayton (from the city: train to Huntingdale station, then bus 601) | Marshall Monash, Student Sanctuary Acacia (the operator says about 100 m from campus) | 540–560 |
| Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn campus | Hawthorn (Glenferrie station exits onto the campus) | Student Living - Vivida (3 min), Student Living on Riversdale (7 min) | 347–372 |
2How long is the trip each day? Check the route door to door
Do not estimate from straight-line distance: use the journey planner for your own route.
Say you have a 9am class on Monday at Clayton and live in the city: you take a train to Huntingdale station, then wait for bus 601 into the campus (Monash says the bus takes about 10 minutes), so you change once and wait twice. Living beside campus, that trip is a walk. For your own route, use the Transport Victoria journey planner: enter the building's street address as the start and your teaching building as the destination, choose a time an hour before your Monday class rather than Sunday afternoon, count walking, waiting and transfers, and check the trip home if you have evening classes.
Two universities give official times. RMIT groups addresses by distance from its City campus: within 3 km is a walk or a tram ride of at most 10 to 15 minutes, 3 to 7 km is about 15 to 25 minutes by public transport, and 8 to 10 km is about 20 to 35 minutes. La Trobe's Bundoora campus is in the north, and the university says the tram 86 takes 50 to 65 minutes from the city. Other universities give no minutes, so check yourself.
Once you have the route, work out the fares. Half-price fares end on 1 January 2027, and at 2026 regular fares travelling every weekday costs up to A$11.40 a day, about A$57 a week. Trams inside the city centre Free Tram Zone cost nothing, but the University of Melbourne's Parkville campus and Monash's campuses are outside it. For the full sums see what a month costs.
3Studio, ensuite or shared room: what is the difference?
The same name can mean a different fit-out, so use that building's own floor plan.
The prices are the middle half across the 137 room types Yeeliving listed on 3 October 2026, each at its lowest weekly price (mostly the 52-week term). One-bedroom suites have a separate living room and cost A$719–879 a week; there are only 4 of them, so they are not in the table.
The same name differs between buildings. A studio may come in one size in one building and several in another, and the number of people sharing an ensuite kitchen varies. Ask for that building's own floor plan and inventory list rather than inferring from another building of the same brand.
The room in the marketing photos may not be the one you get: bedding and decorations may not be included, and you need to ask which way the window faces, whether it is furnished and whether the washing machine is coin-operated or free. It helps to have them send you a video.
| Room type | What it usually is | Weekly rent from (A$) | Ask about |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared room (twin) | Two people share one bedroom, with an ensuite or shared bathroom | 370–405 | How the beds and desks are split, and how the other person is chosen |
| Room in a shared apartment, shared bathroom | Your own bedroom, with bathroom and kitchen shared with the rest of the apartment | 400–465 | How many people share a bathroom |
| Room with an ensuite | Your own bedroom and your own bathroom, usually a shared kitchen | 470–510 | How many people share the kitchen, and where the laundry is |
| Studio | Bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette all to yourself | 540–625 | How many sizes there are, and whether it is furnished |
4Beyond the weekly rent: what else costs money?
Check whether bills, laundry, parking and cleaning are included.
What the rent includes varies by building: some include electricity, water, internet and heating, and some even breakfast. Ask whether internet has a data cap and electricity a usage limit.
Laundry, parking and an end-of-lease cleaning fee may cost extra. The cleaning fee varies by building, and anything from A$130 to A$300 appears in Yeeliving listing data. It is annoying to find out at move-out.
Lease length and move-in date change the price too: for the same room, 26 weeks usually costs about 7% more a week than 52 weeks. To line up dates, terms and room types when you compare, see how much student accommodation costs per week.
5Before you pay: what to have in hand
A current written quote and the full agreement.
Student accommodation runs on the operator's own contract, not an ordinary residential tenancy, so any holding deposit, bond, cancellation and early-exit terms may differ from the bond rules for ordinary rentals. Before paying, ask for a current written quote and the full agreement, and ask where your money is held and how it is refunded.
Ask three things before you sign: if the visa is refused, can you get a full refund; if you leave midway, how is it worked out; and can you hand the room to someone else. Some operators write a no-visa-no-pay rule into the terms, and some do not.
If someone sends only a price card, no agreement, and pushes you to transfer money now, pause. Yeeliving's listing notes warn that some renters have lost money paying a whole year's rent at once, and say the partner buildings do not ask for the full year up front. If you are asked to, read rental scams first.
6A few cases where you should ask one more question
Under 18, evening classes, or wanting the university's own residence: each has its own question.
Under 18: a student visa needs a welfare arrangement, either approved by the school (CAAW) or a parent or guardian, so you cannot choose a place on your own, and the school or CAV should be asked whether you can sign a lease at all. Ask each building whether it accepts under-18s. The details are in can an under-18 student rent in Melbourne.
Evening classes: check the trip home separately, because a 10pm service is not the same as a 3pm one, and walk the last stretch from the stop to the building too. Entry control and CCTV are facilities, not a promise of safety.
The university's own residence: Monash, Deakin and La Trobe have accommodation on campus, with application rounds, so start from the university's website. For Monash, contracts starting in January or February 2027 opened for applications on 1 September 2026.
Not sure of your campus yet, or want to look at other options?
For areas near each campus and how long the trip takes, see the eight-campus guide; for what a building costs per week, see how much student accommodation costs per week; if you are weighing student accommodation, a share house and a whole rental, see how to compare the three. The adviser service for student accommodation is free.
Frequently asked questions
Is student accommodation more expensive than a share house or a whole rental?
The weekly rent is usually higher, but it often includes bills. In Yeeliving listings, the middle half of weekly rent for the entry room type in student buildings is A$392–538, against about A$350–435 for a room in a share house (whole-place rent ÷ bedrooms, estimated, bills extra). Add bills, laundry and daily fares and the gap narrows.
If the rent says all inclusive, can I ignore bills?
Ask what is included, whether there are limits and what is extra. Laundry, parking and an end-of-lease cleaning fee are extra in some buildings; in Yeeliving listing data the cleaning fee runs from A$130 to A$300.
Do entry control and CCTV mean it is safe?
They are facilities in the building, not a promise of safety. Ask who can enter, whether anyone is on duty at night and who to call, and walk the route home from your evening classes.
Can I live there just because the university name matches?
Not necessarily. Check eligibility, campus and room type, and if you are under 18 you also need to meet the school's and visa's welfare arrangements.
I am still overseas and cannot visit. What can I do?
Ask the operator for a video of the building, floor plans and the inventory list, and check the route to your campus. A Yeeliving adviser can also compare room types and routes with you, and the adviser service for student accommodation is free. Before paying, get a current written quote and the full agreement.
What if I move in and find it is too far from class?
It depends on the contract: moving rooms, leaving early and handing the room to someone else all differ between operators. That is why you ask before you sign.
Sources (checked 1 Nov 2026)
- Scape: Swanston
- Monash University: Accommodation
- Monash University: Planning your journey to campus
- Transport Victoria: Plan a journey
- La Trobe University: Getting to Bundoora from the CBD
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Knowing your rights when signing an agreement
- Department of Home Affairs: Welfare arrangements for students under 18
This guide summarises operator and university public information, official public data and Yeeliving listing data (3 Oct 2026). It is not legal advice and it is not a quote. The operator's contract applies to student accommodation; prices change with room type, term and move-in date, so rely on the current written quote. Walking minutes and weekly rents come from Yeeliving's own data and are not a promise by the university or the operator.