A National Partnership with the Care Leaver Covenant

Unite Students is proud to be working with the Care Leaver Covenant as part of an evolving partnership that places care experienced and estranged students at the heart of our social impact work

As the UK’s largest provider of student accommodation, we believe that where you live during university plays a vital role in your success. This initiative reflects our ambition to provide greater support for care experienced students who may face additional challenges when accessing housing.

This partnership builds on our long-standing commitment through the Unite Foundation, and forms part of a broader drive across the business to support those who have experienced care or are estranged from their families, championing inclusion, success and wellbeing in higher education.

What We’re Offering

If you’re care experienced or estranged and thinking about university or already studying, here’s what you can expect from Unite Students:

• Guarantor Free Pilot Scheme Launching in 2026/27
  A common challenge for many students is being asked to provide a guarantor when renting. We’re working with a group of universities to pilot a guarantor removal scheme, making it easier for care experienced and estranged students to  find secure, high-quality accommodation. This is the first step towards a wider rollout across our partner universities, as we  move towards removing this barrier for all care experienced and estranged students that live with us.
• 64 Free Accommodation Places for 2025/26
  As part of our early commitment to meaningful change, over 60 accommodation places were made available to care experienced and estranged students for the 2025/26 academic year free of charge. These rooms have now been allocated in partnership with universities across the country.
  We are continuing to build on this work and are actively developing further opportunities for future academic years. If you are considering university in 2026/27 or beyond, please speak to your university’s support team or contact us directly to find out more about upcoming schemes and how to express interest.

This commitment reflects our belief that housing should not be a barrier to accessing or continuing higher education.

How to Access the Offer

To explore these opportunities, care experienced and estranged students should:

• Speak with theiruniversity’s student support or accommodation team to check eligibility and availability.
• If you’re unsure whether you qualify as care experienced or estranged, your university team can also support you in confirming this.

Where This Is Available

This is a national offer, covering Unite Students properties across the UK, in partnership with selected universities.

Looking Ahead

This is just the start. Unite Students is working on in the long term processes to support a fully inclusive offer for care experienced and estranged students. Our aim is to roll out this support more widely from 2026/27 and beyond — ensuring more students have access to safe, welcoming accommodation, without the stress of meeting guarantor requirements.

We’re proud to be part of a growing movement that recognises the potential of care experienced and estranged students, and we’re excited to play a role in moving the conversation forward.

For further information or general enquiries, students and care leaver professionals may contact:
Ivy Yarrow – Social Impact Manager
ivy.yarrow@unitestudents.com