If you’re in University of Reading halls, you can’t leave belongings there over summer: the university’s own guidance says “No items can be stored whilst residents are not living in halls.” Your choice is to take everything home or put it into storage. If you rent privately, keeping the room just to hold your things means paying rent on a room nobody is living in, and a small storage unit usually costs far less for the same weeks. Wigwam Reading, on Bridgewater Close, has a two-week minimum and access from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week.
Jump to:
- If you’re in halls
- If you rent privately: keep the room, or store?
- If you’re staying in Reading for the summer
- How a Reading unit works
If you’re in halls
The University of Reading’s guidance for students returning to halls is plain: “No items can be stored whilst residents are not living in halls.” It points students to storage companies instead.
There’s one exception. If you want to leave your bicycle at halls over the summer, contact your local reception first; the university says bikes it believes have been abandoned “will be removed in line with the Abandoned Bicycle policy”. That exception covers bikes, not anything else.
So for halls students, the question was never “keep the room or store?”. It’s “take it home or store it?” We’ve compared the cost of shipping things home versus storing separately.
If you rent privately: keep the room, or store?
Doing nothing feels cheap because it asks nothing of you during exams. But keeping a room over summer to hold your belongings still costs whatever rent you pay for those weeks, whether in full, at a reduced summer rate or as part of re-signing.
Run your own numbers:
- Take your rent for the summer weeks you’d be away. Your tenancy agreement or your landlord will tell you what keeping the room costs.
- Get a price online for a unit at Reading for the same weeks. Our Reading storage cost page lists current sizes and prices, and your quote shows any offer running.
- Compare the two. For a room’s worth of boxes, bedding and a few pieces of furniture, a small unit is usually all you need.
The legal side isn’t ours to answer. Whether your landlord can end, extend or let you keep a tenancy over summer depends on your agreement. If you’re weighing that up, talk to the university’s accommodation office, the students’ union or a housing adviser, who can look at your actual contract.
If you’re staying in Reading for the summer
If you’re staying for work, a placement or resits and moving into a smaller summer let, storage solves a different problem: getting a house-share’s worth of belongings out of a room too small for them. A unit holds the bulk until term starts again and you move back into a full-sized room. Our post on staying in Reading over summer goes into that in more detail.
How a Reading unit works
Wigwam Reading is at 7 Bridgewater Close, Reading RG30 1JT.
- Short and flexible. The minimum stay is two weeks. After that your storage carries on until you give notice, normally 14 days, and once you’ve moved out and we’ve checked the unit, we refund any days you’ve paid for but won’t use. If you know your return date, you can give notice the day you sign up. Our FAQ on booking around term dates explains how, including reserving a unit ahead for £10.
- Paying. You pay your first four weeks when you book, then every four weeks. We’re not currently taking deposits.
- Access. You let yourself in with smart entry from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week, so a forgotten coat or a textbook for a resit is never out of reach.
- Someone to talk to. The Reading office is open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm. Call the site on 0118 957 1573, or us on 0800 2545585.
- Size. If you’re unsure, describe your room when you call or ask for a quote and we’ll help you choose. Our FAQ on what student storage costs covers typical sizes.
- Cover. Everything stored needs contents cover, either ours or a policy of your own, such as your family’s home insurance, if it covers belongings in self storage. Our insurance FAQ explains both.
If a parent is booking, they can share access with you through smart entry; our guide for parents, booking student storage without the student, explains how.
The short version
In halls, storage is the only way to keep things in Reading over summer, because the university doesn’t allow belongings to stay. In a private let, compare the rent for the weeks you’re away with a quote for a unit; a small unit with a two-week minimum usually wins. Get a price online, and our student storage page has the rest.
Questions students ask
Can I leave my things in halls over summer?
No. The University of Reading’s guidance says no items can be stored while residents aren’t living in halls. The one exception is a bicycle, by arrangement with your local reception.
Is it cheaper to keep my room or get a storage unit?
Usually a unit, but run your own numbers: your rent for the weeks you’re away against a quote for the same weeks.
How much notice do I need to give?
Notice is normally 14 days, after a two-week minimum stay. Once you’ve moved out and we’ve checked the unit, we refund any days you’ve paid for but won’t use.
Can I get to my unit over the summer?
Yes, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week.
Related questions
- Can I book student storage around term dates?
- How much does student storage cost?
- Can I share access to my storage unit?
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