Frequently asked questions

Volumeworks Too is at 45 Hanley Street, Birmingham B19 3SP, in the Gun Quarter, minutes from Aston University, the city centre and every station you need.

Aston University is a 14-minute walk and Birmingham City University is a 14-minute bus ride. Birmingham city centre is a 20-minute walk. University College Birmingham is around an 18-minute walk, and the University of Birmingham is around 15 minutes by car or taxi.

It’s a 14-minute walk from Volumeworks Too to Aston University.

Yes. The city centre is a 20-minute walk, and the building is close to every main station. The nearest bus stop, Lower Loveday Street, is a 2-minute walk, and St Chad’s tram stop is around a 9-minute walk, with trams into the city centre in about 5 minutes.

The Gun Quarter is one of Birmingham’s fastest-changing neighbourhoods, with independent cafés and great transport links. Nearby spots include Digbeth Dining Club (7 min walk), PureGym Birmingham (9 min), Besa Café (11 min), Tesco Express (12 min), St Paul’s Square (12 min) and The Gosta Green pub (16 min).

Rooms start from £178 a week with all bills included. Prices by room type: Edition I from £178, Edition I+ from £186, Edition II from £193, Edition II+ from £201 and Edition III from £207. Self-contained studios start from £215 a week (Studio Plus) and £267 a week (Standard Studio).

Your rent includes your room, all utility bills (electricity, water and heating, subject to fair use), WiFi, and access to the building’s facilities: the gym, lounge and cinema room.

A TV licence isn’t included if you want to watch live TV, and nor are subscriptions like Netflix. Laundry is pay-per-use.

No. Bills, WiFi and access to the gym, lounge and cinema room are all included in your rent. The only extras are optional ones like a TV licence, streaming subscriptions and pay-per-use laundry.

Two options: a 45-week contract or a 51-week contract.

It depends on the contract length you choose, not just the weekly rate. For example, on an Edition I En-Suite at £178/week, a 45-week contract comes to £8,010 in total, while a 51-week contract comes to £9,078, a difference of £1,068 across the year.

No. There’s no deposit to pay to reserve your room at Volumeworks Too.

Rent can be paid in instalments across the year by direct debit, rather than as one lump sum, usually in line with your student loan.

Volumeworks Too has en-suite rooms in four-bedroom shared apartments, in five types (Edition I, I+, II, II+ and III), plus two types of self-contained studio. Every en-suite room has a double bed (king-size in Edition III), a study desk and a TV, with a kitchen and lounge shared with three flatmates. Edition I+ and II+ rooms also have individually controlled air conditioning. The Standard Studio (23.25m²) and Studio Plus (24m², with air conditioning) are fully self-contained, with their own kitchenette.

Rooms of the same type come in different layouts, so room shape, window position and furniture layout can vary. Your specific layout is allocated rather than chosen at booking. All layouts within a room type are priced and specced the same, so you’re guaranteed the room type, not a particular floor plan.

There are a few different kitchen layouts across the building, shared between you and three flatmates rather than the whole floor. The studios have their own kitchenettes.

All bills included, high-speed WiFi, an on-site gym and fitness studio, a cinema room, secure keycard entry, CCTV, an on-site maintenance team and portal, laundry facilities, cycle storage and outdoor space.

Yes, with 24/7 access for residents.

Yes. Every en-suite room has its own study desk and chair, and the resident lounge has a breakout co-working space for studying together or getting some work done outside your room.

There’s a resident lounge with a breakout co-working space and a ping pong table, a cinema room for movie nights without leaving the building, an on-site gym and outdoor space.

Yes, fast, reliable broadband throughout the building, with support if anything goes wrong.

Yes, on-site laundry with 24-hour access to washers and dryers (pay-per-use).

There’s no free on-site parking. The building is within Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone, so the options nearby are paid parking or a Birmingham City Council resident permit. There’s also secure cycle storage.

Choose your room on the Volumeworks Too page, complete the online form and nominate a guarantor. Once the team has signed it, your booking is complete.

Yes. We offer both in-person and virtual viewings. Just send us an enquiry through our contact page and we'll arrange a time that suits you.

Move-in is in September, but we can be flexible if you need a different date. Rooms for this academic year are limited, so get in touch to check what’s available.

Nothing at the point of booking. Afterwards, we’ll ask for photo ID (passport or driving licence) and proof of your student status (student ID, or an offer or enrolment letter from your university).

Only book once you’re confident you’ll need the room. If your plans change, our cancellation policy covers what happens next.

If your place depends on your results and you don’t get in, you won’t be stuck with a room you don’t need. Get in touch within 7 days of finding out and we’ll cancel your booking and refund anything you’ve paid so far, no questions asked, as long as you haven’t checked in. If your offer was unconditional, or your place doesn’t depend on results, our standard cancellation terms apply instead.

Yes, you can book before your visa is confirmed. If your visa is refused, let us know within 7 days of finding out and we’ll cancel your booking and refund anything you’ve paid, the same as if you didn’t get your grades. We’ll just ask to see your visa refusal letter.

A guarantor is someone who agrees to cover your rent if you’re unable to pay it. You’ll need one unless you’re paying the full year upfront.

You can use a third-party guarantor service, such as Housing Hand, instead. This lets you pay monthly without a personal guarantor, for a fee.

Yes. Before you move in, you can cancel free of charge within 7 days of booking (a cooling-off period), or up to 4 weeks before your move-in date. Outside that window, you’ll need to find someone to take over your room, and once a replacement tenant is placed we’ll refund any money due. After you’ve moved in, your contract covers the full term (45 or 51 weeks). If your circumstances genuinely change, get in touch and we’ll help you find a replacement tenant, and you’ll be released from the rest of the contract once they’re in place.

Yes. The building has 24-hour CCTV and secure keycard entry, with a team available around the clock if you need anything.

Through the online maintenance request form. The more detail and photos you can give us, the faster we can get it sorted. There’s also an on-site maintenance team.

Yes. Get in touch through the contact form or email hello@base-living.co.uk and someone from the team will come back to you. Once you’ve moved in, you’ll be given a direct number for the on-site team for day-to-day questions and maintenance requests.

Occasional overnight guests are welcome. They’ll need to sign in.

No, other than registered assistance dogs.

No. The building is entirely smoke-free, including e-cigarettes.

BaseLiving is a property management company built around one idea: that where you live shapes how you live. We were founded to give students a place that feels like home, and give property owners a partner they can trust. BaseLiving was created around a simple belief: when you have a better base, you can build a better life. Home should give you the comfort, confidence and freedom to get on with living, studying and enjoying life. We manage Volumeworks Too in Birmingham, and we’re expanding to Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham.

Volumeworks Too stands out in the details you live with every day: properly equipped studio kitchens, a TV in your own room, and the option of air conditioning, which is rare in Birmingham student accommodation. Every room has at least a double bed, and alongside the gym and cinema room, there’s real emphasis on the comfort of your personal space. As the management company, BaseLiving backs this up with transparent pricing, 24/7 on-site support and no hidden fees.

Every shared-apartment room is en-suite with a double bed, bills are included, and residents get a gym, cinema room and lounge in the building. You share a kitchen with just three flatmates rather than a whole floor, and you can choose a 45- or 51-week contract.

Yes. If you own or are developing residential property and want to talk about management, we’d like to hear from you. Get in touch through our contact page.