University Accommodation
Usually the most convenient option, students can choose between on-campus and off-campus accommodations. On-campus facilities usually consist of halls of residence or student hostels, whilst off-campus accommodations mainly consist of school-owned private apartments or houses. When accepting the course offer from the university or college, do indicate if you require accommodation.
Some institutions offer fully-catered accommodation at a token daily cost of between USD 2.50 and USD 5.00, while others are usually self-catered. When choosing off-campus accommodation, among things to take note of are the walking distance to school, furnishing, and the range of amenities provided.
Private Accommodations If you are looking for private housing, sites like ibilik.my, nestpick.com or iProperty provide housing options from the bare minimum to affording relative comforts like a full-fledged kitchen and gym facilities. In Malaysia, private accommodations are commonly divided into 3 types:
Landed Housing Landed properties usually come as detached (bungalow), semi-detached, terrace houses. This type of housing usually do not have facilities such as swimming pool and gym, but are more spacious compared to high-rise properties.
Apartment / Flat Apartments or flats are high-rise property units that have 3 or 4 bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and bathrooms. Facilities at these are usually limited, which is a trade-off given its lower rentals.
Condominium Condominium are a type of high-rise property, are usually better designed and furnished. Ranging from 750sqf – 1400 sqf, they usually have 3-4 bedrooms, a living hall, kitchen and bathrooms. They usually come with amenities such as swimming pool, gym and round-the-clock security, so be prepared to fork out more for the added amenities.
You may want to choose a locale that has good public transport connectivity like MRT, LRT or even busses to make your daily commute convenient. Check out the public transport map to see if your choice of location has good transport links. Here are ballpark figures you can expect for the different types of accommodation.