Packhood Research · Imperial · Updated May 2026
Student storage at Imperial College London — and side income for students who host
Published .
TL;DR for Imperial students
- As a renter: £180–£350 for the full 3-month summer (box-room volume). Vs €2,700–€3,900 to keep your London room over summer.
- As a host: £700–£2,500/year for a single space; west-London supply is premium. The cheapest, lowest-effort student side income on the market.
- Same Packhood account does both — list a space, book a space, repeat.
Imperial College London at a glance
~22,000 students. Imperial's main campus is in South Kensington (SW7). Halls cluster in West Kensington (Beit, Wilson House, Prince's Gardens); second-years move to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, Fulham, White City and along the Piccadilly Line east toward Acton.
Transport: Piccadilly / District / Circle Lines, South Kensington / Earl's Court / Hammersmith stations, Heathrow Express within reach.
Term timing: Imperial's heavy STEM cohort means many students stay through summer for research / placements, but undergraduate halls clear fully June–Sept.
Renter side — where Imperial students store stuff over summer
Bands below are typical Packhood rates for a student box-room volume (one bed's worth — 2–4 m³). A full-bedroom load (4–6 m³) typically lands at 1.7–2.0× these monthly rates.
Live rates by area: see London storage prices for the full city-level bands across asset types (garage, spare room, attic, basement, shed, driveway).
Host side — how Imperial students earn meaningful side income
Most students go looking for a part-time job to plug the gap between rent and grants. Hosting on Packhood replaces or supplements that — same money into your account, zero shifts, and the work is essentially "list once, collect monthly". Three scenarios that work for Imperial students specifically:
Income range across all scenarios: £700–£2,500/year for a single space; west-London supply is premium. Hosts receive 95% of the listed amount; Packhood's 5% fee covers identity verification, the Host Guarantee (up to €300 per booking), and Stripe escrow. List a space in ~12 minutes from Become a host.
Why hosting beats a part-time job for most Imperial students
A typical 8-hour shift at minimum wage clears about €100 net after tax. The same €100 comes out of one month of hosting your box room — and unlike the shift, you don't lose 8 hours, you don't have to commute, and the income compounds across the academic year. Stack two listings (your box room + parents' garage at home) and you replace a 2-shift-a-week job with two emails a year.
The catch: it's slower to ramp than a job. Your first booking lands 2–6 weeks after listing. After that, the cadence is steady — most Imperial-area listings get 3–7 enquiries / month and a 30–50% booking rate. Reviews compound: hosts with 4+ reviews see ~2× the booking rate of new hosts.
FAQ — Imperial students
How much does student storage near Imperial College cost?
Typical student box-room rates run £60–£140/mo across the west-London hubs Imperial students live in (Hammersmith, Fulham, Earl's Court, White City, Acton). 3-month summer totals: £180–£350.
Where do Imperial students store stuff?
Hammersmith and Acton are the cheapest clusters with good Tube access. Fulham and Earl's Court carry premiums but are walkable from campus.
Can Imperial students earn from hosting?
Yes. The strongest scenarios are (1) box room in a South Ken / Fulham house-share (£110–£210/mo), (2) your room over summer if you're going home (£150–£280/mo).
UK tax on hosting income?
UK storage hosting income falls under HMRC's £1,000 Trading Allowance — earn up to £1,000/year with no Self Assessment required. Above that, declare on the SA103 (self-employed pages) of your tax return.
Other universities
Doing this for a friend at another college? Per-uni guides: UCL, KCL, LSE, QMUL, Oxford, Cambridge, UoM, UoE, UofG, UoB, UoB-Bham, Cardiff. Or the national Student storage in the UK overview.
Two buttons: rent a space, or list yours.
Same Imperial student account does both.