Bella BarnesA good camping spot at Glastonbury, the opening of a new Sephora store or the possibility of securing tickets to Wimbledon – some of the things you might expect people to queue overnight for.
But Bella Barnes, a first year accounting and finance student at Oxford Brookes University, said she queued for 24 hours just to secure a home for her second year.
Letting agent Finders Keepers said it was “launching” its student accommodation at 09:00 GMT on Tuesday, with applications accepted on a “first come, first served” basis.
Ms Barnes said Finders Keepers did tell students not to queue, but she felt she did not have a choice.
Bella BarnesMs Barnes said she and her four housemates initially found the property they wanted online.
“When we went to apply for a viewing for the house it said ‘you need to come to our doors at 9am on Tuesday… it’s first come first served’,” she said.
They joined the queue in fourth place at 09:00 on Monday. On Tuesday morning, there were “at least 40 people” waiting for the letting agent’s doors to open.
‘Tough’
Ms Barnes said she and her housemates had taken it in shifts. She queued from 17:00 on Monday to 03:00 on Tuesday, and then returned just before 09:00.
She said they stocked up on blankets and food, and spirits overnight were “quite high”.
“Music was playing, everyone was having a bit of a laugh,” she said.
But despite that, she said it was “tough”.
“When we left our toes were very cold,” she said.
Bella BarnesShe said the housing situation in Oxford was “crazy”, with people walking up and down the queue overnight to ask others what properties they were applying for – because there would be no point in joining if someone ahead of you had their eye on the same house.
Ms Barnes and her housemates managed to secure the rental house they wanted, but she said she was “assuming we’re going to have to do this again next year”.
The BBC approached Finders Keepers for comment, but an automated message said the office was too busy with the launch to answer.