A single room in a catered Wits residence costs R70,400 for the 2026 year, and a double costs R66,000 per student, before meals. With a meal plan the single-room total runs from R86,034 to R102,354. This guide sets out the verified figures and what I could not confirm.
Details come from the University of the Witwatersrand’s residence fees page and a Sunday Times report of 8 February 2026, checked on 30 October 2026. The Wits page does not name the currency; the amounts are in South African rand (R). Its self-catering table was still labelled 2025, so I have not quoted it.
Wits catered residences, 2026
The rates cover Barnato Hall, David Webster Hall, Ernest Oppenheimer Hall, Girton Hall, Jubilee Hall, Knockando Halls, Medhurst Hall, the Men’s Halls, Reith Hall and Sunnyside Hall.
| Meal plan | Meals a week | Total for a single room with meals |
|---|---|---|
| 10A | 10 | R86,034 |
| 14D | 14 | R92,625 |
| 19F | 19 | R102,354 |
Plans 10B, 14E and 15C also exist, and at least 10 meals a week must be taken. Single rooms cost R70,400 a year and double rooms R66,000 per student, with meals charged separately.
Deposit, payments and extras
- Deposit: R990 for new applicants accepting a 2026 residence offer. It is credited to your fee account and refunded if you are not accepted.
- Instalments: R5,000 before admission, with the balance due by 30 June. The R5,000 may be waived for fully funded students with written proof, or in hardship.
- International students: pay 75% of annual residence and meal fees before admission.
- Charged separately: appliance levies (a microwave is R350 a year) and, for new first-years, an Orientation Week levy of R680.
- Early arrival: new first-year undergraduates get free accommodation from 17 to 30 January.
Other options reported
The Sunday Times reported a Wits Campus Lodge studio at R89,693 for 2026. For the University of Johannesburg, it reported shared rooms from R41,940, with Hector Pietersen and Ulwazi residences on the Soweto campus reaching R56,560, meals not included. It also noted that NSFAS’s accommodation cap was R65,993 in metropolitan areas and R56,633 elsewhere as of March 2025, and that 2026 rates were under review.
I have not listed private rentals or neighbourhoods, because I could not verify prices or safety details against reliable sources. View any room in person or on a live video call, get a written lease and never pay before you have one.
FAQs about student accommodation in Johannesburg
How much is a Wits residence?
R70,400 a year for a single catered room and R66,000 per student for a double in 2026, before meals.
Is there a residence deposit?
Wits charges R990 to new applicants accepting a 2026 offer, credited to the fee account.
Sources
- Wits University: residence fees
- Sunday Times: students grapple with soaring university residence costs (8 February 2026)
All checked 30 October 2026.
