A new web site is helping university students make the best of their accommodation opportunities in Brighton's difficult housing market.
The University of Sussex Students' Union (USSU) has developed an online housing directory, ineedaplace.co.uk, in association with Brighton-based Graphicorder and E:bloc Interactive, based in Hove.
The web site, launched last week to coincide with the release of the university's housing list, provides registered users with advice and information and helps them to search for and advertise properties.
Alan Walsh, information technology and web site manager, said: "It's all about ensuring students are able to make informed decisions about accommodation. This is just another tool for students in what can be a very difficult market."
Mr Walsh, who has previously worked on web site projects for several FTSE companies, said one of the biggest challenges was putting together the site using the union's limited resources.
However, with Graphicorder's programming work and E:bloc's hosting service, the project was completed in three weeks from initial planning stages to the finished site.
The first phase of the site has been designed exclusively for students but there are plans to extend its services over the summer to include members of the Sussex Private Landlords' Association (SPLA).
Mr Walsh said he hoped Brighton University Students' Union and Brighton and Hove City Council would contribute to the service.
Currently, students can complete an online form providing details of vacant properties or rooms for others to browse.
Other users searching for accommodation use a similar form to state their preferences.
Registered users are allocated an inbox and every time they sign-in it is updated to include the latest postings.
The site includes housing advice pages, providing information about what the terms and conditions on leases mean and what students should do if they detect a gas leak.
A moderated online message board enables students and housing staff to discuss accommodation issues and swap advice.
Union president Dan Glazebrook said finding suitable accommodation was one of the biggest challenges facing students.
He said: "There can be lots of problems because Brighton landlords have the upper hand and students are competing for a limited number of places."
There had been a lot of demand for the service, with a large number of students registering for the service since its launch.
The site is one of many new projects, which have included an online voting system used by more than 2,000 students to vote for full-time sabatticals.
There are also plans to update the main union web site.
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