User GuidesSeptember 5, 20265 min read

Roomly student guide: login, booking, and roommate ads

This guide covers Roomly, a student housing platform — roomly.com.ng
This page offers a simple guide to the following major flows in Roomly, for students:

  • Login and sign up
  • Booking an apartment
  • Posting and viewing roommate ads

If you're a caretaker, head over to the caretaker guide instead.

Sign up and login

Sign up

This is a pretty familiar flow — you can sign up using email and password, or use the "Sign up with Google" option (no one loves passwords anyway).

We recommend using your student email for either option.

You then verify your email using an OTP, and boom, Bob's your uncle.

Login

Follow the instructions on the login page. Make sure you have your password handy (use Google Password Manager if you're not such a genius), as inputting a wrong password 5 times in a row can cause your account to be temporarily locked for your safety. (Please don't email support for this — Wait it out. It's your mistake.)

Booking apartments

Head to the "Listings" tab on Roomly and sort according to your preference. You can sort by:

  • Price range
  • Location
  • House type
  • Gender allowed

Click on any property card to view its details page. On the details page, you can:

  1. View the property on Google Maps through the "View on Google Maps" button — this helps you assess its proximity from the school gate.
  2. See available amenities and features, as well as the caretaker's own notes.
  3. See verified reviews from other tenants who booked before you.
  4. View the transparent price breakdown, as well as the rent duration.

One thing to note

Never overlook the duration period of rent. It's usually 12 months, but 400-level students going for IT also list their rooms, and you may typically get a 6-month duration in these cases. A v2 update will include a dedicated view for such properties.

Booking process

When you find a house that matches your preference and you're ready to book, click "Book now" below the page. You'll be directed to our secure payment service provider (Monnify) to make your payment. You can use card, bank transfer, or USSD, whichever is convenient — we suggest a debit card for faster payment.

Your payment is then verified by our system. Please don't refresh the page during this — it typically takes less than 10 seconds. If you run into issues here, like failed payment verification or unusual redirects, contact support immediately at roomly.com.ng/support.

Once your payment is verified, you're redirected to your dashboard, where you can:

  1. View the contact information of the caretaker in charge of the property.
  2. Download your Roomly-verified receipt.
  3. Drop a review for the property. Note: this can't be edited after posting, so we suggest dropping it after you've moved in.
  4. Request a refund. Fill out the available form if the property differs substantially from the images and videos you saw (check the refund policy for what counts as a discrepancy). This window is open for 24 hours, since your payment is still held in the caretaker's pending balance during that time — it's best to contact the caretaker and view the property before it elapses. After that, the funds move to the caretaker's available balance and become accessible to them.

Posting and viewing roommate ads

While Roomly is primarily for listing and booking apartments, what's a student housing marketplace without roommate matching?

Viewing: filter existing roommate ads by budget, gender, and location. Click any ad to view its details page, then click "Message on WhatsApp" to reach the poster.

Posting: you get one ad per account. The goal here is to cut out agency extortion — making roommate connections free, fair, and accessible, instead of the "connection fees" some housing agents charge to post in their WhatsApp groups. To get started:

  1. Log in. You must be on a student account to post.
  2. Post through your student dashboard or the Roommates tab on the homepage — the flow is the same either way.
  3. Fill in the required details as prompted on the form, and voilà, your ad is live.

A couple things to note:

  • Keep your title under 3 words so it doesn't break off the screen (fixing that would ruin the card's current beautiful layout).
  • Don't be conservative with the description — include your lifestyle, house details, and any religious or cultural preferences potential roommates should know. (Please don't use this space for crime confessions — e.g. "I'm a drug dealer" — and note this isn't a dating app, so please keep your zodiac sign and family tree to yourself.)

Please keep things respectful for all members, don't message people randomly just because you feel like it, and above all, love God.

Deleting your account

In compliance with the NDPR, you can request deletion of your account details from your profile. This is a soft delete — data may still be kept in our systems for up to 30 days for compliance and recordkeeping purposes.

To delete your account:

  1. Delete any existing roommate ads you've posted.
  2. Cancel or complete any active bookings tied to your account.
  3. Navigate to your profile page (in your student dashboard).
  4. Click "Delete account" at the bottom of the page.
  5. Choose a reason for leaving — this is optional, and helps us improve.
  6. Input the OTP sent to your email to verify it's you.
  7. Click "Delete account" to confirm.

That's it — your account is gone, and you'll need to create a new one if you come back to Roomly.

Need help at any point?

If you run into any issues using the platform, navigate to the support page — it's accessible from your dashboard and the homepage.

If your question isn't answered in the FAQs, fill out the "Contact support" form on the page, and a representative will attend to you as soon as possible. You'll get an email confirmation once your issue is resolved; otherwise, keep an eye on your inbox for follow-up questions so our team can respond efficiently.

Alternatively, email support directly, or head to Roomly's WhatsApp channel to reach us.

We hope this guide was useful, and wish you a successful booking and a happy stay in your new apartment. Happy roommate matching to those using it for that. Above all — good luck with your academics.

— Roomly's team