[1] The college is situated to the south of the main campus, next to the village of Heslington and the university sports fields.

The first blocks of Halifax College which formed Ingram, Irwin, Younger, Lindley and Wood Courts were built in the summer of 1996.

Halifax Court residents were the first to pay differential rents on their accommodation and lets were a mandatory 38 weeks.

At that time, the Halifax Court Centre Building (now JJ's) consisted of a central common room (unlicensed though clearly built with the concept of housing a bar), the only part-time portering service (Geoff the porter) at the university (every other college had 24hr portering at that time), an adjacent laundry room accessed from the outside (now the lounge area of JJ's), and a small convenience store accessed from the outside (now the pizzeria).

The area now occupied by the newer Ainsty and Hickleton Courts (next to the car park) was a large 'village green' for the Halifax Court/College residents.

During the summer term this was frequently full of students playing frisbee, having barbecues (strongly against the wishes of the university administration) and studying together.

Unlike the other Colleges, Halifax does not consist of a main building divided into blocks and corridors.

Ainsty and Hickleton Courts are managed by UPP Projects Ltd as part of the University Partnership Programme.

The 2024 HCSA executive members is: Halifax College hosts and organises social events such as barcrawls through York, quizzes in JJ's, court BBQs, trips to various cities or the beach (“Fax off to Scarborough”, anyone?).