There are three main types of student accommodation in Sweden: single rooms, studios and apartments.
Single rooms are often referred to as “corridor rooms” in Sweden. You have your own room with bathroom, and share the kitchen facilities and common areas with the other tenants living at the same floor, or in the same corridor. Sometimes you also share the bathroom, even though this is not very common. In single rooms only one person is allowed to live.
A studio is a small apartment where you have a bathroom and kitchen, or a kitchenette, in your room. The size of the studio is in general between 20 and 30 square meters and is considered to be a one-person accommodation, even if it’s allowed to live two people in a studio.
Apartments vary from one to three rooms and have and its own bathroom and kitchen in the apartment. It’s often not allowed to rent an apartment if you’re planning to live there alone, in other words you have to be a couple, two friends, a family, etc. However there are apartments where you rent only the room and share the rest with the others, like a smaller corridor.
To find accommodation in Sweden you have to contact the local housing companies in the city where you will study. Each company has their own rules and systems for applying for rooms and apartments. Because of the differences between the companies no national waiting list for student accommodation exists. Even though there are differences there are some general rules that most companies uses.
For further information on higher education in Sweden, the universities, the application procedure, visa, etc. we recommend a visit to Study In Sweden.
Requirements for renting student accommodation
International students
Registration at the companies
Applying for a room or apartment
Moving in and living in a student accommodation
Requirements for renting student accommodation
- You have to be a student to apply for a student accommodation, which means that you have to be admitted to a college or university before you can apply for a specific room, studio or apartment.
- It’s common that the housing company demands that the tenants have to earn a certain amount of university credits each semester to continue the renting of a room or apartment. The number of credits needed varies between the companies but usually the limit is around 15 credits/semester (full-time studies are equivalent to 30 credits/semester).
- In most cases postgraduate students and guest researchers are welcome to apply for student accommodation.
International students
- International students should contact the university before contacting the housing companies. The universities are responsible for providing accommodation to exchange students and in some cases to other international students, so called free-movers, and therefore rent a number of rooms and apartments from the housing companies which they reserve for international students.
- Students from countries outside the Schengen agreement must have a residence permit before arriving in Sweden. In some cases you have to show a copy of the residence permit to register at a housing company. However, in other cases you can register for the waiting list but not apply for a specific room or apartment before you can show a valid residence permit.
- Some companies require that you have a letter of admission from the college or university before registering at the housing company.
Registration at the companies
- There is no waiting list on national level, or even between cities, you have to sign up at the local housing company’s waiting list.
- It’s often hard to find accommodation at the start of the semester and it’s therefore recommended that you sign up for the waiting list in time. Even if you’re not sure which city you are going to study in some companies still allow you to sign up for the waiting lists. The longer you’ve been waiting, the easier it is to find accommodation.
- In most cities there are several different companies which have their own waiting lists. Make sure you sign up for all of them.
- Most companies require that you renew your registration from time to time. An example of this is that you for some companies have to log on to their website at least once every six months. Once you register, make sure that you notice the company’s rules. If you don’t renew your registration you will eventually lose your earned time or waiting list credits.
Applying for a room or apartment
- In general it’s up to you to find the apartment, just because you’ve signed up for a waiting list doesn’t mean that you will be offered a room or apartment. Usually the available accommodations are published at the company’s website where you also apply for a specific room or apartment. The amount of “waiting list credits” or the time you have been on a waiting list usually decides whether you will get the accommodation or not.
- Some schools and cities guarantee accommodation to newly arrived students. However it’s still up to you to contact the housing company and apply for a room or apartment. In these cases you’re guaranteed a place to stay, not an apartment of choice, which means that you for instance might get a room in the outskirts of the city.
- It’s not possible to transfer earned waiting list credits or time between different companies or cities. The credits or time you’ve earned are tied to each company.
Moving in and living in a student accommodation
- It’s common that you must show a letter of admission from your university when offered a room or apartment.
- In some cases the companies require a deposit prior to moving in, but it varies between the companies.
- Most companies offer furnished rooms and apartments, but not all of them are.
- The housing companies in Sweden usually don’t offer services like cleaning or laundry service, it’s up to you to take care of both yourself and the apartment. If you have questions or for instance don’t know how the washing machine works, don’t be afraid to ask the housing company, or why not your new neighbors?
- In general you are not allowed to make noise that might disturb others (partying, drilling, playing music, etc.) after 10 o’ clock in the evening. Of course it’s allowed to have a party, but with respect to your neighbors.
- If you share kitchen and common areas with others the responsibilities for cleaning lay with all of you who share. In some corridors there are cleaning schedules or other common organization to keep the corridor as pleasant as possible. Be sure to participate if they exist, and if they don’t it might be a good idea to organize one. It’s the corridor that is responsible for cleaning schedules, not the housing company.
