How to get a student accommodation in Austria : Housing options

One of the issues that concerns the international student during his study period abroad is finding suitable accommodation. In this article, we will discuss with you how to get a student accommodation in Austria.

Finding an apartment in a country that you visit for the first time is hard to some extent. You have to file a request as soon as you receive your acceptance letter from the university.

However, there are many options for the student to find accommodation in Austria, including:

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OeAD Housing Office

The housing office of the Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education and Research (OeAD) provides the students with the opportunity to rent a room in many of the Austrian cities.

The office offers accommodation for more than 12,000 students each year. It aims to provide the students with high-quality accommodation at reasonable prices.
You have to register early as the student residences are filled quickly, especially in Autumn.
The rooms are available either for a whole semester or a whole year.
The single room costs around 360 EUR, while the double costs 270 EUR per one student monthly.
You have to pay 750-950 EUR to the housing office as a deposit to book the room. Without paying a deposit, you do not have an offer for accommodation.
Once you fill an online application and pay the application fee, the office will send you an offer for accommodation by email.
You have to read the terms and conditions of the contract carefully.
For the processing of your application, we will be charged an application fee of 35 EUR.
OeAD-Guesthouses are the favorite student housing in Vienna, Graz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Leoben and Linz.
This type of accommodation is fully furnished and students also have the possibility to rent a place from them during the summer.

Learn more at the website of the OeAD.

Communal Apartments

The tenancy contract could be either limited or unlimited.
One person signs on the agreement, and the others move in as co-tenants.
One of its disadvantages is that if the signee moves out, they cannot transfer the agreement to another member and everybody may have to move out.
In case all the members of the commune signed the contract, they would enjoy equal legal protection as tenants. If one member moves out, this does not change the agreement for the rest of the group.
Students share the apartment and rent. Each has a private room, and they all share a kitchen and bathroom.

Dormitories

You can find many student dormitories in the cities with universities. They are built and administrated by associations, foundations, and public corporations.
Dormitories are the most common available option for students, as it is the cheapest. Prices rise with the increase of demand, especially in Vienna.
The student union in the universities provides the students with all the information related to the dormitories.
Although there are many dormitories, usually the demand is higher than the supply. Finding suitable accommodation is a bit hard, so, make sure to start searching early.
You have to go to the selected dormitory to get all the registration information.
Costs range between 350-430 EUR for a single room, while you can pay around 220 EUR for a double room.

Temporary accommodation for students in Vienna

Newly arrived residents in employment as well as students looking for cheap student accommodation in Vienna can also contact the Mein Wien-Apartment fund for temporary living in Vienna. This trust has around 3,700 furnished apartments in which tenants can live for a minimum time span of 7 months. The maximum time you can stay is 3 years.

The biggest advantage of this option is that if you are freshly arrived in Vienna, you can occupy one of these apartments while looking for a more permanent place to live. And the application process is very straightforward, free of unnecessary heavy paperwork.

Students Housing in Austria: Additional Tips

Before signing any contract for your student accommodation, make sure to carefully read all the contract terms. Check which bills are included in the rank and which are not.

Some accommodations include electricity, gas, TV cable, heat, and Internet in the rent. For others, you have to pay these costs on top of your rent. This also gives you all the details to well plan your monthly budget, as your living costs might raise around EUR 1000 if you include the accommodation.

Moreover, check out what you can and cannot do with the room/apartment. For example, if you are allowed or not to paint the walls. And last, make sure to learn who you should turn to in case you have a problem or a complaint about your accommodation.

Of course, for students’ halls of residence, you can always talk to the accommodation coordinator or housing officer at your university.

This was our overview about how to get a student accommodation in Austria. See you in another article and another discussion for your benefit.