What you need to know
Berlin is an attractive city to which people from all over the world travel for short or long stays. It can be a challenge to find suitable accommodation here. We therefore recommend that you look for accommodation in Berlin in good time. It can take a few weeks or longer to find suitable accommodation. We are happy to support you with various offers.
Search with patience and in good time
Start your search in good time. The closer the lecture period approaches, the more students are looking for accommodation. It is sometimes easier to find a flat or room if you are already in Berlin.
Distances and districts
Berlin is a large city and a journey time of up to 60 minutes can be reached quickly and is not unusual. The public transport network is well developed and divided into three zones. In Zone A, in the centre of the city and within the S-Bahn ring, rents can be significantly higher than in Zone B. Many districts are also easy to reach from Zone B. You should therefore also look for flats outside the S-Bahn ring. You can find an overview map at S-Bahn Berlin and Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG).
Personal responsibility
Please note that Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin can only provide you with assistance. All decisions based on this information must be made by you and are your sole responsibility. Humboldt-Universit?t and its staff cannot accept any liability for the information provided and any consequences arising from it.
Flat types and search portals
Please do not transfer any money before you have signed a contract! In some cases, fraudsters offer flats that do not even exist. They usually say that the landlord is currently abroad and has commissioned a trust company to manage the flat. Interested parties are then asked to transfer a partial amount and are promised that they will then receive a key. This is a scam. To avoid this, you should never transfer money before a viewing or without personal contact with the landlord. We strongly recommend that you only transfer money or move into the flat once you have a tenancy agreement signed by the landlord.
In Berlin, the student halls of residence are managed by StudierendenWERK BERLIN (STW). The university does not have its own halls of residence. The STW halls of residence are spread throughout the city and vary in terms of facilities and prices. Please note that rooms in halls of residence are very popular and there may be longer waiting times.
These flats are usually furnished in all rooms and the price is all-inclusive and often higher than for unfurnished flats. Sometimes a reservation fee and a deposit must be paid.
- The Home Like
- Big Young
- Grey Stay
- Uni Places
- BWK Apartments
- Nest Pick
- Housing Anywhere
- I Live Berlin
- 9flats
- Spotahome
HU students can receive a discount code by sending an email with their enquiry to exchange-students? Please insert an @ at this point ?hu-berlin? Please insert a period at this pointde.
Many people in Berlin live in shared flats (WGs). These are private flats in which several people live together. Each person has their own room, but the bathroom and kitchen are shared. If you find a flat in which you would like to live with other people as a shared flat, please check whether the house rules or the property management allow this.
Shared flats often reduce your own rent and offer social interaction. Determine your budget or your rent share including utilities - how much can you spend per month? Also think about your living costs and other expenses. Clarify the important basics of living together in advance, e.g. study times, cleaning, shopping, smoking, keeping pets, visits, etc.
The rent is usually stated as warm rent (net warm rent). In addition to the net rent, electricity, internet and licence fees must also be paid and, if heating costs are not included in the rent, deductions for heating. A deposit is normally required. Who pays the deposit - and in what proportion? Who has household contents and possibly liability insurance?
- Find out about the legal basis and options in advance, e.g. from the local tenants' association.
- Clarify the insurance issues. As a rule, you must provide proof of household contents insurance and sometimes also liability insurance when you sign the tenancy agreement.
- Remember the deposit, which is always due before you move in. You will have to pay a maximum of three months' cold rent.
The sites below often offer short-term flats for subletting. However, please be particularly careful here, as there are scammers. Do not transfer money in advance.
- Housing platform flatsforfriendz
- Instagram flatsforfriedz
- Facebook groups
- Classified adverts
- Newspapers and magazines
International students and academics
International programme students cannot register independently at StudierendenWERK Berlin. The HU therefore has a limited number of rooms in two halls of residence that are available for programme students:
Allee der Kosmonauten - StudierendenWERK Berlin
Furnished single room in a shared flat. Bathroom and kitchen are shared with up to three other people.
- Monthly rent: 417 euros
- Address: Alle der Kosmonauten hall of residence, Alle der Kosmonauten 20, 10315 Berlin
Website of the StudierendenWERK
Adlershof student village
Furnished single room with private bathroom. The kitchen and the large common room are shared with twelve other students.
- Monthly rent: 526.14 euros
- Address: Studentendorf Adlershof, Abraham-Joffe-Stra?e 18, 12489 Berlin
Website of the student village
StudentHouse Pl?nterwald in Eichbuschallee
Partly furnished flat with private kitchen and bathroom.
- Monthly rent: � 600 without balcony, � 620 with balcony
- A deposit of approx. 1,320 � must be paid directly to HoWoGe.
- The contract must be cancelled independently and in good time
- Address: Eichbuschallee 51-53, 12437 Berlin
How do I apply?
Programme students can select the student house option when applying online. After the application deadline, we will inform students about the next steps for room allocation.
Places in halls of residence are allocated according to the lottery principle. In order to reserve a room, students must transfer a reservation deposit of 810 euros once they have been accepted. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee a place in a hall of residence.
Deadlines for registration
- 30 May for a stay in the winter semester
- 30 November for a stay in the summer semester
Students of Charité-Universit?tsmedizin should contact the Incoming Team before the deadline: exchange-students? Please insert an @ at this point ?hu-berlin? Please insert a period at this pointde.
The rooms in the halls of residence are only let for fixed periods:
Studentendorf Adlershof:
- 01.09. - 28.02. in the winter semester
- 01.03. - 31.08. in the summer semester
StudierendenWERK Allee der Kosmonauten and StudentHouse Pl?nterwald:
- 01.10. - 31.03. in the winter semester
- 01.04. - 30.09. in the summer semester
It is not possible to shorten or change the rental period. An extension for a further semester is possible.
The International Office arranges accommodation offers for researchers from abroad. To make it easier for you to find accommodation, we collect private rental offers and are happy to pass them on to you in our newsletter. It contains important information about houses, flats or rooms as well as the contact details of the landlords. Unfortunately, we cannot look for a flat for you or conclude a tenancy agreement for you beyond this. If you need helpful information or advice on search options, you are welcome to contact us at any time.
Researchers and doctoral candidates working in Adlershof can also use the guest houses of the Initiativgemeinschaft au?eruniversit?rer Forschungseinrichtungen in Adlershof.
Good to know: Information about the flat
If you are renting a flat or room, please note the difference between cold rent and warm rent: Cold rent refers to the price of the flat without any additional costs. The warm rent shows the price of the flat with additional costs such as hot water, heating and rubbish collection. The details can be found in the tenancy agreement. We recommend a monthly rent of 600 euros for a room and 1000 euros for a one-room flat. In addition to the warm rent, electricity, gas and internet must also be paid. A deposit must be paid for most flats and rooms. This usually amounts to two to three basic rents and is paid back after moving out if the flat is vacant.