FAQs Housing in Frankfurt

After being accepted for an exchange semester in Frankfurt, you will be guided through several steps on the Mobility Online Website. The accommodation form will be one of the steps you´ll need to get through for your application to be fully completed. After you complete the accommodation form, the Housing Office will look for an appropriate room for you (according to your data).

You can either live in a student dormitory or rent a private accommodation. Private housing may be either a room in a shared flat (“Wohngemeinschaft”), a single room or a room with a guest family.

In case we cannot offer you a place in a student dormitory, the Housing Office will do its best to offer you a room in a private accommodation. This means, you will probably share a private rented flat with other students, called a WG (Wohngemeinschaft).

The rooms can differ, measuring 9 to 20 sq m. While your room is exclusively your’s, you will have to share the kitchen and the bathroom with students from various countries with different food tastes and other living habits. All rooms are furnished with chair, table, bed and wardrobe.

Rooms on the private market are single rooms as well. Most likely you will have to share the kitchen and bathroom with your flat mates. The rooms are furnished, too. In some cases you do not share the flat with other students, but with a guest family.

Mostly you don´t need to search for an accommodation on your own, since the Housing Office will try its best to make you a room offer. But please be realistic: if you have a lot of special fancy requests, it should be better to search by yourself. We cannot take into account so many special wishes. 
Be aware of some impostors who offer rooms online which do not exist. Especially if you do not come from Germany and you do not speak German it is hard to see the difference between serious and fake offers. If you search for accommodation on your own, we recommend that you see the room in person before taking an offer.

If you are coming with a friend of yours to Frankfurt and you want to live with him/her, you can let us know about that. We will try to arrange it, but we can´t guarantee that you will live together. The housing market in Frankfurt is quite difficult; however, we strive to provide all students with a suitable place to stay.

In a dormitory you will have to share the kitchen and the bathroom. Private housing with bathroom and kitchen of your own is always very expensive.

Yes. In case you do not clean your room properly, you will have to pay a fee in the end of the rental period. Very few expensive accommodations offer a cleaning service.

Most rooms are NOT located in the city-center. Commuting times of 30 min. to FRA-UAS are normal. A room closer to the city-center is more expensive than a room outside Frankfurt.

Student dorms range from 350 Euros up to 600 Euros per month, private housing ranges from 400 Euros up to 2.500 Euro per month for high end apartments.

A deposit is always to be paid, securing the landlord against damage you cause to your room or furniture, or if you leave the place in poor condition. The deposit must be paid before you move in and costs 1-3 times the monthly rent depending on the accommodation.

8 weeks up to 6 months after the end of the contract (not the moving out date). Student dorms demand a form with your home bank account for the refund. If no damages are detected in your room the deposit will be refunded. Check the to-do list before departure.

Most of the time the rent includes heating, water consumption and electricity (= Warmmiete). In some cases you´ll have to pay extra for internet and the washing machine. Food or meals are never included!

Yes, you must have a personal liability insurance to cover damages in your room/flat. We recommend ERGO. This private liability insurance covers all costs for any housing damages incl. movable rental property. The contribution for one year is round about 140 Euro. You will get all further information you need in time. Please check if you already have an insurance that covers damages overseas.

The rental period for the summer term is from March 1st until July 31th/August 31st and for the winter term from September 1st until February 28th /29th. In case the moving in or moving out date is on the weekend, you can move in / out on the first following week day. But of course there are always exceptions regarding this. For details please check back with your landlord.

If you come to Frankfurt before your move-in date, you should book a hostel. Here are some hostels as a suggestion:

5 Elements Hostel: Moselstraße 40, 60329 Frankfurt
http://www.5elementshostel.de/

Frankfurt Hostel: Kaiserstraße 74, 60329 Frankfurt
http://www.frankfurt-hostel.com/en/

MEININGER Hotel Frankfurt Messe: Europaallee 64, 60327 Frankfurt
http://www.meininger-hotels.com/en/hotels/frankfurt-main/

Haus der Jugend: Deutschherrnufer 12, 60594 Frankfurt
http://www.jugendherberge-frankfurt.de/

All rooms are furnished, so don’t buy or bring any furniture. You need to bring along bed sheets, bed linen, towels and in some cases kitchenware. All of this can be bought in Frankfurt. Please do not forget to bring important documents like your passport/ID-Card.

In Germany, within 2 weeks after moving in you must register at the Citizen Center with a form called “Wohnungsgeberbestätigung”. This document must be signed by your landlord, officially confirming you as a tenant in your accommodation. Bring this form and your passport to the Citizen Center for your registration appointment. Not registering is illegal. Too it is not possible to open for example a bank account without being registered.

Make an appointment with your landlord to check your room for items missing, damages and things uncleaned. Get a signed protocol from your landlord about the condition of your room at the time you move out. Return your room keys. Please check the to-do list before your departure and cancel all contracts (e.g. Internet in private housing, personal liability insurance, “Rundfunkbeitrag” etc.).

You will have to pay a license fee to the German Broadcasting Association called “Rundfunkbeitrag”. See the important information below.

“Rundfunkbeitrag“ is a monthly license fee of 18,36 Euro for radio and TV that has to be paid for every flat regardless whether you make use of it or not. The number of users and devices does not matter. You will receive a bill by post. In a shared flat (called “Wohngemeinschaft” or “WG”), you can discuss with your flat mates for one being responsible to pay for it while splitting the cost by the number of flat mates. Rooms in a dormitory, count as single apartments. You have to pay the full amount (18,36 Euro per month) on your own. You can´t share it with those on the same floor.

For more information see:
https://www.rundfunkbeitrag.de/welcome/englisch/students_and_apprentices/index_ger.html
https://www.rundfunkbeitrag.de/ (German)
https://www.rundfunkbeitrag.de/welcome/index_ger.html (other languages)

Talk to your buddy to find a cheap provider. We recommend for you not to sign a contract by yourself, but only with someone who is able to speak fluent German. Be aware of unlimited contracts. Instead buy a prepaid mobile SIM or get a contract that can be cancelled monthly.

In any case of problems / questions contact Ms. Kosmalla or Ms. Fischer, the Housing Office Coordinators in the International Office.

Criminals exploit the situation of inexperienced apartment seekers by offering occupied apartments on the internet. Usually, the apartment exists, but it is owned by someone else, not the person who offers it to you. You are requested to first pay a large deposit, then the criminal disappears with the money. If you have doubts about an offer please contact the Housing Office before spending money. Once you have paid the money to the trickster, chances are very low, to get it back.