Accommodation
The student residences of Heidelberg University are administered by the Studentenwerk, an independent organisation providing the student population with a number of services. The Studentenwerk cooperates with the Auslandsamt to secure accomodation for exchange students. On their ”Application for Admission as an Exchange Student”, students must indicate whether or not they would like to be housed in a Student Hall (Studentenwohnheim). They will be notified if their application could be considered in the assignation of available rooms. This notification is sent together with the Zulassungsbescheid approximately one month prior to the start of the semester. Please note that reservations for an accommodation in a Student Hall have to be done via the Akademisches Auslandsamt. Please do not contact the Studentenwerk directly.
Unfortunately, due to the large number of Erasmus students and the limited number of rooms available, we cannot guarantee every Erasmus student accommodation in a Student Hall, especially during winter term.
Students who register for the Preparatory German Language Course will receive a room reservation from 1 September or 1 March. Please note that we cannot guarantee that the room will be available for the entire exchange period.
Residences managed by the Studentenwerk are very well equipped. Students usually stay in flats, single rooms or shared flats. Detailed information about the services offered by the Studentenwerk, and about student residences in particular, is available via Internet, on the Studentenwerk homepage http://www.studentwerk.uni-heidelberg.de ("Studentisches Wohnen"). The Studentenwerk cannot take individual preferences for specific residences into consideration when allocating rooms.
Students who have a room reservation are strongly advised to arrange the arrival to coincide with the opening hours of the Info Café International (ICI), as this will allow them to move into the room straightaway. The opening hours are Monday - Thursday, 10 a.m.- 15 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. - 14 p.m. Once in Heidelberg, students should go directly to the Info Café International (ICI) at Universitätsplatz (entrance via Grabengasse and Sandgasse) to inquire about their room assignment and to sign their lease. Room allocation details cannot be sent prior to arrival in case of last minute alterations. You may only move into the room after you have signed the Mietvertrag (lease), payed a deposit (including administration fee, about € 350) and the first month’s rent (€ 180–250) at the ICI. These payments must be made in cash as the Studentenwerk does not accept credit cards or cheques. Unless stated otherwise, rooms are reserved for six months starting 1 October or 1 April. Remember: 3 October is a national holiday, so all university and government offices, banks and shops will be closed. Furthermore, you should not arrive on a weekend.
IMPORTANT: Leases are for the whole term (1 October until 31 March or 1 April until 30 September). Leases can only be terminated early if a new tenant can be found for the room (although this is usually not very difficult in August and September). You will have to continue to pay the rent for your room until it is let to a new tenant. Students who wish to leave before the end of their lease must inform the Studentenwerk in writing at least two months before their date of departure. Contracts can as a general rule only be terminated to the end of a calendar month. If you wish to end the contract early, thus using the room for less than six months, the rent will be increased.
For those students who do not receive a room in a student residence or who prefer to find private accommodation the Studentenwerk runs an accommodation service providing information, in cooperation with the Auslandsamt. Neither the Auslandsamt nor the Studentenwerk can give information concerning private accommodation by telephone, e-mail or fax; you have to come to the accomodation office personally. The accommodation office is located in the Info Café International (ICI), Triplexmensa, near Universitätsplatz (city centre); access is via Sandgasse and Grabengasse. Private rents are usually considerably higher than those in student residences. The cheapest rents in the private sector range between € 200–300 (often, an additional deposit of appr. two months’ rent is required).
The Accomodation Service offered by the ERASMUS Office presents another option. The Service is designed for Incoming Students looking for an alternative to accomodation in a Student Hall as well as for Outgoing Students wanting to sublet their accomodation.
As a special service for exchange students, the Auslandsamt also sends out a list of private accommodation services and of accommodation offers which are especially intended for international exchange students. Usually, it is necessary to visit a room or apartment in person before a rental contract is set up. Therefore, we recommend that students requiring private housing arrive at least two to three weeks before lectures start.
If you cannot arrive during the ICI business hours, you will have to make arrangements to spend the first night with a friend, at a hotel or at the youth hostel (Tiergartenstr. 5, Tel: +49-6221-651190, Fax +49-6221-6511928, info@jugendherberge-heidelberg.de, links via http://www.djh.de). Further information about local hotels is available from: Gästezimmerzentrale, Häusserstrasse 44, 69126 Heidelberg, Tel./Fax +49-6221-160363.
