Accommodation in Sweden

Whether you’ve decided to take the leap and move to Sweden to study or you're still mulling it over, housing is an important aspect of moving abroad to study. It's important that you're able to find a place to rest and recoup during your hectic university days.

There are a multitude of options for housing. You could choose to live in student halls where some of your best friendships will be formed, or you could rent an apartment either on your own or share with your friends. Heres a list of options for student accommodation in Sweden. The average cost of accommodation can range from SEK 2,500 - SEK 6,500 per month, with Stockholm costing closer to the higher end.  

 University housing schemes

The most common housing option for students, most universities may offer accommodation to first-year students and expect you to have found your own by the time you're in the second year. There is also another option where certain areas in Sweden such as Sundsvall offer a housing guarantee for all students. This option offers shared living, such as a shared kitchen, living room and potentially bathrooms. Sometimes universities offer a studio where you may have a stove, sink and small bathroom for your own use so there are options if you would prefer not to have to worry about no toilet paper in the shared bathroom. 

Some universities, especially those in Stockholm, may not typically have a campus but rather a housing office where they may have different types of accommodation for their students. Other universities may have sponsored housing from one of their corporate partners. However, this may be dependant on a grade requirement (such as a high GPA) or location (outside EU) requirement. 

It is worth it to get in contact the housing association or office in your university once you've been accepted as this will give you the best chance to get the kind of housing you want. As there are limited spaces and many applicants for university housing, its best to start as early as possible.  

Private accommodation

 There are many options for private accommodation but again you can always contact your university housing office and ask for the best places to start looking. Blocket.se is one of the more popular websites to use to search for housing for renting privately. But always be careful when it comes to private accommodation: 

• Rental law in Sweden is complex. One of the things to look out for to be sure that it is legal and legitimately safe for you to be renting and living in this space is that the landlord has authorisation from the apartment’s housing board.
• Make sure that you get insurance for anything that breaks
• Make sure that you've checked both your rights and read the contract thoroughly before you sign. 

 For Stockholm specifically, there are also organisations such as the stockholms studentbostader with requirements such as being a member of the student union at a Stockholm university. It can be quite a tedious process and queues could go on from between 6 months to even 4 years. Prepare early, so you can minimise the stress.

Accommodation Tips 

As with any country starting as early as possible to find housing in Sweden is always helpful. The best way to find suitable housing to meet your needs and within your budget is to start as soon as you get your acceptance letter.

Contact your university housing office, look at all of your options, think thoroughly about what you can expect that within your budget and start as early as possible. All of these things ensure that you will have a smooth and successful start to the year because you won't be stressed or worrying about finding housing.  

Now that you’re familiar with student accommodation in Sweden, learn more about what life could be like while you’re there.