Housing

Inhabitants of Aachen

• Aachen has 250,000 inhabitants,
• 45,000 of which are students,
• and only 5,000 of them live in student dormitories.

Usefule tips & Information

• It is most difficult to find accommodation during the months of March/April and September/October.
• Take note that proximity to the university, as well as city centre will influence the rent price. Central apartments which are close to many amenities will be more expensive.
• Expected monthly costs for accommodation:
  ▶ The basic rent price: between €150 and €400
  ▶ Additional costs (heating, water): between €50 and €100
  ▶ GEZ (radio and television broadcasting): €17,50
  ▶ Internet (WLAN): between €20 and €30
• Finding accommodation outside of Aachen (in one of the neighbouring districts) might be a good place to start if you are looking to keep rent costs low. Your semester ticket allows you to travel for free using all forms of intracity public transport within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
• Being flexible about the area and price of the accommodation means that you are likely to find success sooner.
• Consider whether you would like to live alone or share a flat with others. Sharing accommodation often leads to reduced costs, as well as a more social living space.

General Information

A room or apartment in a residence hall is often the cheapest option, and offers students a great basis to get to know other students from other courses, universities, and perhaps countries. Roughly 10 % of all students registered in Aachen receive placement in a student residence. For this reason, we advise students to consider numerous housing options before settling in Aachen.

Studierendenwerk

You do not need to be enrolled at the university to apply for accommodation. Single rooms, apartments and shared apartments are available to students in the 24 residence halls located around Aachen. Please note, that you are one student out of many enrolled at a total of four educational institutions. For this reason, placement sometimes may take longer than a year.

How to apply for a room

1. First register yourself as a user and complete the application form, giving your personal details followed by the types of accommodation that you would like to apply for.
2. Your application is only considered complete once you have confirmed your email address, by clicking on the link sent to you.
3. You are now on the waiting list, and will be contacted as soon as a space in a residence hall opens up for you.
4. Renew your application on the 15th of every month until you have found accommodation, so that you are still eligible to receive placement.
5. Make sure you answer all the questions (e.g. about your hobbies) properly.

The Protestant Student Organization

The two residence halls of the Evangelisches Studentenwohnheim organization offer single as well as shared rooms, both of which are fully furnished. Rent for a single room, ranges between €80 (heating and water are charged in addition to this) and €370 (all inclusive). Students can apply for accommodation by filling out an application form and sending it to the appropriate person.

The Catholic University Community

The Katholische Hochschule Gemeinschaft has five residence halls with a total of 175 spots for accommodation. There are rooms as well as apartments available, and may cost between €230 and €330. Students can apply for accommodation by filling out forms made available online and sending them to the applicable person.

Student Dormitories in Kerkrade, Netherlands

Living in the Netherlands and studying in Aachen is now possible in the Dutch city Kerkrade, also for non-EU students. Kerkrade is located directly on the German/Dutch border and specifically offers students of the RWTH Aachen University accommodation in various converted buildings (e.g. you can live in an old hospital). You can reach the city centre of Aachen or the RWTH University easily and free of charge by bus or train. For more information about the project "Wohnraum im Umland" please refer to the pdf-file "Take the chance" in the download section.

General information

Most students in Aachen live in private flats. An apartment for a single person costs around 350 EUR - 500 EUR. Another popular option is a shared flat with other students, called a "WG" (Wohn-Gemeinschaft), which may cost between 300 EUR and 400 EUR. Usually, each student has their own room in a WG, while kitchen and bathroom are shared.

Students may opt for a shared flat (WG short for Wohngemeinschaft) or may prefer a more solitary living environment in their own apartment. In either case, writing to the person responsible for renting out the room/apartment to you, needs to know who will be moving in. For this reason we strongly advise students to include a photo of themselves, together with an introduction of themselves, to improve their chances of being awarded tenancy.

Living in neighbouring cities

In order to increase your chances of finding a room or an apartment, it is important to be flexible regarding the location, and take the outer regions of Aachen into consideration (Richterich, Haaren, Laurensberg, Brand, Eilendorf, Kornelimünster, Walheim). We recommend that you extend your search for accommodation to the neighboring cities Würselen, Herzogenrath, Kohlscheid, Alsdorf, Eschweiler, Stolberg, Kerkrade, Vaals, or Kelmis. For example, the city of Stolberg  can be reached by train or by several bus lines within 20 minutes.

Living on the Other Side of the German Border

Please note that, if you are not a citizen of the EU, the conditions of your visa may not permit you to live outside of Germany.

Sometimes it is hard to find accommodation in Germany while you are still in your home country. Luckily, there are several hostels and budget hotels in Aachen that may provide another option during your initial weeks following arrival.

Please make a reservation for your first nights in Aachen as soon as possible, as these venues are extremly busy in the summer months.

• Hostel Aachen: Price per night 12€-38€ (as of September 2019)
• Jugendherberge Aachen (International Guesthouse): Price per night for stay and breakfast starting at 24,90€ (as of September 2019)
• prestep Boarding House: Price per night from 21€ (as of September 2019)
• Couch Surfing
• Klenkes Appartements: for more info please fill out the contact form on the website.
• A&O Hostel Aachen Hauptbahnhof: Price per night starting at 17,10€ (as of September 2019)

Checklist:

• Do you understand the content of your rental agreement?
  If not, do not sign it. It is a legally binding document!
• Is it already signed by your landlady/landlord?
  They should sign it first.

Content (at least, normally German rental agreements are much longer):

• names and current addresses of the contracting parties
• address of the rented property
• term of lease
• rent:
  ▶ devided in Kaltmiete and Warmmiete
  ▶ Kaltmiete - basic rent for use of flat/room
  ▶ Warmmiete - total rent for additional cost: water, gas, heating, waste collection and other amenities
  ▶ the tenant normally has to pay their rent by the third day of the month
• deposit
  ▶ approx. 2-3x monthly basic rent
  ▶ it is a means of security for the landlord
  ▶ has to be paid at the beginning of the month
  ▶ will be returned after move-out if the state of the rented property is in order
  ▶ please take pictures of your flat on the day you move in to use as proof

If you have any specific questions about your rental agreement please get in contact with us accommodation@academy.rwth-aachen.de

For your own safety, please do not make any payments in advance before having visited the property, signed a lease contract, or met the landlord. If the landlord wants to send the keys via mail or requests payments via money transfer services like Western Union, MoneyGram, TNT or Moneybookers, please do not respond - these are hints of an attempt to defraud you.

Checklist:

• Does the address mentioned in rental agreement exist?
• Does the person mentioned as landlord exist?
• Are you sure that the person mentioned is the landlady/landlord of the rental property?
• Have you been asked to transfer the money to a bank account outside of Germany?
• Is the rental agreement written in many different fonts?

This may indicate that this is an attempt to scam you.

If you are not sure if the rental agreement you have received is an accommodation scam - please get in contact with us: accommodation@academy.rwth-aachen.de

• Online application portal of Studierendenwerk Aachen
• WGgesucht
• Information provided by the RWTH Aachen University - Accommodation Services for International Students and Accommodation in Aachen
• Study in Germany - This link is useful when searching for a flat. Information has been provided by the DAAD, German Academic Exchange Service.
• INCAS (INtercultural Center of Aachen for Students) offers a platform for students who are able to offer accommodation for fellow students who are new to Aachen.
• AStA (General Student Committee of RWTH Aachen) offers advice for accommodation concerns. Please take note of their consultation hours.
• HomeCompany
• GEWOGE
• Student Clubs - International students who are already abroad are generally supportive of other students who plan to study away from home - why not get in touch with some students from your home country who are already living in Aachen?