Accommodation

Studentenwerk Leipzig (student dorms at Leipzig University)

The Studentenwerk Leipzig offers the option of shared living in a student dorm (single or double rooms) or apartments. The rent varies between 170€ and 425€ per month with a minimum contract of at least one year. The rent covers most incidental costs such as electricity, water, heating, and Internet access. Generally, the rooms are furnished, but for hygienic reasons, you need to bring your own bedding and kitchenware.

As a student of Leipzig University you can apply online for a room in one of the halls of residence. Simply set up a user account and follow the instructions. In order to apply for a student dorm, you need a study permit or a certificate of enrolment at Leipzig University.

Renting a Flat or Apartment

If you want to live in your own apartment you need to rent it. Renting in Leipzig is, however, a bit different then in other countries. Most flats do not come with furniture, which means that you have to buy furniture, sometimes even a kitchen. So you have to buy all the furniture, in some even a kitchen. This also implies, that you have to have handyman skills to be able to install lamps and build up your own furniture.

If you rent a flat or apartment you have to be aware, that you have in the incidental costs include only heating, water and things like house cleaning (not your flat!). You additionally have to sign up for electricity, telephone and internet.

You also need to ask your landlord for the minimum length of lease, many landlords have a minimum lease of one or even two years.

Links were you could find flats to rent:

Furnished flats

Furnished flats are rare in Leipzig. There are some agencies that specialize on furnished renting; the flats are more expensive than unfurnished once.

Those flats have the advantage that they also have many of the incidental costs included and they usually have a short minimum length of lease (often just 3month).

Links were you could find furnished flats to rent:

Hc24

Flat-sharing (Wohngemeinschaft/WG)

A very common alternative to living by alone is flat sharing. Many students in Leipzig live in a so-called WG. It has many advantages, e.g. costs such as electricity, Internet and TV license fee can be shared.

Links were you could find WGs:

Deposit

Usually you will have to pay a deposit to your landlord. In most cases this is between 2 and 3 times your monthly rent. The money is returned to you when you leave the contract together. If the flat needs to be renovated in some form after you leave it, the landlord can keep parts of the deposit to cover the respective costs.

Internet

Even though many areas in Leipzig have free WLAN (aka Wifi), you might want to have internet at home. If you have your own flat or apartment you have to find a provider. The main providers in Germany are Deutsche Telekom, Kabel Deutschland, Vodafone and 1x1. They all vary in their monthly rates. So a comparison of the current offers is advisable, e.g. http://dsl-germany.com/en/biglist.php