Finding accommodation for exchange students

Contact

Exchange students

Office hours

Availability by phone
Mondays: 9:00-12:00 and 14:00-15:30
Thursdays: 14:00-15:30

Online office hours
Tuesdays: 9:30-10:30 in our virtual meeting room (BigBlueButton)

Face-to-face office hours (SSC)
(Haarentor campus, Building A12)
Tuesdays: 14:00-16:30
Thursdays: 10:00-12:30

Our team of tutors offers help and support with all general questions and about life in Oldenburg. The tutor team can be reached at

Social Media

Instragram: international.tutors

Facebook: International Students in Oldenburg

WhatsApp: Internationals UOL

Links & Downloads

Illustrated hall of residence dictionary – German – English – Chinese Studierendenwerk Deutschland and Studierendenwerk Bielefeld
List of abbreviations in German advertisements for flats and houses
Glossary for housing matters Glossary for housing matters German-English

Finding accommodation for exchange students

Please do not come to Oldenburg without arranging for a place to stay before you arrive. The University of Oldenburg does not own or manage any dorms and thus cannot provide or guarantee your housing!

A community room with kitchen and dining area. The room is functional and inviting. — Studierendenwerk Oldenburg

1. The housing situation in Oldenburg

When applying for the exchange programme, students from partner universities can also submit an application for a place in student accommodation. PhD students and freemovers are not eligible.

The Studierendenwerk Oldenburg (SWO) runs halls of residence for students at favourable rents, but the number of applicants always exceeds the number of places, so you cannot expect to receive a room offer. The SWO rental contracts always run 6 months and can be extended once for a further 6 months. The rent (plus a deposit) is due in advance for the full 6 months when the contract is signed.

If you do not receive a room offer, you need to be prepared to find a room on the private housing market. The search is usually easier locally than from abroad. So be prepared to use AirBnB offers, cheap hotels or guest houses for the first few days and weeks. Plan an appropriate budget for this.

Tip: Finding suitable accommodation in Oldenburg/near the university is not an easy task and is also expensive (approx. 400 euros/room). You have a better chance if you look in places outside Oldenburg. Many of these places are easy to reach by bus or train (e.g. Bad Zwischenahn, Delmenhorst, Wilhelmshaven, Varel, Westerstede, Rastede). As an enrolled student in Oldenburg, you will receive the Deutschlandticket, which means that you will not incur any additional costs for using buses and regional trains.

2. Step by Step: How to find a place to stay?

Step 1: hall of residence

If you are eligible (see point 1), submit an application for a place in the student dorms. The application deadline is July 15 for the winter semester and January 15 for the summer semester - but do not rely on being offered a room. For organisational reasons, you will not find out whether your application has been successful until the end of July or the end of January.

Step 2: private housing market

At the same time, start looking for accommodation on the private market in and around Oldenburg.

With the website www.wohnen-oldenburg.de, the Student Council (AStA) of the University of Oldenburg offers a new platform for finding accommodation that protects against housing scams. The site features offers exclusively from selected partners. Please note, it is still new and currently under development.

Whats App group Wg-gesucht.de (flat & flat share)Kleinanzeigen – Wohnung (flat)Kleinanzeigen – WG (flat share)Private accommodation Studierendenwerk Oldenburg Notice board in Stud.IP (you need a university account Facebook: International Students in Oldenburg Facebook: Wohnung/ Haus Oldenburg&umzu (homes in and around Oldenburg)Facebook: Wohnungen in Oldenburg (appartments in Oldenburg)Studentenzimmer Oldenburg (student rooms in Oldenburg)Gsg-oldenburg GEWOBA Housing company NWZ Immowelt Immonet Immobilienscout24 meineStadt

Step 3: accommodation in hotels and hostels

If you have not yet found permanent accommodation before your arrival, you can book cheap hotels or hostels as a temporary solution:

Airbnb Booking.com Boardinghouse Hotel-bb Jugendherberge , long term stay option possible Couchsurfing Rooms and holiday apartments in Oldenburg Three holiday flats - apartments in Oldenburg

Rooms rented out to construction workers may provide a temporary solution as well. They provide basic, functional accommodation. In some cases, such rooms may even be available for longer periods of time:DMZ.de

3. Housing Guide Presentation for all new international students

Presentation on living in Oldenburg and finding accommodation (As of 18 September 2023)

Housing Guide Presentation Information on living in Oldenburg for international students (updated version 2025)
Transcript of the Presentation

4. Beware of scams! How to recognize and avoid housing scams

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is!
If every attempt to see the flat is declined
If a deposit or rent payment is required to secure the flat due to “the high demand”. The scammers may promise a refund in case you do not like the flat.
If they send you a copy of their passport to prove their identity (fake ID) and also request you to send them a copy of your passport.
If communication is only possible via email or WhatsApp but not by telephone or video call
If they cannot prove they are the owner, they probably aren’t: a lease contract draft does not prove the legitimacy of an offer. Scammers will usually provide foreign bank details supposedly belonging to a relative.

Source: RWTH Aachen University