No, RWTH does not own, nor rent or manage any dorms or accommodation in general. The Studierendenwerk Aachen, along with further private dorms, offers low-priced housing options for students in and around Aachen.

Consult our Housing Guide, which contains an overview of short-, medium- and long-term housing options in and around Aachen, including the link to their website, approximate prices and application / booking procedures.

Degree students are usually not eligible for quota rooms.

If you are an exchange, program or visiting student staying at RWTH for one semester or two only, you may be able to apply for one of the so-called quota rooms. For that, you first need to have applied at the Incoming Student Services in due times. Our Housing Advice Service will contact you accordingly to provide you the access to the application portal as well as your applicant number.

Please note that the International Office is in charge of the application process, whereas the Studierendenwerk – as owner of the dorms – is responsible for the offers, the allocation of the rooms and all further procedures (lease contract, rent payment, deposit refund, et cetera).

The Studierendenwerk Aachen and all further private dorms are independent from the university. RWTH Aachen and the International Office have no influence whatsoever on the allocation process or waiting lists.

Students with German or EU citizenship may live in the Netherlands or Belgium. Non-EU students must apply for a German residence title to study in Germany and thus have a registered residence in Germany. It is therefore not possible for non-EU students to live in the Netherlands or Belgium.

Some publicly funded and therefore lower-priced apartments have specific tenancy requirements. For instance, you need to present a housing entitlement certificate, or Wohnberechtigungsschein, which both German and international students can apply for. Those with little income can check their eligibility for the Wohnberechtigungsschein at WBS Rechner and at the City of Aachen housing office. Please note that both websites are only available in German.

If you have any questions regarding your rental agreement or if you are having problems with your landlord or landlady, you are welcome to contact the legal advice team at the Student Union AStA. There you can get advice from lawyers and find out what exactly your rights and obligations are as a tenant. AStA also organizes seminars on the topic of tenancy law. Information on upcoming events can be found here. Under downloads you can also find an AStA brochure on this specific topic. Please note that it is currently available in German only. Furthermore, you can find an information sheet with important information about tenancy law in the download area below.

The first month rent and deposit are usually requested from the dorm administration, landlord or landlady to pay before moving in, after the lease contract has been signed by both parties. There is usually a clause included in your contract mentioning the latest possible date of payment (e.g. third of the month). In case you are late in payment, talk to your dorm administration or landlord or landlady. You may have to pay an additionnal fee for the delay.

Once you have moved into your new home, have the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (the confirmation from your landlord, landlady or dorm administration) signed. Make an appointment at the Citizens’ Office in Aachen via the appointment tool at the latest two weeks after your move in date and bring the signed document as well as your personal ID or passport with you. Further information about the registration process is available in German at the Serviceportal der Stadt Aachen.

If possible, have a relative or a friend do the first transfer for you. Once you will have registered your address in Aachen, you will be able to unblock or create your bank account with the confirmation of address registration.

If you would like to rent out your property or sublet your apartment or room, please first consult our website with related tips. If you have further questions or you would like to submit an offer, please reach out to our Housing Advice Service team via email.

Even though your rental agreement with the Studierendenwerk runs until the last day of a given month, it is only possible to move out by the last working days (Monday to Friday) of the month and you need to arrange an appointment with the Hausmeister early on, as an official inspection of your room is necessary when handing over your key.

There will also be a "pre-inspection" of your room, approximately 6 to 8 weeks prior to the end of your rental contract in case any larger repairs must be scheduled in advance.

If you fail to follow the correct procedure when moving out or refuse to allow the "pre-inspection", a fee will be deducted from your deposit. For more information, please refer to the Studierendenwerk Questions and Answers page.

If you are living in one of Studierendenwerk’s residence halls, it usually takes 12 to 14 weeks for the deposit to be transferred back. Should it take longer, please reach out to the Studierendenwerk directly. On the private market, it can take up to six months to take your deposit back. Make sure in both cases to keep your move out protocol until you get the reimbursement.

There are several tricks which are used typically by scammers targeting international students in particular. Some of them are summed up well on iamexpat.de. In general, use common sense and never send any sensible documents or transfer any money without having absolute proof that the person you are being in contact with and the accommodation offer actually exist.

Scammers are particularly active on social media like Facebook and the most popular housing research portals such as WG-Gesucht or Ebay Kleinanzeigen. They may contact you proactively, which only happens rarely in serious cases.

Some scammers are also using temporary housing portal such as Booking.com or Airbnb to insert fake offers. The latter can be easily spotted if the payment for your booking should be made by extra transfer and not via the secured payment portal.

This is a typical scam situation: the alleged owner contacts the apartment hunter and informs them that he is abroad and cannot come to the viewing. He/she offers to send the key for the viewing of the apartment by mail or to hand it over through an intermediary. As a deposit for this, you should transfer money in advance to “secure” the apartment. As soon as the transfer has been made, however, you receive neither a suitable apartment key nor an answer from the alleged landlord. Sometimes, the scammer will go as far as trying to get you to transfer more money, saying the money never arrived on his or her account.

Sometimes, you may not have the chance to physically visit the place before booking it. This is the case for example if you are applying for a student dorm from abroad. In those cases, you can usually easily check if the offer is legitimate, since those must have at least a website to refer to and have a company stamp or similar.

On the private market, you should be more careful. If you have been in contact with a potential owner or lessor but you were not able to visit the apartment or room beforehand, make sure to proof-check the legitimacy of the offer before transferring any money or providing any sensible documents. Do not rely simply on some pictures and an email / WhatsApp conversation.

1. Ignore: Do not respond to the scammer's demands. Do not transfer money under any circumstances. Do not cash checks or forward letters and packages - do not keep them either. If you have already transferred money and if possible, immediately reverse any payments made.
2. Back up: save all mails and chat texts as evidence on a storage medium. Keep bank transfer receipts, etc. If you are still unsure, contact your nearest police station. They will tell you what you need to do to secure all the evidence.
3. Get help: File a report with the police and inform our Housing Advice Service. Prosecuting such perpetrators is difficult because they operate from abroad. Nevertheless, you should definitely report the incident to maybe help others students no getting scammed by the same person or alias.