A POC is responsible for each hall of residence. They look after all students living in the halls, from reservation confirmation to termination. POCs are responsible for everything to do with the rental contract, contract extensions and moves, but also for problems with neighbours.
A caretaker is responsible for all technical issues in rooms or in the residence, as well as for moving in and out.
There are furnished and unfurnished rooms and apartments. You can find details here.
Institutions are provided each semester with a set number of rooms for foreign or exchange students. Each higher education institute is responsible for allocating rooms; the student union has no influence in this area. Application for a room is made directly via the institution, together with the application for admission.
The handover of your room must take place no later than the day your contract ends, 12 o'clock . If this is a Saturday, Sunday or an official bank holiday, then handover of the room takes place on the working day prior to this, before 12:00 (general rental conditions, clause 15). Moving out can only take place during the caretaker's working hours (Mo-Fr). Please arrange an appointment with your caretaker at least 14 days before you plan to move out. Your room will be checked for damages and cleanliness during this appointment and there will also be a moving out protocol to follow. All keys must be handed over. You may no longer enter your room once you have moved out and have returned the key.
Is not included as part of the room - you must bring it with you or buy it from the central caretakers offices in Neuenheimer Feld 684.
Applications for a place in our dorms are made exclusively online.
Admission generally proceeds on a first-come first-served basis.
Priority treatment goes to cases of hardship, e.g.: low parental income, illness or disabilities. A case of hardship must be proven in writing with the application (e.g. proof of parental income, proof of disabilities, illness, etc.). More information in the usage regulations and admission criteria.
You can also send in an application even if you have not received an admission certificate or you are not a matriculated student. However, proof of matriculation must be shown at the latest 4 weeks after moving in. If this is not provided then you are not entitled to accommodation - this entails an immediate termination of the rental contract.
If you are not accepted into the university or decide to study at another establishment, then you can cancel your application free of charge. If you have a confirmed reservation, then you can cancel your application upon payment of an administration fee. If a rental contract had already been concluded, then cancellation must be made. In this case, you are liable for the rental payment until further leasing, which usually takes place within 14 days of the semester beginning.
Deadlines: there are no fixed application deadlines. However, we should have received your application by 15th July for the winter semester and 15th January for the summer semester, since this is when we begin to arrange rooms and send out rental contracts. Applications received after this have fewer chances of securing a room and a smaller selection of room to choose from.
PhD students are entitled to live in the halls as long as they are matriculated. There are specific residences for PhD students for which PhD students and students in later semesters are given priority places. Please look at the information about residences to find out which ones these are.
Applicants who can give proof of financial hardship are given priority. To be given priority, you must submit proof with your application (e.g. copy of parents' monthly payslip, tax bill or BAföG assessment).
Around 18 - 25 m2, with individual wetroom and kitchenette. These rooms are primarily allocated to examination candidates or students with serious illnesses or disabilities. First year students and short-term terms are allocated single apartments only in exception circumstances.
Room for one person, either on a corridor with shared facilities or in a flat share.
You can only move in upon commencement of the rental contract and only during the caretaker's working hours (Mo-Fr). Please speak to your caretaker during their office hours about this, or organize an appointment via phone with the relevant to you caretaker office. If this is a Saturday, Sunday or an official bank holiday, then you can only move in on the subsequent working day. Around 900 students move in and out at the beginning of the winter semester, so this means that you may have to wait for some time during peak times. Tip: you'll save yourself a lot of stress if you move in a few days after the first day of the month.
Around 50% German students and 50% foreign students live in the Europahaus accommodation. Exchange students (short-term students) German residents are expected to help and support foreign students Foreign students cannot apply to the Europahaus accommodation directly. Room allocation for foreign students is done via the individual institute, subject to an agreed number of rooms.
See subletting
Proof of finance must be submitted together with international students' applications for accommodation and must show how they will finance their degree in Germany. A document with this information is often required when applying for a visa. Examples of this kind of document are: declaration of suretyship (e.g. by parents), proof of scholarship, proof of a bank account (e.g. blocked account).
You can download and print off all relevant forms here.
Most rooms have lino flooring which can be washed with water, meaning they are suitable for students with allergies. However, some residences and some rooms have carpeted floors. You can find details here.
Sizes can vary a lot, especially in old buildings in the old town. Most single rooms in a flat share are between 11 - 14 m2. Single apartments including bathroom and kitchenette are around 18 - 25 m2.
Depending on the hall of residence, each residence has around 30 - 50% international students. You must hand in proof of finance with your application for accommodation. Exchange students are allocated a room via the respective institution, which has a set quota of rooms. You can find further information for international students here.
An internet connection is theoretically possible in all dorms. Some dorms already have a direct internet connection in the rooms (usually only LAN, some also have W-LAN), for which no extra costs arise. In other dorms, there is no internet connection. In this case the tenants have to take care of the internet connection themselves, by contacting a private internet provider. The use of internet in the dorms is intended only for studying purposes. You can find out which dorms already have internet connection by clicking here.
Not all residences have a caretaker. Many caretakers are also responsible for several residences, so they are not always on-site. They have set office hours and can be contacted via mobile. Please look at the notice board in your hall of residence for information about the caretaker's office hours and telephone number.
Caretakers are responsible for movings in and out, taking care of repairs, tending to outdoor areas, supervising cleaning companies, and lots more. If something doesn't work or if you notice some damages, please report this via our online damage report system. Your caretaker will then take care of the problem as soon as possible.
Except for the Fremerey, Jellinek and Liselottehaus halls in the old town (where there is only a shared TV room) and both halls on Römerstraße, all rooms have a cable TV connection or IP TV.
You can pay in your payments in cash (e.g. the rent) at our main paypoint on Marstallhof 1, 1st floor, left, room 101. This is also where, in certain cases, the deposit is paid back to international students in cash. The main paypoint is open at the following times: Mo, Tu, Thu and Fri 9:00 - 12:00 and We 9:00 - 11:00 and 12:30 - 15:30.
You pay a deposit at the beginning of the contract. This amount remains interest-free according to section 551, para. 3, clause 3 of the German Civil Code (BGB). The deposit is usually paid back within three months of the contract ending to a bank account specified to us, unless there is still any rent due or other amount receivable to the student union. In certain cases international students can pay in cash.
Are not included in the room - they have to be brought with you or bought in the caretakers office.
If you would like to cancel your rental contract before the end of the contract, then you must submit a written notice of termination to the residence management. Cancellation deadlines can be found in the General Rental Conditions, point 14. If you do not cancel according to deadlines then you are obligated to pay rent until a further lease has been secured.
Rents are 'all inclusive': all costs are included in the rent, and there are no utility bills.
Rent payments are made monthly via SEPA direct debit transfer. You will need a German or an european bank account for this, that takes part in the SEPA-direct debit procedure. You can pay rent in cash in exceptional cases, but this will incur a fee. The notice board in your residence will provide more information about fees. Payment in cash is accepted either in the ServiceCenter at Uniplatz, the InfoCafé International in the central canteen or at the main paypoint in Marstallhof.
See facilities
TV licences are not included in the rent. All tenants are obligated to have a TV licence, regardless of whether you do or do not have a radio or TV. All tenants in a flat share have a collective payment obligation, i.e. the amount of TV livence is shared among the number of tenants. You can find more information here and here.
Students with limited financial resources (e.g. BAföG) can apply for a remission.
See Points of Contact
Should there be any damages or deficiencies in your room, your kitchen or your bathroom, it is important that you report them to us as soon as possible so we can fix them and so that there won’t be any further damages and costs.
Please use the following link to report any damage: https://serv4studs.net/stwhd/
Note: please note that you will need your official university email address in order to file a damage report.
The basic rental period is 6 semesters. You can extend the length of your rental contract by taking on special functions in your residence, which involves around 26 hours work per semester. Special functions are varied and range from being a speaker for the residence, providing support to foreign students, to waste management, clearing paths, etc. For each special function performed you can live in the residence for a further semester. This can be extended upon request.
Classic room in a flat share: single room on a corridoor with around 13-15 tenants; shared kitchen and communal showers/toilets. There is an individual sink in many rooms.
Most rooms and apartments are equipped with a telephone socket. However, the connection must be registered yourself at a telephone provider and paid for.
You can only relocate upon written request, in justified exceptional circumstances and at the beginning of the semester (General Rental Conditions point 6). You must have submitted your application to the residence management at the latest by 1 June for the subsequent winter semester and at the latest by 1 December for the subsequent summer semester. Admin fees are charged for relocations. The amount is displayed on notices in residences.
You may sublet your room in the residence for a maximum of six months. You must have obtained written permission from the student union to do this. During term time, you may only sublet to people who are eligible for student housing according to paragraph 1 of the usage regulations. During semester breaks you can sublet your room to other people (e.g. interns, guest academics, etc.). Subletting must be for study-related reasons. You can find an application to sublet here.
Rental contracts begin and end strictly according to the beginning and end of the semester of the respective higher education institute. Heidelberg: 1 April - 30 September and 1 October to 31 March; Heilbronn: 1 March - 31 August and 1 September - 28/29 February. Contracts can begin outside of these dates provided that there are rooms free at the required time. Please mention this explicitly in your application.
Early cancellation of the rental contract can be made only if the room can be re-let.
There are washing machines and dryers in all residences. Payment is made cash-free using your student ID or CampusCard.
If you need to interrupt your stay in Heidelberg for study-related reasons (e.g. studying abroad or an internship), then you will be considered with priority for a place in our dorms, once you have returned, without having to re-apply for a room. However, this is only applicable if you are still eligible to carry on living in the residence. To get a room in a flat share after you return, you should hand in an (informal) application to move in again to your POC, together with written verification that you intend to interrupt your studies (e.g. internship contract, admission confirmation from a foreign university, etc.). Please note that you are not entitled to occupy the same room.
Students from the University of Heidelberg , the University of Education, Hochschule für Kirchenmusik Heidelberg, Hochschule für jüdische Studien, Heidelberg, Heilbronn University, Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Mosbach (DHBW), Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Heilbronn and the DHBW CAS, as well as the Schwetzingen Technical Institute & Graduate Court Registrars' College. More information in the usage regulations for residences run by the Heidelberg student union.
Living space not only includes the room, but also all other areas which can be jointly used, e.g. bathroom, kitchen, corridor, balcony (partially), storeroom in the flat, etc. A rental unit with 18 m2 living space can therefore be a 12 m2 room in a 2-person flat share, in which a further 12 m2 living space is jointly used by both tenants.
Smaller flat shares with 2 - 9 single rooms (size around 11 to 3 m2), one to two wetrooms (shower/toilet), shared kitchen
The minimum rental period is 1 semester. Shorter rental periods are not accepted. The residence period is limited so that as many students as possible can find affordable accommodation. This means all rental contracts are temporary, with the basic residence period being 6 semesters. However, you can extend your rental contract by another 4 semesters (10 semesters in total) in the following cases:
The general housing shortage or financial problems are not a valid reason to extend your contract!
Walksafe is a concept to improve safety for women on the Neuenheimer Feld Campus – especially at night-time. More infos...
