Housing

Made the decision to come and start an academic adventure in Flanders or Brussels? Congratulations! Now it is time to look for accommodation. In this section, we will link you to helpful housing websites per location and institution.

Finding a place to live - general guidelines

In Flanders and Brussels, there is only limited accommodation available on campus. Most students live in student houses (also known as a "kot") available on the private market. We don't have a shortage of student housing, so you should be able to find a room for €450-€600/month. As an international student who is looking for housing, your first point of contact should always be your institution. Some offer accommodation services for international students, which include giving advice on how and where to find a room.

Unless you have made clear arrangements to move into your permanent room on the day of arrival, we advise you to reserve a room in advance in a university guesthouse or a hostel for the first few nights or weeks. Please also note that especially around September and before the start of the second semester, hostels can fill up easily.

Types of accommodation

University guest houses

University guest houses offer rooms at variable prices for a limited duration. Specific regulations apply with regard to check-in times, location, prices and comfort (shared or private sanitary, breakfast or not,.. ). Please check your own institution's webpages on housing for detailed information.

Accommodation in the private sector

We highly recommend looking up available options online several months before your arrival and reaching out to the landlord to secure your room. You can also reach out to a real estate agency if you are looking for more expensive styles of accommodation (a single-person apartement or flat, for example).

We do not recommend starting your search after arrival, seeing as options will be much more limited.

Student rooms

The standard rental term for a furnished "kot" (student room) or studio is 12 months, although some landlords may accept a rental term of 10 or 11 months. Check if water, electricity, heating, and internet are included in the monthly rent. Although rooms are usually let with basic furniture, you will most likely need to provide your own mattress, blankets, pillows, sheets, towels and light bulbs. Some utensils may be available but you will often have to buy your own plates, cutlery, pots and pans and other kitchen utensils.

Students of all genders often live in the same house. Each student usually has their own private, furnished bedroom and shares the kitchen, lounge area and sanitary facilities with other students. In most cases, students are responsible for cleaning their own rooms and the shared kitchen.

Flats and apartments

The standard rental term of a flat or apartment is one to nine years. They are usually not furnished and expenses usually come on top of the monthly rent. To rent a flat or a house, a rental deposit of two months rent is usually required on a blocked account. If you consider renting a flat or a house together with friends, make sure you make crystal clear arrangements among you. Otherwise it's better to rent a room just for yourself.

UNIVERSITY PAGES ON HOUSING

Find the dedicated webpages on housing from all our universitieso below.

Universities

Universities of Applied Sciences

It is so hard to describe this experience in words, but with all my heart, I can say that I have many “homes” in many parts of the world now and all those I met have a “home” in Turkey as well.

Elif, Turkey