Wohnen

From A to Z

Appartement
We mean by that a self-contained flat consisting of one room with a kitchenette, bathroom and WC. There are also 1- double room flats in a few of the dormitories. They are usually bigger than single 1-bedroom flats and can be rented by couples or if desired by single students.

Application criteria
To be eligible for our accommodation applicants should be students registered at one of the following colleges in Cologne:

University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln)
University of Applied Sciences Cologne with its branch in Gummersbach (Fachhochschule Köln mit Außenstelle Gummersbach)
German Sport University (Deutsche Sporthochschule)
Academy of Media Arts Cologne (Kunsthochschule für Medien)
Catholic University of Applied Sciences (Katholische Hochschule Köln)
Academy of Music (Hochschule für Musik und Tanz)

There exists no legal entitlement to accommodation.
Following groups of students will be given a preferential treatment when renting rooms (in the stated order):

Disabled and students with chronic illness
Students with children
Participants in foreign exchange study programmes
Students in their first semester
Students who live outside of the greater Cologne area

If spaces are left then students will be accommodated on a "first come - first served" basis.

Application for changing rooms
If you do not like the room we allocated to you, it is possible to apply for another room within six months from the day you signed the lease.

Application procedures

Fill out the entire application form in full, correctly and legibly. Only then we can accept your application. Giving false information may mean that the lease is terminated without notice.
Post the completed application form.
The receipt of your application will only be acknowledged in writing when you apply on-line. You will not receive any provisional notification about the status of your application.
Inform us immediately of any change in your address. We will then be able to contact you as soon as we have a vacancy.
The offer will be made in writing, usually four to eight weeks before the beginning of tenancy. In our letter we will fix a deadline by which you should inform us whether you want to accept the offer or not. If we do not receive an answer in the period of time stated in our offer, your application will be put on hold as we assume that you have already found other accommodation.
Should a room become free short-term, offers for this vacancy will be sent to several applicants.
If you do not receive an offer of any room four weeks before you hope to move in, please call us. Then we can discuss if some change in your requirements might mean another residence could be suitable.

If we cannot offer you any room by the time you wished, you will remain on our waiting list a further two months. Unless you contact us within these two months, we will place your application on hold. You can either call us or write to us asking to stay on the waiting list.

Children
In several of our dormitories we offer flats for families. You can find them using the Criteria search. Students with children will be given preferential treatment when renting rooms. In the Hall in Höninger Weg there is also a day nursery.

Contact person
For every Hall of Residence there are two contact persons working for Kölner Studentenwerk. One of them will be helping you during the application phase until the completion of agreement. The other one will help you later on during your tenancy.

Also, in every Hall of Residence there are students working as administration helpers (Verwaltungshelfer). You can find them in the dormitory office during their working hours. These administration helpers are the first persons you can contact in case you have any questions or problems considering your room or the Hall of Residence. They will also hand you over your room keys on the day that you move in.

Deposit
A deposit of 300 € is payable at the time the agreement is signed. After the lease has been terminated, you will receive this deposit back but without interest. The interest paid on the deposit during your tenancy will be invested in the maintenance of the accommodation you live in.

Disabled students
... will be given a preferential treatment when renting rooms (see also Application criteria). We offer both specially adapted rooms for disabled students and "disabled-friendly" living space suitable for disabled students. Rooms and flats suitable for disabled are in every respect adapted to the needs of a wheelchair user. Disabled -friendly flats are suitable for disabled in some aspects only – e.g. wider doors and adapted showers. Using the criteria search you can find the Halls of Residence with the desired facilities.
Your contact person is Ms. Emexidis.

For information about advice centres for disabled students contact our Social advice centre.

Floor plans
You will find them for most of our houses
by clicking the link "Hall of Residence" and then selecting a particular house.

Please be aware of the fact that these floor plans are just examples, that shall give you a first impression of a particular hall of residence. But naturally there are slight differences between the flats and rooms within each house that cannot be shown in this context.

First semester
Beginning of studies, new city, no friends around: you can best meet new people by opting for a room in a Hall of Residence unless you choose in a 1-bedroom flat.

If you want to study in Cologne, you should apply for a room as soon as possible – preferably one semester before you start your course. You will need a student ID when signing for a lease.

For the second time
Students who have already lived and moved out of our Halls of Residence can only move in for a second time if:

They have done community service or military service in the meantime,
They have been given time off from college because of a sickness or participation in a foreign exchange programme
They have done their practical training relevant for their studies, but had to move to another city during that time.

Furnishing
We offer both furnished and unfurnished rooms. In your application form you can state your preference. When you choose a furnished room you have to use the furnishing provided. You cannot remove it from the room and store it somewhere else.

Even if you do not have much money, you can furnish an unfurnished room in a nice way. You only have to visit one of Cologne's many second hand furniture warehouses. Second hand furniture warehouses

Insurance
The insurance policies covering these buildings do not include the personal property of residents. Therefore, Kölner Studentenwerk is not liable for any damage to your property. We recommend that a suitable policy is taken out by students when their property is not covered by their parents’ policies

Housing benefit (Wohngeld)
Students and trainees with independent budget who are not entitled to BAföG (a grant) can apply for a housing benefit.

You can apply under the condition that you can prove you permanently have your own home in your place of residence and that you really need the financial support. This means that neither you nor your familiy earns more money than accepted by the Housing benefit law (Wohngeldgesetz).

For more information and advice you should visit your local Bürgeramt. There you should get in touch with the Wohngeldstelle im Fachbereich Soziales.
More information about Wohngeld in German

Internet
In our houses you can surf the net paying only a reasonable flat rate. These costs are not included in the rent. Our administration helpers will give you information on how you can make arrangements for rental.

Location
Most of our houses are situated right by one of the Cologne colleges. Halls of Residence situated on the outskirts of the city have good transport links.
General map

Private rooms
Kölner Studentenwerk publishes a list of accommodation offered by private landlords. We place this list in the first floor of our building at Universitätsstraße 16 – and if the landlords agree we publish them on our website. Offers can be made by telephone 0221-94265-217 or by fax: 0221-94265-212.
Private accommodation offers

Radio / Television licence fees:
You are obliged by law to register your radio and TV-sets at Gebühreneinzugszentrale. The required registration form can be obtained at banks and savings banks. If you have a notice from the Social security office (Sozialamt) stating that you are in need, you can be exempted from these fees.

Rent
As our tenants you pay an inclusive rent: that means that the additional costs like electricity, gas, water and refuse are included in this price and there are no additional final payments at the end of year. Because of state subsidies our rental prices usually lie under the market value.

Repair/Damage notices
There are special forms available at the Halls of Residence (next to the mail boxes) to report damage or requests for work/repair.. Place the completed form in the letter box of the Hall of Residence's office.

Shared flats (WG)
From two to seven students can share a flat at our Halls of Residence. There is a kitchen, a bathroom and a toilet in these flats, but all these facilities are shared. Each tenant has his or her own lockable single room. If one of the tenants moves out of the flat, the remaining occupants can suggest a new tenant, provided that person has not lived in one of our Halls before. The Kölner Studentenwerk has the final say on who will be the new tenant in the room in question.

Single room
By that we understand a study bedroom at a Hall of Residence with a communal kitchen, WC and bathrooms. There is an additional common room in some of the Halls. In several single rooms a washbasin is provided, and some additionally have a kitchenette

Tips for the accommodation search
In case you do not find a room you need with the Kölner Studentenwerk in time...
The tips

Tips for moving in and out

Registration: you have to register at the responsible district office within one week of moving in. To be able to do this you need a registration form. You can receive it free of charge at the district offices (Bürgerämter) or you can buy it in any stationary shop. Before you can go to the district office to register, our administration helpers or your contact persons in our office have to sign and stamp your registration form. If Cologne is to be your main city of residence, you will also need a -form from your former place of residence. You will also need your ID/Passport to register.
Registration of motor vehicles: you have to re-register your vehicle only if it is registered under your name and if Cologne is your main city of residence. The responsible office is the office for public order (Amt für öffentliche Ordnung). For registration you need your ID with a Cologne address, registration document of your vehicle, motor insurance card, number plates and the ASU-notice (compulsory annual test of a car’s emission level).

Telecommunication companies offer a redirection service. Redirection of services from banks and savings banks can vary, you should inquire early enough before you move

Telephone
Almost all rooms and flats have telephone points. Arrangements for rental should be made directly with a telephone company. Students on low income can apply for a form from the social security office (Sozialamt), which you have to take to the telephone company for exemption from the monthly telephone standing charges.

Tenure
Leases between Kölner Studentenwerk and the students are limited to a maximum of three years. This way we ensure that as many students as possible are accommodated. An extension for an additional year is only possible under following conditions:

The tenant is taking their finals and can prove it by written confirmation
They participated in the running of the Hall of Residence as administration helper or council member.

They can prove that they would be unreasonably burdened by moving out e.g. owing to serious illness. Financial reasons or a general shortage of accommodation are unacceptable reasons.

Waiting list
The waiting list does not offer you a ranking place. The allocation of rooms takes place according to the criteria stated above, and of course we take into account preferences you stated in your application. Waiting time is usually about one semester –less if you do not state a preference and accept the first room offered to you.

Washing machines
There are washing machines and tumble dryers in every Hall of Residence. You can operate them using a UniCard - our chip card, which you can also use as a payment card in the canteens of Kölner Studentenwerk. To charge it with money use the special automatic machines in the canteens. Students who live in Hürth Efferen can load their chip cards in the machines in the workshop at Hahnenstraße 15.

Wishes concerning the room
Each applicant can decide if he is interested in:

Any room
A certain type of room
(single room, room in a shared flat, 1-room flat –
furnished or unfurnished)
Only in a room in a certain Hall of Residence.

You have more chance to getting a room at short notice if you choose option number 1.

Wohnberechtigungsschein (WBS)
– Written statement from the housing office allowing you to moving in certain low-rent flats subsidised by the city

Some of our Residences are reserved for those with a form from the demarcated housing office (Amt für Wohnungswesen) called Wohnberechtigungsschein - WBS - and is a condition for signing a lease here. It allows you to live in a low-rent flat not larger than 45 square meters. Couples and families are allowed to live in low-rent flats up to 60 square meters for 2 persons and up to 75 square meters for three persons.

Foreign students must hold a residency permit valid for at least one year to apply and only students whose annual income does not exceed a certain amount can receive such a form. For detailed information about the allowed income please contact the Amt für Wohnungswesen.

You can apply for the WBS at the Amt für Wohnungswesen. For your application you will need following documents:

Valid ID-card (foreigners passport and residence permit)
Registration confirmation
Proof of income
Student ID

Even if you decide not to move in one of our houses it is still worth applying for a WBS, since you can also move in other low-rent flats in the city when you have it.
Further information about the WBS / Application Download in German