Finding Accomodation

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General

As a visiting academic you have the choice of finding private accommodation or staying in one of the University guest houses. The search for a suitable and an affordable play to stay often poses the greatest difficulty at the beginning of your time at your host university. In Erlangen it can be particularly difficult to find accommodation; at the start of semester there will be an additional several thousand new students looking for accommodation. Finding a place to stay can, therefore, be a long and costly process. You can greatly increase your chances of finding suitable accommodation by being flexible about where you live. If you are not able to find a place directly in Nuremberg or Erlangen, try looking in the surrounding area. Near-by towns and villages, such as Forchheim, Uttenreuth, Fürth, Herzogenaurach and Baiersdorf all have good bus and train connections.

Unfortunately our international guests have sometimes made negative experiences on the housing market. Please be careful and doublecheck if necessary.

As a general rule, the University does not provide any facility for arranging accommodation directly in Erlangen und Nuremberg. Staff at the University will try to help you to find accommodation. They are, however, NOT responsible for organizing your accommodation. Your host department and the Welcome Centre will do everything that they can to assist you in your search for accommodation. We would first like to give you some useful advice.

If you intend to move to Erlangen or Nuremberg with your family, we recommend that you find suitable accommodation first before your family joins you in Germany. Whilst you look for accommodation you could stay in a hotel, guest house, or perhaps with friends.

Should you require support in finding private accommodation, please contact your host department or Ms. Sommer at the Welcome Centre, Tel. +49 9131 85-24884, e-mail: welcome@uni-erlangen.de. We will be happy to help you with useful tips and information.

University Erlangen-Nürnberg Guest Houses

Guest houses have flats / apartments available for visiting academics. The University guest houses unfortunately do not have enough capacity to provide all visiting academics with a place to stay. Often the guest houses are fully booked months in advance of the start of semester. Please contact your host department or Ms. Schäfer and Ms. Ritzer at the guest house directly (details below) if you are interested in staying at one of the University guest houses . M ake your reservation as early as possible!

University Guest House
Bergstraße 13, 91054 Erlangen
Tel./Fax: +49 9131 85-23033

University International Centre I (IBZ I)
Erwin-Rommel-Straße 61, 91058 Erlangen
Tel. +49 9131 85-27951

University International Centre II (IBZ II)
Erwin-Rommel-Straße 63, 91058 Erlangen
Tel. +49 9131 85-27951

"UniKate" Guest house
Carl-Thiersch-Str. 5, 91052 Erlangen
Tel. +49 9131 85-26617

Uttenreuth Guest house
Schulstraße 13, 91080 Uttenreuth
Tel. +49 9191 85-26617

Office Hours:
Bergstr. 13: Tuesday - Friday, 8.30-12.30
Erwin-Rommel-Straße 61: Tuesday and Thursday, 8.30-12.30
Carl-Thiersch-Str. 5: Monday and Wednesday, 8.30-12.30

E-mail: uni-gaestehaus@zuv.uni-erlangen.de

 

Finding Private Accommodation

General Information on finding private accommodation

The local newspapers ( Erlanger Nachrichten , Fränkischer Tag ) provide the best source of information on accommodation to rent. The Wednesday and Saturday editions of the local daily newspaper have listings of flats and rooms to let. It is also possible to place an advert indicating the sort of accommodation you are looking for. Listings of available accommodation and further information about the rental market can be found on the websites of local and regional newspapers.

Further possibilities are the pin boards which include a range of offers and requests for accommodation, books, furniture, etc. These boards are located at various places throughout the University, in many of the research institutes, in the refectory and in corridors and entrance areas. Our experience, however, is that most of the offers of accommodation are for single rooms in shared flats or houses.

You can also contact the "Immobilen Regionalservice". This service office is the central housing agency of the local residential building cooperatives and public housing companies. The service is free of charge.

The Wohnref GmbH housing agency has long-term experience with international guests. Its services are mainly for employees of the Siemens AG, but doctoral students or researchers of the university can are also welcome to use it. Please note that fees will apply for their services.

It is also worth trying the so-called short-term letting agencies ( "Mitwohnzentralen") , which are common in many university towns and cities. These agencies primarily arrange the letting of furnished rooms in shared properties and furnished flats for limited periods of time ranging from one month to a year. A fee is charged for finding suitable accommodation (approximately 15 % of the monthly rent including heating and utility bills for each month of the contract). There are various commercial short-term letting agencies, some of which cooperate across Europe. If you are unsure about the trustworthiness of a particular agency, please ask someone in your host department or contact us at the Welcome Centre.

Possibly the most expensive, but also the most efficient option is to use an estate agency (" Maklerbüro") . The fee charged is usually equivalent to two months' rent, which might well be too great an investment for a short stay.

General Information about Rental Contracts

It is usual for the landlord /landlady to ask for a deposit equivalent to three months' rent (without heating and utility bills) in order to cover the costs of repairs made necessary through potential damage caused by the tenant. Once the cost of any necessary repairs has been deducted, the remaining sum must be repaid to the tenant once the rental contract has been terminated. The exact conditions for this arrangement should be included in the rental contract. The deposit is generally paid into a savings account.

The rental period begins as soon as both the landlord or landlady and the tenant have signed the rental contract. Once you have signed the contract, it is legally binding. We strongly recommend, therefore, that you read through this often extensive document carefully and in detail before you sign.

The rental contract includes details, in particular about the monthly rent, additional bills, required period of notice, payment of possible repairs, costs of renovating the accommodation at the end of the rental period, length of rental period and the conditions for potential increases in the monthly rent.

Additional clauses may be included relating, for example, to the use of garden areas, car parking spaces. It is also advisable to check whether house pets are allowed if you intend to keep one.

General house rules ("Hausordnung") are also part of a rental contract; these rules stipulats, for example, that all unnecessary loud noise be avoided before 7am, between 1pm and 3pm and after 10pm. Rules may also determine if or how often the tenant is required to clean commonly-used areas of the building (staircase, entrance area, cellar).

The period of notice is generally three months; any deviation from this standard notice period must be written into the contract or be agreed elsewhere in written form.

Before you move into your rented accommodation you must arrange an appointment with the landlord/ landlady for the official handover. The purpose of this meeting is to conduct a joint inspection of the property for possible damage (scratches, stains, wear and tear, broken items, etc.). Details of any damages must be written down in the handover report ("Übergabeprotokoll") even if they appear to be minimal. If you fail to document any damage, you risk being presented with a bill at the end of your rental contract to cover the costs of repairs or risk losing your entire deposit if the landlord /landlady claims that you were responsible for causing the damage. Your landlord/ landlady must sign the handover report, but you should keep it in your possession.

Electricity, gas, television, telephone and internet access should be arranged independently by the tenant with the respective authorities or providers.

If you encounter language difficulties whilst searching for accommodation - not everyone will speak English - please ask your host department for help in providing someone to interpret for you and ask them to check your rental contract and, possibly, the handover report before you sign to ensure that there are no misunderstandings. Feel free also to contact Ms. Sommer at the Welcome Centre - Central Office for International Affairs (tel. +49 9131 8524884, e-mail gaestebetreuung@zuv.uni-erlangen.de).

Useful Addresses - finding private accommodation  

  • Short-term letting agencies ("Mitwohnzentralen")
    NB Some companies may charge fees!!!!