Depending on your status, the length of your studies or your budget, you can choose between renting a room in a university residence and private accommodation (rental from private individuals).
The university residences offer rooms whose prices vary in line with the facilities offered and level of comfort. The student usually sleeps in an individual room but shares the kitchen, lounge area, shower and toilets with other students. This type of accommodation (known as a “kot”) allows you to get to know students from all over the world and of all levels of studies.
The average price of a room is 400 euros per month.
In Belgium, individual rooms for students (in a university residence or in communal apartments belonging to individuals) are known as « kots ».
As the number of places are limited, it is important that you complete certain administrative procedures within very specific deadlines. To do so, you must contact the housing office of the university, university college or arts college where you intend to study.
To find accommodation in the private sector, two options are open to you: a personal search and search via a specialised agency.
A personal search can be conducted on the web and by consulting the notice boards in stores and in certain bookshops or supermarkets. Trailing the streets on the lookout for vacant accommodation carrying “à louer/to rent” signs is also a popular way of finding accommodation.
An estate agency is mainly used to find more expensive styles of accommodation. If you have enough revenues to pay a high rent, it can be practical to use an agency.
The average prices of accommodation in the private sector (furnished rooms – kots, studios or apartments) vary between 400 and 650 €/month, depending on the type of accommodation.
In order to find accommodation in a university residence or in the private sector, housing offices set up within higher education institutions guide you in your search.
If you arrive in Wallonia-Brussels without having arranged accommodation, we advise you to book a room in a hotel, guesthouse or bed and breakfast in the town of your destination.
You can also consult the website of HousingAnywhere in order to find short-term student accommodation.
Essential information about renting accommodation
The lease (rental contract – le “bail”): for all rentals, you must sign a rental contract, whose duration is generally one year. At the time of signing the contract, you must pay the amount of the rental deposit.
The deposit, a sum equivalent to one or two months’ rent is requested at the time of signing the contract. It will be refunded to you at the end of the lease after an exit inventory of fixtures, the return of the keys and the closing of the accounts.