Housing - Scandinavian Academy of Fashion Design
NEWS: New course dates. Click here to read more.

Housing

Is it financially viable if you are a student on SU and have your own home? Yes, it can. But it’s a little easier if you’re sharing rent and fixed expenses.

If you want to study at SAFD in Copenhagen and have your own accommodation, it’s a good idea to plan ahead. You can apply for a dorm room or invest in your own apartment, but there are many other ways to live in Copenhagen.

Options and Housing Types

There are many ways to live in Copenhagen. As a student, you can apply for a dorm room or invest in your own apartment, but there are many other options.

Residence halls and youth housing

In youth housing and halls of residence, you live among other students. Youth housing is a little more private than dormitories and often has more space. On the other hand, they can also be more difficult to assign.

Cooperative or owner-occupied apartments

If you want more privacy, you can invest in a cooperative or condominium, or you can share the apartment with someone else and cut the cost in half. Housing prices depend on where in Copenhagen you want to live. With a half-hour commute to and from SAFD, you can stay much cheaper than if you live in central Copenhagen.

Collectives and Cohousing

Here you can live with more than one person. You share the costs of rent, internet, heating and electricity. Often there will be a weekly meal plan, as well as regular cleaning jobs and the like.

Help with housing

Students have to find their own accommodation. Like all other major student cities in the country, Copenhagen also has a wide range of dorm rooms, dedicated student apartments and regular rental and owner-occupied housing.

Housing Portals and Housing Websites

One way to explore your current options is to visit:

  • CIU.dk – A portal that, together with the City of Copenhagen, has introduced a special prioritization of housing for students in the metropolitan area
  • AkutBolig.dk – Denmark’s largest free rental housing portal with rental properties from more than 600 different professional landlords
  • Ledige-Lejligheder.dk – Free housing ad market when you need to rent, let, sell or buy an apartment or room, for both private and professional
  • Boligbesked.dk – Free rental housing portal. The rental housing portal matches tenant and landlord, so both parties avoid drowning in hundreds of ads and inquiries
  • KollegiernesKontor.dk – A portal where you can find available dorm rooms
  • UngdomsBoliger.dk – Provides both dormitories and youth housing
  • FindKollegie.dk – Gathering place for all the country’s dormitories, you can search and find over 500 dormitories
  • FindBolig.nu – A housing portal where you can find vacant apartments and youth housing throughout the country for free and sign up for waiting lists
  • Andelsboliger.dk – A Danish housing search engine that brings together all available cooperative housing in Denmark
  • HousingAnywhere.com – An international portal for exchange students, but also used by Danish students.

We also recommend you visit the following sites:

Facebook Groups

Facebook groups are also great for finding apartments and rooms. Try the following groups, for example:

Colleges

Like websites and Facebook groups, it’s also possible to apply for a room at a number of private dorms. However, these are coveted and often have long waiting lists, so apply well in advance. Here is a list of halls of residence in Copenhagen:

Portals for collectives and cohousing communities

  • Cohousing.dk – Find cohousing communities and collectives across the country
  • Kollektivet.dk – Forum for housing ads, especially alternative living options
  • Roomies.dk – Meet other young people looking for tenants/roommates

Nørrebro, Vesterbro, Østerbro

City Center

Ørestad / Amager

Public housing associations with youth housing in Copenhagen

You often have to sign up here, but some have shorter waiting lists outside the city center:

  • KAB-bolig.dk – Manages many social housing units in Copenhagen
  • fsb.dk – Has both family housing and youth housing
  • DABbolig.dk – Housing company with apartments throughout the country
  • Bo-Vita.dk – Cohousing communities and social housing in Copenhagen

Subletting and Short-term Rentals

Many students start with a temporary place (e.g. subletting for 1-6 months), which can give them peace of mind to look for more permanent accommodation.

The following platforms are relevant:

  • Uniplaces.com – Focus on temporary housing for students
  • Sublet.com – International sublet homes
  • BoligPortal.dk (sublet category) – Many posts about temporary rooms and apartments

Search Online

You can also find information by searching Google with these keywords:

  • Available apartments
  • Copenhagen Municipality
  • Youth housing
  • Find accommodation

 

Often, being in Copenhagen and talking to other students will help you find more opportunities. In our own experience, all students have found a place to live after the first month.

Checklist for your house hunt

Here we have gathered a number of concrete tips to help you get an overview and get started on your house hunt. It takes a little patience and initiative – but with the right tools and an active effort, it’s entirely possible to find accommodation in Copenhagen as a student.

  • 1. Start in good time
    Apply as soon as you've decided to study in Copenhagen - even if you haven't received final admission yet.
  • 2. Sign up in multiple locations
    Portals like FindBolig.nu, CIU.dk, KAB-bolig.dk and KollegiernesKontor.dk have waiting lists - the earlier you sign up, the better.
  • 3. Think temporary and flexible
    You may want to start with subletting or short-term rentals - many people find their permanent home once they arrive in the city.
  • 4. Consider living outside the city center
    Districts like Valby, Brønshøj, Vanløse, Amager, Sydhavnen and surrounding municipalities like Glostrup, Rødovre, Herlev and Lyngby are often cheaper and have good train, metro and bus connections.
  • 5. Use networking and Facebook
    Share with friends and family that you are looking for a home - and be active in Facebook groups. Many rooms are not officially announced.
  • 6. Check dormitories and student housing often
    Some dormitories have sudden vacancies, especially around the start of the semester. Check their websites and contact them directly if possible.
  • 7. Avoid housing scams
    Be critical of ads that seem too good to be true. Never pay a deposit until you've seen the property and received a rental contract.
  • 8. Use English language portals when needed
    Portals like HousingAnywhere.com and Uniplaces.com are also used by Danish students - especially for temporary solutions.
  • 9. Consider living with others
    Cohousing and collectives can be both socially and economically affordable. Check out Bofællesskab.dk, Roomies.dk or Kollektivet.dk.
  • 10. Talk to your fellow students
    Some have a spare room, others move out and can recommend their place to others. Word of mouth often works better than housing portals.

Privacy Preference Center

Privacy Preferences

Scandinavian Academy of Fashion Design uses cookies to create a better user experience, to interact with social platforms and for anonymized statistics on the traffic on our website. Cookies are small text files placed on your computer by websites you visit. Websites use cookies to help users browse and perform certain functions efficiently. The cookies required for the website to function properly can be set without your permission. All other cookies must be verified before they can be set in your browser.

If you have given permission for the collection of data and placement of optional cookies, SAFD subsequently processes your personal data in accordance with our privacy policy. Read our cookie policy, which also contains a link to our privacy policy.

Necessary

Required
Strictly necessary cookies allow core web functionality such as user login and account management. The website cannot be used correctly without strictly necessary cookies.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to see how visitors use the website, e.g. analytical cookies. These cookies cannot be used to directly identify a specific visitor.

Marketing

Marketing (Targeting) cookies are used to identify visitors between different websites, e.g. content partners, banner network. These cookies can be used by companies to build a profile of visitor interests or display relevant ads on other websites.