Student accommodation in Germany: WG vs Dorms

Are you about to pick your student accommodation in Germany? Find out the pros and cons of different types of student accommodation in Germany.

Marle

9 minute read

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Updated on 13 Sep 2024

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Renting

Once you’ve secured your place at a university in Germany, the next step is to book your student accommodation. As an international student, this is particularly tough as you’ll have to find a place to live while you’re abroad. To help you decide which student accommodation in Germany is best for you, we’ve taken a closer look at the 2 most common student accommodation options in Germany: WG and dorms. In this article, we’ll lay out the pros and cons of each type and give you some tips on how to book them from abroad.

The first question you’ll have as an international student is: What is a WG?

WG stands for 'Wohngemeinschaft’, which essentially means ‘shared apartment’. This is one of the most popular choices for international and local students, and about a third of those studying live in a WG in Germany.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of living in a WG in Germany.

Pros of living in a WG in Germany

1. It’s affordable: Living in a WG with others is cheaper than renting an apartment, and you can split rent and utilities between roommates. With such a demand for WGs in Germany, you’ll also be able to shop around and find the most affordable WG for you.

2. Great for socialising: Because you’ll live with other students, life in a WG is very sociable. Whether you’re partying, studying, or cooking together, living in a WG is a great way to make new friends in Germany.

3. Balance of social life and privacy: As you’ll have your own private room in the WG, it’s possible to have a lot of privacy when you don’t feel like socialising. But you’ll also have the option to hang out with your roommates when you feel up to it.

4. Comes furnished: Most WGs in Germany come furnished with kitchen equipment and furniture in common areas. You may even find some WGs with furniture in your private room, so all you need to bring is bedding!

5. Flexible renting experience: WGs are usually more flexible in terms of the duration of the lease, and you’ll have more options in terms of location. Some WGs will even allow you to leave your lease sooner if you can find a replacement in time. Now we’ve outlined the pros of living in a WG in Germany, let’s look at some of the cons.

Cons of living in a WG in Germany

1. Sharing common spaces: Living in a WG in Germany means you’ll have to share common spaces like the kitchen and living areas with your roommates and anyone they invite over. This can be hard if your roommates are messy or loud,

2. Different lifestyles can cause conflicts: Each person living in a WG will probably have a different schedule and a different approach to handling chores and splitting bills. It can lead to conflicts if you and your roommates aren’t on the same page.

3. Less control: You’ll have less control living in a WG in a few different aspects. Whether it’s cleaning schedules, selecting furniture or having friends over, you’ll probably have to make sacrifices while living in a WG in Germany.

4. Dealing with changing roommates: Living in a WG in Germany means adjusting to new roommates pretty often. Depending on the type of rental contract you have, you might even be responsible for finding a replacement tenant for your WG or even paying rent on an empty room.

5. Costs for damages: If a roommate causes damage to the common areas, you might all be responsible for replacing or repairing the damage.

If you’ve decided that you want to live in a WG, it’s a good idea to prepare yourself to make sure your life in a WG is chilled and enjoyable. Here’re some tips for living in a WG in Germany.

Make agreements with your roommates: It’s a good idea to make some agreements with your roommates about things that may impact everyone’s quality of life. You should ensure you and your roommates agree on the following:

• Cleaning schedules
• Who pays if one person causes damage in a common area
• Whether you grocery shop and eat separately or together
• Bringing friends over
• Loud music or parties

Find a WG with an individual rental contract: Unless you plan to rent an entire WG with people you know well and trust, it’s a good idea to try to find a WG where each tenant has their own rental contract. This will be a great support if any of your roommates move out with short notice, as it won’t be your responsibility to fill the vacancy, and you won’t have to pay rent on an empty room.

Doors closed mean you want privacy: In many WGs, it’s an unspoken rule that having your door closed means you want privacy. An open door means you’re down to hang out with your roomies, and they’re welcome to chat in your room.

Use headphones: You’ll be living with other students, and it’s unlikely that you’ll all have the same study schedule. Getting and using headphones is crucial. Your roommates may have exams or study schedules that are different from yours. Get a decent set of headphones, and you can still enjoy your music, movies, or shows without interrupting your roommates' focus.

The process of finding a WG in Germany as an international will vary somewhat depending on which city you live in and which websites you use to search for your WG. Let’s break it into some clear steps that apply in any case:

1. Decide on a location: Whether you’re about to search for budget-friendly student rooms in Berlin, Frankfurt or another popular German student city, knowing the neighbourhoods of that city is essential. To help you out, we’ve created neighbourhood guides for the following cities:

• Berlin
• Frankfurt
• Hamburg
• Munich
• Stuttgart
• Düsseldorf
• Cologne

2. Decide what your preferences are: Once you’ve found the neighbourhood you want to live in, it’s time to decide what requirements you have for your future home. Decide how many people you’d like to live with, if you want to share with smokers, if you’d like to have your own bathroom or share it. This will help you narrow your search down further.

HousingAnywhere search filters allow you to narrow down your search for a new home by budget, facilities, landlord ratings and more.

3. Use reputable websites to book: Using social media websites like Facebook is a risky way to find a WG in Germany as an international student, as there’re lots of scammers targeting internationals on these sites. The safest way you can book your WG in advance is to use a reputable website. While you can find WGs with websites like WG-Gesucht, HousingAnywhere will allow you to search for and speak to your landlord in English and other languages. This way, you can speak to your landlord in your native tongue, and it’ll be translated on both ends to avoid misunderstandings.

4. Pay attention to property description: As an international student, it’s very likely that you’ll need to rent a place that allows you to register your address. This is a requirement to get your residence permit or study visa in Germany. You should also check whether the rental price you see includes utilities. If you’re using a German website, look for Warmmiete (warm rent) rentals as they’ll have all bills included in the rental price. Kaltmiete (basic rent) means you’ll need to enquire further about the cost of utilities.

With approximately 40% of students in Germany living in a student dorm, it’s clear this is a popular choice. However, student dorms in Germany usually have pretty limited availability, so this number could be even higher if there were more dorms available.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of living in a student dorm in Germany.

The pros of living in a student dorm in Germany

1. Very affordable: Student dorms are typically funded by the state and are a lot more affordable than renting alone or even in a WG. Granted, you’ll be sharing with more people, but it can be much cheaper than renting in a WG.

2. Great locations: Student dorms in Germany tend to be located near the university and sometimes on the university campus. You won’t have far to travel for your classes, and there’re usually amenities made especially for students close by, which means cheap grocery stores and student bars!

3. No need to furnish: Student dorms in Germany are fully furnished, saving you the cost and hassle of finding furniture. You might even have new bedding provided by your rental company. The common areas like the kitchen, living room, and study rooms will also be well-equipped, and you may even have additional facilities like a laundry room and gym.

4. Great for making friends: Particularly for international students, student dorms are a fantastic way to make new friends when you get to Germany. Many student dorms will even arrange social events to help you get to know your roommates and others living in the building.

5. You’ll have support services: Because student dorms are usually run by the university or a housing organisation, there’re usually support staff on hand if you have any issues in your dorm. They can help with interpersonal issues with those you share common areas with or any repairs you may require

Now that you know the pros, let’s look at the cons of living in a dorm.

The cons of living in a student dorm in Germany

1. It’s hard to get a place: Because student dorms offer cheap rent, good facilities and excellent social opportunities, they’re very popular amongst students, first-year students in particular. Finding availability in a student dorm is tricky, so make sure you start looking for a dorm as soon as you’ve received your acceptance letter.

2. You won’t have much privacy: While you’ll usually have your own bedroom in a student dorm (unless you decide to share), you’ll still have to share a lot of common spaces. You could be sharing with 10 or more people in a dorm, so getting time in the bathroom or space to cook in the kitchen can be frustrating with so many people sharing.

3. Leases aren’t flexible: While you won’t be able to live in a student dorm beyond the duration of your studies, you also won’t be able to stay for less than a year in most dorms. Some dorms will even ask for your entire year’s rent up-front or in 2/3 instalments. If you decide dorm life is not for you, you’re probably going to lose quite a bit of money.

4. Limited space: Your bedroom in a student dorm will probably be relatively small (usually between 11-18 square metres). This can make storage quite a challenge, especially for an international student. You’ll have to think of creative ways to store clothes for every season as Germany’s weather is quite changeable. Having guests over is also tricky with so little space.

5. Noise levels: When you live in a student dorm in Germany, it’s unlikely that everyone you share common spaces with will have the same study schedule. This can be hard to deal with during the exam period if your roommates don’t have exams, too. Common areas like kitchens and living rooms can get loud easily, and parties are pretty frequent in student dorms.

Tips for living in a student dorm

If you want to live in a student dorm in Germany, it’s a good idea to do some research to make your life in a dorm as enjoyable as possible. Here’re some tips to help you along:

• Set cleaning schedules: It seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how quickly and how messy a student dorm can get. It’s a good idea to create a cleaning schedule early into your tenancy so you can ensure that the mess doesn’t get out of hand.

• Share your timetables: It’s a good idea to give your roomies a rough idea of when you’ll have exams or important assignments that you’ll need to study hard for. Most universities will have exam blocks, so you should all be doing them roughly the same time. However, it’s good to keep people’s studies in mind.

• Use vacuum bags for storage: Depending on where they move from, international students who move to Germany may not be able to travel home often. This means you’ll have to bring or buy clothes for all weather. Vacuum storage bags are a great way to have all your essentials on hand without taking up too much space. And they’re cheap!

• Label your things: Sharing with a lot of people in a dorm can be tricky if it’s not clear who owns what food, shampoos or even toothpaste. Unless you all agree to a communal budget and a large grocery shop, it’s a good idea to label what’s yours so people know not to use it.

According to Rishi, a guest on a recent HomeAbroad episode, 'You should apply for a student dorm via the studierendenWERK website or your university as soon as you get your admission.

He also notes that 'the waiting period for each apartment or each room is roughly about 12 to 18 months.' These are just some of the valuable insights shared on the podcast, which is a must-listen for anyone searching for student accommodation in Germany. Check out the full episode on Youtube or Spotify to learn more.

Finding a place in a student dorm in Germany shouldn’t be your only plan as there’s such limited availability. To avoid disappointment, prepare for a plan B. A WG could be considered a smaller version of a student dorm, so consider having that as a backup plan.

Now that you’ve got an in-depth understanding of how living in a WG in Germany compares to living in a student dorm in Germany. It’s time to apply to your German university of choice, and remember to use HousingAnywhere to find your future home in Germany!

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