Housing in Vienna

Finding a dorm room in Vienna for the autumn is hard. By 25 September 2026, OeAD Housing, the housing service of the state agency OeAD, had stopped taking applications for the winter semester, and Home4Students said there were no places left for it. The private houses The Fizz and The Social Hub were fully booked by that date. The City of Vienna says many dorms fill up several weeks before the semester starts and advises applying as early as possible.^1–5

Apply as soon as you decide to come, and to several dorms at once. If nothing is free, your options are a room in a shared flat, a WG, or a private student residence with a lease of at least three months, and you can bridge the first weeks after arrival with temporary housing.

When and where to apply

No operator turns away preparatory-course students outright, though not all of them say so directly. ÖJAB explicitly accepts you without a university enrolment. STUWO takes anyone currently or soon starting studies that require a school-leaving certificate. Home4Students and OeAD Housing ask for proof of enrolment at an Austrian university. Once you register for the preparatory course, whether directly at VWU or through a partner, you count as an außerordentlicher Studierender, a non-degree student, of your university, and you get documents that say so. To avoid guessing, email the operator before you apply and ask whether they accept that non-degree confirmation. If you don't need the preparatory course and the university enrolled you outright, you're a regular student and none of this applies to you.^6–11

The City of Vienna names the application date as the first criterion dorms use to rank applications. Applying at STUWO, ÖJAB and Home4Students is free and doesn't commit you to anything: you only pay if you turn down a place you've already been offered, more on that below. Apply to houses that already look full too: Akademikerhilfe says outright that this can still work, and at STUWO rooms free up throughout the year.^5–8·12

If you're applying to several residences, save them with "Add to list" on the student residence map: "My list" then shows a link to each operator's application or booking page.

Residences where you choose and pay for a room directly on the website are shown on the map filtered to "Online booking".

Where the dorms are and what they cost

Vienna student residences on a map

VWUTUWUBOKUSprachenzentrumdie BeraterZIB

© OpenMapTiles© OpenStreetMap contributors

107 residences · from €289 half of all listings at €462 or less

Where do you study?

• Uni Wien
• TU
• WU
• BOKU
• MedUni

• VWU
• Sprachenzentrum
• die Berater
• ZIB

Point at where you study to see the residences within 20 min by public transport.

Open the map of residences→

The map shows student dorms, with addresses and, where available, prices from the operators' own sites. Prices are for the 2026/27 academic year, as listed on 25 September 2026. Each dorm shows a price "from", meaning its cheapest room type. Click a dorm on the student residence map to see its room types and what each one costs; the map also filters by price and room type and shows travel times to where you study. The cheapest place overall, €289 with everything included, is a double room in a shared flat at Home4Students. The Fizz's prices change in real time and it doesn't publish fixed ones, so check the figure on the map against its own site. Its standard lease has no end date, can be terminated once a year, by 31 August, with three months' notice, and the deposit equals three months' rent excluding utilities.^13–16

If there's no dorm room: WGs and private residences

The main alternative to a dorm is a room in a shared flat, a WG. Listings turn up on three sites:

• Schwarzes Brett, the notice board of the student union ÖH. Both the ÖH itself and OeAD recommend it.^1·17
• WG-Gesucht. Searching is free, full access to listings is paid. On 25 September 2026 it listed 548 WG listings in Vienna. The site itself says a room usually costs between €450 and €700, and that a student will be asked to show proof of enrolment, an ID, and proof of income.^18·19
• willhaben. One of Austria's most-used listing sites.²⁰

Private rentals are usually found only once you're in Vienna: landlords want to meet the tenant, and TU Wien advises against renting a room from abroad without seeing it. Never send money to a non-Austrian account or via Western Union. A common scam: the "landlord" lives abroad, asks for a two-month deposit, and promises to mail the keys.^21·22

A second alternative is private student residences with short leases. EFFI Studios rents studios from €599, Donau Homes rents a room in a shared double studio from €539, both for a minimum of three months. Both ask for proof of enrolment or income, and EFFI also asks for a parental guarantee. Brokers such as Housing Austria resell rooms in other operators' houses with their own fee of €150 to €250. A room on Triester Straße that STUWO rents from €586 was offered through Housing Austria for €745 plus their fee, so always check the price on the operator's own site.^23–27

The first few weeks: temporary housing

When your lease starts later than you arrive, a place for a few weeks is easier to find. OeAD Housing rents a room for September alone, Viennabase offers guest stays from one month, mostly in summer, and STUWO signs short summer leases when rooms are free. ÖJAB also takes short-term tenants if it has room. You don't need to register your address in the first two months if you're in a hotel; in a flat or a dorm you have three days, and the article on your first weeks in Vienna explains how.^1·6·7·28

What you pay when you move in

Besides the first month, almost everywhere asks for a deposit, and some also charge fees:

Figures are taken from the operators' own pages. Turning down a confirmed place costs money too: at ÖJAB it's €150 if you cancel more than three months before the lease starts, and more if you cancel later.^{7·8·12·29·30}

How to pay without an Austrian bank account

Some operators accept one-off payments by card: the deposit and first month at STUWO, Akademikerhilfe's registration fee, OeAD Housing's booking fee. The monthly rent is collected by SEPA direct debit, automatically, from a euro account, and both STUWO and Akademikerhilfe require an account at an EU bank. So open an Austrian account in your first weeks after arrival.^7·12·31

How to move out

A dorm isn't rented month to month, and leaving early takes planning. STUWO's standard lease runs for 12 months and can be terminated with three months' notice, effective end of month. ÖJAB only lets you leave early at the end of February or June, if you write in by 30 November or 30 April. Some Home4Students houses close for the summer, and you have to move out by the end of June and register your new summer address within three days. The deposit isn't returned right away after you move out: WIHAST takes up to 60 days, Akademikerhilfe 45 to 60 days.^{7·8·12·32–34}

If you rent a flat

On the private market, the usual deposit is three months' rent. If the flat falls under the tenancy law, the Mietrechtsgesetz (MRG), a fixed-term lease runs for at least three years. Whether it applies to your flat depends on the building, so ask before signing. The law still lets you, as the tenant, leave early, but not before a year and only with three months' notice. Whoever hires the broker, the Makler, pays the broker's fee. What monthly rent actually costs is worked out in the article on expenses.^35–37

Housing and your residence permit

You don't legally need to prove housing for a student residence permit, but its cost is counted when the authority checks whether you have enough money. That's why OeAD recommends attaching at least three months of housing to your application, and MA 35, Vienna's migration authority, asks you to document regular expenses: a rental contract, a dorm contract, or bank statements. How much money to show once rent is factored in is worked out by the calculator in the article on the residence permit.^38–40

Sources

· 40 checked 25.09.2026

1. 1WIEN: Ausgebucht WS/2026: Alternativunterkünfte hier — OeAD student housing · checked 25.09.2026
2. 2Aktuell freie Studentenheimplätze — home4students · checked 25.09.2026
3. 3Suche Wien — THE FIZZ · checked 25.09.2026
4. 4Student accommodations in Vienna Prater Park — The Social Hub · checked 25.09.2026
5. 5Halls of residence for students (Studierendenheime) — City of Vienna · dated 23.02.2026, checked 25.09.2026
6. 6FAQ (general) — ÖJAB · checked 25.09.2026
7. 7FAQ — STUWO Studentenheime · checked 25.09.2026
8. 8Anmeldetipps — Home4Students · checked 25.09.2026
9. 9Wichtige Hinweise zur Anmeldung — OeAD Student Housing · checked 25.09.2026
10. 10Ergänzungsprüfungen — Vorstudienlehrgang der Wiener Universitäten · checked 23.09.2026
11. 11FAQ — Vorstudienlehrgang der Wiener Universitäten · checked 20.09.2026
12. 12FAQ — Akademikerhilfe · checked 25.09.2026
13. 13Studentenheim Erlachplatz — Home4students · checked 25.09.2026
14. 14Sind noch Apartments verfügbar und wie hoch ist die Miete? — THE FIZZ Help Center · dated 28.07.2026, checked 25.09.2026
15. 15Welche Mietperioden gibt es und was ist die Mindestmietdauer? — THE FIZZ Help Center · dated 28.07.2026, checked 25.09.2026
16. 16Wie kann ich ein Apartment buchen? — THE FIZZ Help Center · dated 28.07.2026, checked 25.09.2026
17. 17Living — Österreichische Hochschüler_innenschaft (ÖH) · checked 25.09.2026
18. 18WG-Gesucht.de · checked 25.09.2026
19. 19Flatshare to rent in Wien — WG-Gesucht · checked 25.09.2026
20. 20Welcome Compass: Wohnen in Wien — Universität Wien (für Mitarbeiter*innen) · checked 25.09.2026
21. 21Accommodation in Vienna — TU Wien, International Office · checked 25.09.2026
22. 22Betrug mit Wohnungsangeboten im Internet — Arbeiterkammer Wien (живой сайт 25.09.2026 отдавал HTTP 500, текст сверен через снимок web.archive.org от 2026-03-07) · checked 25.09.2026
23. 23Studios — overview of our studio sizes — EFFI Studios · checked 25.09.2026
24. 24Rooms — Donau Homes (DOHO) · checked 25.09.2026
25. 25FAQ — Donau Homes (DOHO) · checked 25.09.2026
26. 26Student dormitories in Vienna — Housing Austria (Vermittler) · checked 25.09.2026
27. 27STUWO Wien: Alle Studentenheime im Überblick · checked 25.09.2026
28. 28Guest stay / Summer stay — Viennabase, homes for students · checked 25.09.2026
29. 29Student Housing in Vienna Prater — MILESTONE by Tribera · checked 25.09.2026
30. 30FAQ (move-in) — ÖJAB · checked 25.09.2026
31. 31FAQ 191: Wann und wo muss ich die Buchungsgebühr bezahlen? — OeAD Student Housing · checked 25.09.2026
32. 32FAQ (contract & fee) — ÖJAB · checked 25.09.2026
33. 33Anmelden eines Wohnsitzes — Stadt Wien · checked 20.09.2026
34. 34FAQ — WIHAST · checked 25.09.2026
35. 35Kaution — Arbeiterkammer Wien · checked 25.09.2026
36. 36Befristete Mietverhältnisse — Arbeiterkammer Wien (живой сайт 25.09.2026 отдавал HTTP 500, текст сверен через снимок web.archive.org от 2025-06-17) · checked 25.09.2026
37. 37Bestellerprinzip — Arbeiterkammer Wien · checked 25.09.2026
38. 38Temporärer Aufenthalt — migration.gv.at · checked 25.09.2026
39. 39Aufenthaltsbewilligung Student (kein Mobilitätsprogramm) — OeAD · checked 20.09.2026
40. 40Aufenthaltsbewilligung Student — Stadt Wien, MA 35 · checked 23.09.2026