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3. Student Housing Costs in Germany
4. Student Housing Costs in the Winter Semester 2026/27: Rooms in Shared Apartments Average €510

Student Housing Costs in the Winter Semester 2026/27: Rooms in Shared Apartments Average €510

Student housing costs remain largely stable across Germany in the winter semester 2026/27. At the German university locations analysed, a room in a shared apartment costs around €510 per month. However, this nationwide figure masks growing rent differences between places of study.

The joint analysis by the Moses Mendelssohn Institute (MMI) and 91��Ƶ covers 90 German university locations with more than 5,000 students. Compared with the winter semester 2025/26, the nationwide figure weighted by student numbers increased by around one percent. It stood at €505 at that time and at €512 in the summer semester 2026.

Rent differences between university locations are growing

The largely stable nationwide figure masks considerable differences in housing costs between university locations. For the ten-year comparison, the MMI divided the locations into three price segments based on their distance from the respective nationwide figure.

In the winter semester 2016/17, 35.4 percent of students were enrolled at university locations where the median rent for a room in a shared apartment was no more than ten percent above or below the nationwide figure at the time. Today, this applies to only 20.7 percent. At the same time, the share of students enrolled at both lower-priced and higher-priced locations has grown.

The widening gap is also evident independently of this classification: over the ten-year period, the relative distance between the lower and upper quartiles of the location figures increased by around 27 percent. The differences are therefore not solely a result of the overall rise in rents.

One third of students are enrolled at particularly expensive locations

At twelve of the 90 university locations analysed, the median is more than ten percent above the current nationwide figure. Although these locations account for only 13.3 percent of the locations in the study, one third of the students covered by the analysis are enrolled there.

This upper price segment includes some of Germany’s largest university locations. The current median is €850 in Munich, €650 in both Berlin and Hamburg, €640 in Cologne and €630 in Frankfurt am Main. All five cities were already part of the upper price segment ten years ago.

Rooms are often expensive even in the lower-priced quarter of the market at these locations. At all twelve university locations in the upper price segment, the first quartile is above the current BAföG housing allowance of €380. The first quartile is the threshold below which one quarter of the recorded listings fall.

Demand for rooms rises ahead of the winter semester

For first-year students, finding an affordable room is only part of the challenge; they also face intense competition for the available listings. A separate analysis by 91��Ƶ shows that in several university cities, newly published listings received more than three times as many written enquiries within their first seven days in August as they did in June.

“For many first-year students, the competition begins a second time after securing a university place – this time for a room in a shared apartment. On 91��Ƶ, we can see how sharply demand is intensifying: in several university cities, listings are receiving more than three times as many enquiries as in June. Anyone who finds a suitable room now should therefore act quickly and make contact as soon as possible.”

Annegret Mülbaier, Press & PR at 91��Ƶ

Our analysis of the search for shared accommodation ahead of the winter semester shows how new listings and written enquiries developed over the summer. This separate analysis is based solely on 91��Ƶ data; the enquiry figures are not part of the joint rent calculation with the MMI.

BAföG housing allowance falls short at many locations

The BAföG housing allowance remains at €380 in the winter semester 2026/27. At 76 of the 90 university locations analysed, the median rent for a room in a shared apartment exceeds this amount. These locations account for 84.4 percent of students.

At 48 locations, even the first quartile of recorded room listings is above the allowance. These locations account for 55.1 percent of students. An increase in the housing allowance to €440 is planned for the following summer semester. Even at that level, the current median would still be higher at 45 of the 90 locations.

For young people moving away to study, the differences in housing costs can therefore also influence which university location is financially accessible:

“For young people moving to another city to study, the place they choose makes a considerable difference. They are often unfamiliar with the local housing market, have few local networks and are particularly dependent on publicly advertised accommodation when looking for their first room. Whether a room in a shared apartment costs €400, €500 or €650 can therefore play a major role in determining which place of study is affordable at all.”

Prof. Dr Stefan Brauckmann, Moses Mendelssohn Institute (MMI)

Methodology

The joint analysis by 91��Ƶ and the Moses Mendelssohn Institute covers 90 German university locations with more than 5,000 students. Distance-learning institutions and universities of public administration are excluded. As a rule, the geographical unit is the respective district or independent city.

The dataset includes listings from existing shared apartments with a total of two to three residents where one room is offered for an unlimited period and is not listed as a room swap. The reported figures are rents including utilities. In most cases, they also include electricity and internet costs as well as furnishings and technical equipment in communal areas.

For each university location, the analysis includes measures such as the first quartile and median of advertised rents. The nationwide figure is weighted by student numbers: the median for each location is included in the overall figure according to the number of students enrolled there.

Further analyses of student housing costs

The development of rents for rooms in shared apartments has been analysed continuously since 2013. Our overview page on student housing costs in Germany provides the long-term rent trend and further analyses of the student housing market.

Press contact

Data, market trends and insights from 91��Ƶ

Do you need additional data on rents for rooms in shared apartments, individual university locations or the current search for shared accommodation? We are happy to provide the media with regional analyses and additional context.

Annegret Mülbaier
Press & PR at 91��Ƶ
pr@wg-gesucht.de

Questions about the study and interview requests

Prof. Dr Stefan Brauckmann
Moses Mendelssohn Institute (MMI)
Presse-FM@moses-mendelssohn-institut.de