Finding a place to live
On this page you will find links and advice on how to find accommodation in Borås. Finding a place to live can be difficult and time consuming and we advice all students to begin searching as soon as they have received their admission letter.
The biggest and most popular housing agency is Bostäder i Borås, that offers both shared student housing and regular unfurnished apartments. They do no require a Swedish Personal number to get registered but you need to show a valid visa to be able to book one of their accommodations. Information about how to book an accommodation with them can be found on their website Bostäder i Borås
Here is a list of other property owners who rent out student housing in Borås.
Searching for housing at a rental agency
There are a number of rental agencies in Borås that rent out apartments and rooms to both students and the general public. Unfortunately, not all rental agencies have websites in English and many asks for a Swedish personal number as well as a valid visa in order to register and apply for apartments.
As their application procedures for foreign nationals differs we recommend that you contact the rental agency directly by phone or by email to find out how they can help you. Keep in mind that it is common for rental agencies to ask for a deposit of one to three months’ rent when you are only in Sweden temporarily.
A list of rental agencies in Borås and its surrounding areas can be found at the municipality website. List of rental agencies at Boras.se (external link, Swedish only)
Standard apartments/flats are not furnished, but if you plan on staying in Borås for a year or more one option is to buy some second hand furniture and appliances. In Borås, there are several well equipped second hand shops where you can find what you need at a low cost. Second hand shops in Borås (pdf).
Searching for a sublet apartment or a room
An alternative to a first-hand lease is to rent a sublet apartment or renting a room from a private landlord. Renting a room in a privately owned house or apartment often means lower costs, most of the time furniture is included and it can also be a good opportunity to learn more about what life is like in Sweden.
Be aware of Scams
Unfortunately there are persons that take advantage of students, Swedish and Foreign, looking for a place to live. Our advice is too always keep this in mind, make sure that the name of the person you are in contact with uses the same name on the lease agreement and on the bank account that you are asked to deposit money on. Don't pay money to someone's accountant or lawyer or an intermediary and never, ever deposit money to a non-Swedish bank account.
Online ad spaces
There are many online ad spaces that collect ads from other ad spaces and landlords that can be used to find a place to live. We have chosen to only link to ad spaces where landlords place their ads directly together with their contact information and that are free of change to use.
Note! Many of the ads in these websites are only posted in Swedish but you can use Google Translate (external link) for translation.
NB: NEVER deposit money to an account outside of Sweden to get a room/apartment. There are people trying to scam international students by posting fake ads and asking for a deposit in advance. If the ad seems suspicious, or too good to be true, contact the website.
We recommend you to start looking for a place to live as soon as possible, before arriving to Sweden. You reply to an ad simply by contacting the person advertising by e-mail or phone to discuss the renting conditions and then you sign a contract with your new landlord. When subletting an apartment it is common that the landlord ask for a deposit, usually one month’s rent that is returned after the contract has ended. Do not pay a deposit before signing a contract.
Useful tips and information
Newspapers
In the local newspaper, Borås Tidning, you can find ads for available rooms and apartments or place your own ad. Contact Borås Tidning (external link, Swedish only) to do so.
Families and couples
Families and couples arriving to Borås should be aware that this makes it harder to find adequate accommodation. Most landlord, private and agencies, have rules regarding how many people can live in a room or an apartment. It is important to check with the landlord and have it specified in the contract, how many persons can live together. Failure to do so can result in eviction on arrival. Most students housing is only suitable for one person so it is advisable to start looking at alternatives such as standard apartments and subletting as soon as possible.
Finding roommates
As mentioned above, it can be difficult to find accommodation for more than one person. But if you still want to share housing, it is possible to look for larger apartments suitable for sharing. Make sure that you talk to the landlord about how many people will be living in the apartment as there might be rules about how many is the maximum number of tenants. To find possible roommates you can "like" the University of Borås Facebook page (external link) or join the Facebook group for International Students at the University of Borås (external link).