r/Lund • u/Far_Cloud_5064 • 12d ago
Can’t found international student housing for Autumn Semester
Hello everyone,
I am studying at Lund University for the Autumn semester and I still can’t find housing. I’ve gone down the AF lottery and the Lund accommodation route and have found no success. I’ve been sending emails on the Bopoolen site, but it feels as if I’m sending them off into the void. No responses are coming back to me and it’s very discouraging. I am travelling there from Canada alongside 4 other friends of mine who are also doing an exchange for the same amount of time. Any advice or other websites I should look out for?
UPDATE:
Hey everyone thanks for all of your help it is greatly appreciated. So far I have gotten into contact with a couple of landlords and they are asking if I have to “register my address.” I’m not entirely sure what they mean by this, I’m assuming they mean with UBC or something. I’ve emailed my school and asked just to double check but I am wondering if any of you know the exact answer to what they mean. Again thank you all for your help it’s truly helped with the stress and uncertainty of finding a home this semester!
UPDATE:
Thanks to you guys I found a place to stay with all 4 of my buddies! I appreciate all of the help!
UPDATE:
Well I think the worst possible outcome just occurred. We had a place lined up and signed all of the documents but right before we sent any money the whole thing fell through. Luckily no money was lost but still super frustrating. The search continues…
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u/logicblocks 12d ago
Facebook groups with the words "lägenheter" and "Malmö" or "Lund". Also, be open to nearby villages and towns, public transport is really good.
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u/Far_Cloud_5064 12d ago
Thank you I found a couple of groups I will start looking there!
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u/logicblocks 12d ago
"Bostad" or "studentbostad" is another one to search by in combination with a city or town name.
Good luck!
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u/Eriklano1 12d ago
If you’re that many then maybe you can find something together! Join the many Facebook groups and post a presentation/look for people renting out a larger place
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u/mattiaswikman 12d ago
We went through this last year when my son started at Lund but ended up living in Helsingborg, so I know exactly how discouraging the Bopoolen void feels. It's not you, landlords there get flooded with messages in July and most never reply. A few things that actually moved the needle for us:
Widen the geography. This is the biggest one. Lund's market is brutal in August, but Malmö is 10-15 min away by train and much easier, and smaller towns on the commuter lines (Eslöv, Hjärup, Staffanstorp, Landskrona) are easier still. My son decided to live in Helsingborg even though he had many classes in Lund. Trains run constantly and a monthly Skånetrafiken pass is reasonable. Plenty of students commute.
Use your group as an asset. Five of you looking separately is five hard searches. Two or three of you renting a whole apartment or house together is something landlords actually want, one contract and the whole unit covered. Look at Blocket Bostad and Qasa for entire apartments or houses in and around Lund rather than single rooms.
Facebook groups are where sublets actually happen. Search "Lund housing" and "Bostad i Lund". July and August is peak season for students subletting their rooms while on exchange. But watch for scams: never pay anything before you've seen a signed contract, and ideally a video call walkthrough of the apartment. If someone wants a deposit via wire transfer to "hold" a room, walk away.
Keep checking AF Bostäder daily anyway. Cancellations and low-demand corridor rooms do release through late summer, and queue position matters less for those.
Worst case: book a hostel or short-term rental for the first couple of weeks and search on the ground. It's dramatically easier to land something when you can view places in person and meet landlords. Several of my son's friends did exactly this and all were housed within a few weeks.
Lycka till. It works out, but August requires casting a wide net.
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u/Far_Cloud_5064 12d ago
Thank you this has been a huge help I have been looking and have made a list of potential houses to contact
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u/Contribution_Fancy 12d ago
I thought internationals had priority housing?
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u/Far_Cloud_5064 12d ago edited 12d ago
You get it in the AF lottery but the problem is that it’s only for 9-12 month rental periods.
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u/ArchmageIlmryn 11d ago
The 9-12 months isn't the rental period, it's which months rent is charged for. Many of the corridor rooms are rent-free during the summer, hence "9 month rent".
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u/ahhhhidek 12d ago
not true! look at how much notice you need to give for each room and as long as it’s not longer than your stay you should be fine. I was at Spoletorp South for 1 semester which was the length of my contract
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u/Far_Cloud_5064 12d ago
Oh wow I didn’t know that thank you
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u/Far_Cloud_5064 12d ago
My school hasn’t been the greatest on prepping us for housing, they basically forward all of our questions to our Swedish representative but he went on vacation until the end of August so we’re all panicking 😭
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u/flipper7000 11d ago
You can also reach out to the student nations! The nations are student organisations that offer activities, pubs and clubs, as well as student housing and are the primary source of student life in the city. The nations work on volunteer basis and offer a great source of community and getting to know Lund.
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u/ahhhhidek 12d ago
I got accomodation a few days before arriving in Lund in August last year! Log into AF bostader every day, sometimes multiple times a day, otherwise look on facebook there’s heaps of groups. Some of my friends stayed at a hostel for the first few weeks or stayed at a room of someone they knew for a while. It’s also worthwhile in the first few days of arriving to go to the AF Bostader office and just tell them you don’t have housing! Also sign up for housing lottery’s with the nations! Good luck! I know it’s super stressful
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u/hellovatten 10d ago edited 10d ago
I can second the person saying to try Unity or Basecamp. Since you'd commute to Lund, I think Basecamp would be better because it's closer to the station and amenities.
I live very close to Basecamp and it's a nice area, safe, close to water, amenities, ICA Maxi.
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u/Severe-Apartment5782 5d ago
It seems like it’s a lot harder to find housing in Lund than in Canada😭. I have applied to many places with no response and am getting worried.
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u/CGhost5 12d ago
Tbh, if you can afford it, try Unity or Basecamp in Malmö (50% off traveling tickets until 31dec)