Student housing in Aarhus: A guide for new students
According to Aarhus Kommune (Aarhus Municipality), Aarhus has more than 50,000 students, and every summer thousands of new ones arrive who all need somewhere to live from August. The good news is that Aarhus has a housing guarantee, the boliggaranti, for new students. The bad news is that it only works if you sign up in time and know the rules.
Your finances can work too, if you choose well. SU, the Danish state education grant, is DKK 7,426 a month before tax in 2026 for students in higher education who don’t live with their parents. A one-room apartment in Aarhus typically costs DKK 6,995 a month, according to the apartments listed on Bolighub on 15 October 2026. So a flat of your own is possible, but it leaves almost nothing of your SU. This guide covers the rules for the housing guarantee and youth housing, a budget based on current rents, and a timeline if you start your studies in 2027.
How most new students find a home in Aarhus
Most people get into the Aarhus housing market in one of these three ways. The smartest move is to use all three at once.
| Way in | When to act | Advantage | Drawback |
|---|---|---|---|
| The housing guarantee through UngdomsboligAarhus | From 1 February in the year you start | A guaranteed offer if you are covered | Only one offer, and you don’t choose the home yourself |
| The general waiting list for youth housing (ungdomsboliger) | As early as possible, even before you are admitted | Many homes and stable rent | Long waiting times around the start of term |
| A room, shared flat or apartment on the private market | Usually 1 to 3 months before you move in | You choose the area and the home yourself | More expensive, and you pay more when you move in |
UngdomsboligAarhus is the shared gateway to youth housing and halls of residence (kollegier) in Aarhus. Kollegiekontoret runs it together with the city’s housing organisations, and it lets you apply for around 11,000 homes in one place. Creating an application is free. A few kollegier have their own admission and aren’t part of the shared search, so also check the ones close to where you will study.
The housing guarantee: the most important shortcut for new students
Aarhus Kommune guarantees that new students can be offered a room in a hall of residence (kollegieværelse) or a youth housing unit (ungdomsbolig) before or shortly after the start of their studies. The guarantee is run by UngdomsboligAarhus.
Who is covered?
- New students starting in the autumn semester. According to Aarhus Kommune (in Danish), the guarantee applies to everyone newly admitted to a programme in Aarhus that starts in the autumn semester. If you start in February, you should generally expect to use the general waiting list.
- Only one person per application. Two people who want to live together can’t get a home through the guarantee.
How to sign up
- Create a standard housing application with UngdomsboligAarhus.
- Tick the box “tilmeldes boliggaranti” (sign up for the housing guarantee). According to UngdomsboligAarhus, you can sign up from 1 February to 15 August.
- Send documentation that you have been admitted to a programme in Aarhus no later than 15 August. This could be your letter of admission, your training agreement or a confirmation of your enrolment. Your application must also have the status active by this date.
What to know before you get the offer
- You only get one offer from the guarantee list. If you say no, or don’t reply, you are removed from the guarantee list. You do, however, stay on the general waiting list.
- You will be offered a one-room home. It may be a home you didn’t apply for yourself, with move-in between 15 July and 1 January.
- It pays to sign up early. In summer 2026, the director of Kollegiekontoret told TV2 Østjylland that everyone who had signed up in good time had received or would soon receive an offer. Those who only signed up after the study places had been allocated, on the other hand, could hardly expect an offer before the start of term.
Example: Sofie expects to start studying medicine at Aarhus University in August 2027. She creates her application in autumn 2026 and ticks the housing guarantee as soon as sign-up opens on 1 February 2027. When she is admitted in July, she uploads her letter of admission straight away. In the meantime she is on the general waiting list and keeps an eye on rooms on the private market as a plan B.
The rules for the guarantee can change from year to year. Check the current dates and terms with UngdomsboligAarhus before you plan around them.
Youth housing and halls of residence through the general waiting list
Even if you have signed up for the guarantee, you should also be on the general waiting list. Here you choose which housing sections (afdelinger) and types of home you apply for.
The waiting list rules at UngdomsboligAarhus
- Age: You can sign up from the age of 17. If you are over 35, you can apply for an exemption, but you may not get it.
- Move-in date: The earliest move-in date you can apply for is 6 months before your expected start of studies. You don’t need to have been admitted yet to sign up.
- Keep your application active: You must log in to your profile at least once a month. You can only receive offers when your status is “Aktiv boligsøgende” (active home seeker). If you are listed as passive, you still build up seniority (anciennitet) on the list, but you get no offers.
- Offers: Offers usually come 1 to 3 months before move-in, and the same home can be offered to between 5 and 30 people. If several say yes, the person highest on the waiting list gets the home.
- Reply in time: If you don’t reply by the deadline, it counts as a no.
- Be careful about declining: You can say no to 4 offers. At the fifth refusal your application is deleted, and you lose your seniority. So only apply for homes you would actually move into.
- Waiting times around the start of term: UngdomsboligAarhus says that waiting times can be considerably longer around the start of term, and recommends applying for move-in in spring or early summer if you want to improve your chances.
You can also keep an eye on homes with no waiting time. These are vacant homes you can apply for straight away. If you apply for several at once, which one you are offered is random, and you can only hold one offer at a time.
Indskud or depositum
When you accept a youth housing unit, you pay either indskud (a resident’s deposit) or depositum (a deposit), plus rent. According to UngdomsboligAarhus, you pay indskud in homes built after 1 January 1999 and depositum in older homes. You get the money back when you move out, minus any damage.
If you don’t have the money, you may be able to borrow it from the municipality. However, according to Borger.dk on loans for resident deposits (in Danish), you can’t borrow for a public youth housing unit (almen ungdomsbolig) without its own kitchen, and there are income limits. So ask how the home is laid out before you count on the loan.
When you are no longer studying
A public youth housing unit is meant for young people in education. Under § 85(2) of the act on renting public housing (almenlejeloven), the landlord must terminate your lease when you have completed your education, or when the conditions for renting to you no longer apply. In special cases the termination can be postponed by up to a year. The landlord can also terminate your lease if you don’t document that you are actively studying within 6 weeks of a written request. July and August don’t count towards the 6 weeks. So always reply when the housing organisation asks for documentation.
Rooms and shared flats on the private market
When the start of term is getting close and you still haven’t had an offer, the private market is often the fastest solution. The rules here are different from those for a youth housing unit.
A room with a landlord who lives in the home
If you rent a room in an apartment the landlord lives in, or in a one- or two-family house the landlord lives in, the landlord can terminate your lease with 1 month’s notice. This follows from § 170, no. 1, and § 175(1) of the Danish Rent Act (lejeloven) (in Danish). It gives flexibility, but less security. In the worst case, you could have to find a new home in the middle of a semester. Your own notice period is set out in the lease, so read it carefully.
Depositum and prepaid rent
Under § 59 of the Rent Act, a landlord can ask for a depositum (deposit) of no more than 3 months’ rent. The landlord can also ask for up to 3 months’ forudbetalt leje (prepaid rent), but the prepaid rent must not be more than the rent you will pay from the time you give notice until the tenancy ends.
Example: You rent a room for DKK 3,500 a month from a landlord who lives in the apartment, and you can give 1 month’s notice. The landlord can then ask for no more than DKK 10,500 as a deposit and DKK 3,500 in prepaid rent. With the first month’s rent, that is DKK 17,500 in total when you move in. Our guide to understanding a Danish lease agreement explains what to check in the contract.
A room from a tenant
If the person you rent from is a tenant themselves, it is a sublet (fremleje). Your sublandlord is then still responsible to their own landlord, and special rules apply to the contract. Ask to see that the sublet has been approved or is lawful.
Sharing a flat with other students
A larger apartment shared with others often gives you the most space for your money. Agree on these points in writing before you sign:
- Who is on the lease, and who pays the rent to the landlord?
- How do you split the deposit, utilities and internet?
- Who has to approve a new flatmate if one of you moves out?
- How and when does the person who moves out get their share of the deposit back?
Remember to register your move
You must register your move with the municipality no later than 5 days after moving in, according to Borger.dk (in Danish). If your name isn’t on the door, write the owner’s or tenant’s name in the field “Hos (c/o)“. The municipality can ask the person you live with to confirm that you live there.
How much does student housing in Aarhus cost?
The figures below are median rents for apartments listed on Bolighub in Aarhus on 15 October 2026. The median is the middle price, so half of the homes are more expensive and half are cheaper. Utilities such as heating, water and electricity often come on top. In Danish listings the living room counts as a room, so a 2-room apartment usually has one bedroom.
| Apartment | Median rent per month | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 room | DKK 6,995 | 71 |
| 2 rooms | DKK 9,970 | 182 |
| 3 rooms | DKK 11,250 | 124 |
| 4 rooms | DKK 13,550 | 36 |
| All apartments | DKK 10,245 | 418 |
80 percent of the apartments cost between DKK 6,898 and DKK 13,662 a month, and the median size was 62 m².
Rooms: Only 7 rooms were listed on Bolighub in Aarhus on the day of the count. That is too few to give a reliable market price. Most of them cost between DKK 2,545 and DKK 5,638 a month for around 20 m². Always check whether utilities and furniture are included in the price before you compare.
Where in Aarhus should you look?
| Area | Median rent, apartments | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| Aarhus C | DKK 10,595 | 132 |
| Risskov | DKK 9,972 | 134 |
| Brabrand | DKK 8,895 | 16 |
| Aarhus N | DKK 8,775 | 66 |
| Viby J | DKK 8,200 | 11 |
- Aarhus C is close to the city centre (Midtbyen) and many places of study, but it is the most expensive. A 2-room apartment in Aarhus C typically costs DKK 10,445 (87 listings).
- Aarhus N lies north of the centre, close to the university area and Aarhus University Hospital, and is popular with students. Here the median rent for all homes with one room was DKK 7,000 (28 listings).
- Brabrand and Viby J were cheaper, but the figures are based on few listings and can vary a lot. Check the travel time to your place of study before you choose an area far from the centre.
See more figures for postcodes and home types in our guide to how much it costs to rent in Aarhus.
Budget: Can you live on SU in Aarhus?
According to su.dk, the rates in 2026 are:
- SU for students in higher education who don’t live with their parents: DKK 7,426 a month before tax (su.dk, in Danish).
- SU loan (SU-lån): up to DKK 3,799 a month (su.dk, in Danish). The loan has to be paid back.
Here is how the numbers look with the median rents from Bolighub:
| Housing (median) | Rent per person | Left from SU alone | Left from SU and full SU loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-room apartment on your own | DKK 6,995 | DKK 431 | DKK 4,230 |
| 3-room apartment shared by two | DKK 5,625 | DKK 1,801 | DKK 5,600 |
| 4-room apartment shared by three | DKK 4,517 | DKK 2,909 | DKK 6,708 |
All amounts are before tax. What is left has to cover tax, food, utilities, internet, transport, insurance and textbooks. How much tax you pay depends on your personal allowance (personfradrag) and your other income, so check your preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelse) on skat.dk (in Danish).
What does this mean in practice?
- With a 1-room apartment at the median price, your SU is more or less spent on rent. You will need an SU loan, a student job or help from home.
- A youth housing unit or a shared flat leaves much more room in your budget.
- Housing benefit generally requires your own kitchen. According to Borger.dk (in Danish), the rental home must have its own kitchen, and you must live there permanently. If you live in a room in a hall of residence with a shared kitchen, or in a room in someone else’s home, you therefore normally can’t get boligstøtte (housing benefit). If you are entitled to it, apply no later than 30 days after moving in, so it can be paid from the day you moved in.
The money you need when you move in
Moving in is often what hits hardest. In a private apartment, the landlord can ask for up to 3 months’ deposit and up to 3 months’ prepaid rent. For a 1-room apartment at DKK 6,995 with 3 months’ notice, that can add up to DKK 48,965 including the first month’s rent, if the landlord asks for the maximum. On top of that come the move itself, a bed, kitchen equipment and contents insurance. So start saving as soon as you know you are moving.
Timeline: From now until the start of term in 2027
If you start your studies in August or September 2027, you can use this plan.
Autumn 2026 and winter
- Create an application with UngdomsboligAarhus, and choose the sections and types of home you are interested in. Keep it active and log in every month.
- Make a budget, and talk to your family about help with the deposit or indskud.
- Find out where your place of study is, and which areas have good bike or bus connections to it.
1 February 2027
- Sign up for the housing guarantee as soon as you can, if you start in the autumn semester.
Spring and early summer
- Consider applying for youth housing with move-in as early as spring or early summer, when waiting times are typically shorter according to UngdomsboligAarhus.
- Reply to all offers before the deadline, and only say yes to homes you want to move into.
When you hear about your admission
- Upload documentation of your admission to UngdomsboligAarhus straight away, and no later than 15 August, if you have signed up for the guarantee.
- Create a search agent, and keep an eye on student housing and rooms on the private market as a plan B.
The last weeks before the start of term
- If you still have nothing permanent, consider a temporary solution such as a room or a sublet, and stay on the waiting lists.
- View the home, or have someone you trust view it, before you pay anything.
When you move in
- Go through the home and take photos of any faults and defects.
- Register your move no later than 5 days after moving in.
- Apply for housing benefit no later than 30 days after moving in, if you may be entitled to it.
- Take out contents insurance with liability cover (indboforsikring med ansvarsdækning), or check whether you are still covered by your parents’ insurance.
Avoid student housing scams
Busy students are an obvious target for scammers, especially in August. The warning signs are a rent far below the market price, a landlord who can’t show you the home, and demands to transfer a deposit before you have seen the home and received a contract. Also check that the landlord has the right to rent out the home. Read our advice on searching for a rental safely before you pay anything.
Common mistakes new students make in Aarhus
- Signing up for the housing guarantee too late. Sign up when registration opens, and don’t wait until you have been admitted.
- Forgetting the documentation. Without documentation of your admission by 15 August, you won’t get an offer through the guarantee.
- Letting your application go passive. If you forget to log in and keep your status active, you get no offers.
- Saying no too many times. At the fifth refusal at UngdomsboligAarhus, your application is deleted.
- Expecting housing benefit without your own kitchen. Plan your budget without boligstøtte until you have checked the conditions.
- Only looking in Aarhus C. Aarhus N, Brabrand and Viby J can be cheaper if the transport suits your studies.
Advice for tenants: a checklist before you say yes
- Do you know the total price per month, including rent and utilities?
- Do you know what you have to pay in deposit, indskud and prepaid rent, and are the amounts within the rules?
- What notice period applies to you and to the landlord, and is the lease time-limited?
- Does the home have its own kitchen, if you are counting on housing benefit?
- Have you received a written lease, and do you pay by bank transfer and not in cash?
- Will you stay on the waiting lists even if you have found a temporary solution?
Advice for landlords who want to rent to students
Students are a large group of home seekers in Aarhus, especially from July to September. Here is how to make it safe for both sides:
- State the price clearly in the listing. Give the rent, utilities, deposit and prepaid rent separately, and say whether the room is furnished.
- Stay within the limits for deposit and prepaid rent. If you rent out a room in your own home with 1 month’s notice, the prepaid rent must not be more than the rent for the notice period.
- Use a written contract. The ministry’s standard lease (Typeformular A) can be used, also for renting out rooms.
- Are you a tenant yourself? Then it is a sublet, and you must follow the rules on subletting.
- Check the tax. According to skat.dk (in Danish), rental income from a room in your own home is taxable, whether you own or rent the home. In return, you can choose between a standard allowance (bundfradrag) and a deduction based on your accounts (regnskabsmæssigt fradrag).
- Describe the kitchen. Whether the room has its own kitchen matters for the tenant’s chance of getting housing benefit.
- Plan around the start of term. If you advertise in June and July, you reach the many people who need to find a home before the semester starts.
In short
If you are going to study in Aarhus, create an application with UngdomsboligAarhus in good time, and sign up for the housing guarantee when registration opens on 1 February. Remember to send documentation of your admission no later than 15 August. Keep your application active, and reply to every offer. At the same time, look for rooms and shared flats on the private market. A one-room apartment typically costs DKK 6,995 a month on Bolighub, which uses up almost all of your SU of DKK 7,426 before tax. A youth housing unit or a shared flat leaves more room. Plan your budget without housing benefit unless the home has its own kitchen.
FAQ
When should you sign up for the housing guarantee in Aarhus?
According to UngdomsboligAarhus, you can sign up from 1 February to 15 August by ticking “tilmeldes boliggaranti” in your housing application. Sign up as early as possible, as offers are made on a rolling basis in the order the sign-ups came in. You must send documentation of your admission by 15 August.
Does the housing guarantee apply if I start my studies in February?
Generally, no. Aarhus Kommune describes the guarantee as applying to newly admitted students who start in the autumn semester. If you start in February, you need to use the general waiting list and the private market.
What happens if I say no to the housing guarantee?
You are removed from the guarantee list, because you only get one offer through the guarantee. You do, however, stay on the general waiting list. The same applies if you don’t reply before the deadline.
How much does a one-room apartment in Aarhus cost?
On Bolighub, the median rent for a one-room apartment in Aarhus was DKK 6,995 a month on 15 October 2026, based on 71 listings. Utilities often come on top.
Can you get housing benefit for a room in a hall of residence in Aarhus?
Only if the room has its own kitchen. According to Borger.dk, your own kitchen is a requirement for boligstøtte. If you share a kitchen with others, you generally can’t get housing benefit.
How old do you have to be to apply for youth housing in Aarhus?
At UngdomsboligAarhus you can sign up from the age of 17. If you are over 35, you can apply for an exemption, but it is assessed case by case, and you may not get it.
Sources and further reading
The sources are in Danish.
- Aarhus Kommune: Studiebolig og studieboliggaranti (student housing and the housing guarantee)
- su.dk: Satser for SU til udeboende på videregående uddannelser (SU rates for students in higher education who don’t live with their parents)
- su.dk: Satser for SU-lån (SU loan rates)
- Borger.dk: Søg boligstøtte (applying for housing benefit)
- Borger.dk: Boligstøtte for studerende (housing benefit for students)
- Borger.dk: Lån til beboerindskud (loans for resident deposits)
- Borger.dk: Flytning i Danmark (moving within Denmark)
- Retsinformation: Lejeloven (the Rent Act), § 59 on deposits and prepaid rent, and § 170, no. 1, and § 175 on terminating leases for single rooms
- Lov om leje af almene boliger (almenlejeloven), § 85(2), on terminating leases for public youth housing
- Skat.dk: Du udlejer et værelse eller en bolig, du selv bor i (renting out a room or a home you live in yourself)
- UngdomsboligAarhus (Kollegiekontoret): information on the housing guarantee, the waiting list, housing offers and frequently asked questions
- TV2 Østjylland: article on the housing market for students in Aarhus, summer 2026
- Bolighub: count of rental listings in Aarhus on 15 October 2026