Lausanne is one of Switzerland's biggest student cities thanks to EPFL and UNIL on the western lake shore.
Top student neighbourhoods
- Renens: on the m1 to EPFL and UNIL, often cheaper than central Lausanne
- Prilly: near the m1, quieter
- Chailly-Mousquines: quieter residential area in the east of the city; for UNIL and EPFL you change to the m1 at Flon
- Flon: urban core, nightlife, where the m1 and m2 meet
- Vortex (Chavannes-près-Renens): student village next to EPFL and UNIL (2020 Youth Olympics conversion), rooms allocated by lottery
Allocation channels
- EPFL Housing Service · priority for incoming international students
- UNIL Logement · dedicated UNIL housing
- FMEL (Fondation Maisons pour Etudiants Lausanne) · a foundation that provides student housing (not a cooperative)
- WG rooms and the open market · wgzimmer.ch and aptari for the m1 corridor
What students need
- A realistic monthly budget, including Nebenkosten and transport
- A French-language application
- A guarantor or deposit (parents abroad are usually accepted)
When to apply
April to May for a September move-in; November to December for February.
Search the open market on aptari
University channels fill up fast, so search the open market in parallel. aptari shows the listings of Homegate, ImmoScout24, Flatfox and the cooperatives' websites in one feed: build your Tenant Passport once and apply with one click on partner listings, with a Match Score that tells you where you fit. One-click apply starts as soon as partner agencies list on aptari; none have yet.
See how to rent as a student and how to find an apartment in Lausanne.