University housing offices
- ETH and UZH (Zurich): WOKO, the student housing cooperative, has about 4,000 rooms in the Zurich and Winterthur area (woko.ch)
- EPFL and UNIL (Lausanne): FMEL + UNIL Logement, 3,000+ beds
- UNIGE (Geneva): Cité Universitaire + BLE
- UNIBE (Bern): bewo.ch
- USI (Lugano): Campus West + East
- HSG (St. Gallen), UNILU (Lucerne), UNINE (Neuchâtel): each have housing services
Apply 4-6 months before semester start.
Private student residences
- Juwo Schweiz (ZH, BE, LS)
- Schaffhausen FB-Stiftung: low-income youth
- Cohousing startups: Quartetto, BOA Apartments
WG (shared apartments)
The most common option for students. wgzimmer.ch is the main board. See how to find WG Zurich.
Private lease with parental guarantor
If you need a studio:
- Application includes a Solidarbürgschaft signed by a parent
- Guarantor provides salary proof, tax return, Betreibungsauszug
Income check workaround
- Stipend + parental allowance combined
- Bank statement with 12 months of rent in liquid reserves
- Permit B for studies: prove you have enough money to live on; the canton sets the amount
Where aptari helps
Set up your Tenant Passport once. aptari shows you one open feed of listings from Homegate, ImmoScout24, Flatfox and cooperative websites, which you can filter by budget, rooms and furnished places. The Match Score tells you which ones you actually fit before you apply, and on aptari-partner listings you apply with one click instead of re-sending the same dossier everywhere. One-click apply starts as soon as partner agencies list on aptari; none have yet.