FAQ Student halls

EPFL does not possess its own housing campus. The different student halls are managed by independent organizations (foundations, real estate agencies, etc.) that are not linked to EPFL and our services.

They are either close to the campus or very well served by public transport. A location map of all the halls is available on our pages.

They are furnished accommodation:

  • Single room (without kitchenette – with private bathroom)
  • Shared room (shared kitchen – usually 2 to 8 roommates – 1 to 2 bathrooms to be shared depending on the number of roommates)
  • Studio 1 to 2 persons (with kitchenette and private bathroom).

All student halls are close to public transport and not far from EPFL.

We cannot recommend one student hall more than another, we strongly advise all students to register in all the halls that suit them in order to increase their chances of receiving an offer.

We strongly recommend prospective students to accept an offer received from a student hall. Indeed, unlike other options (e.g., classified ads from individuals, real estate agencies), this is the easiest way to find an accommodation without being on site. The student halls manage all the booking process by email or mail and you don’t need to be already in Lausanne.

You should also know that it is unusual to be able to visit an accommodation in a student hall, even if you come on site. The halls are almost always complete and the choice of accommodation is made through the pictures and descriptions online.

In most of the student halls, access to accommodation is reserved for students (admitted or pre-registered) in CMS, Bachelor and Master programmes (including exchange students).

Some halls are reserved exclusively for UNIL and EPFL students. Only two halls are strictly reserved for women (Bon Accueil and Pension Bienvenue). Under-age students are not accepted in only one of the student halls (Planète Bleue).

For more information, do not hesitate to visit the student halls page.

No, as this is not an exception. Many 1st year Bachelor students are still minors when they start their studies. Only the Planète Bleue hall does not accept under-age students.

Yes, because the student halls try to respect a certain equity as far as possible.

Some halls make their availability available online throughout the year (FMEL, Silo Bleu, Students Place 4U, Camp’Us). Other student halls have enrolment periods, the dates of which are communicated in due course on their respective websites. You can register without being admitted yet, by mentioning your EPFL application number. Only the signature of a lease commits you. Please pay attention to the cancellation/disclaimer conditions (for the FMEL for example).

For student halls having registration periods, they generally open in Spring (March-April) for the Autumn semester and in Autumn (October/November) for the Spring semester. It is important to check the exact dates on the student halls’ websites.

You do not need to have your admission to apply for student halls. Your EPFL application number will be first required as well as your admission letter later on, when you will have received it from EPFL.

An application/request in a student hall:

  • will not guarantee you a room, as at the moment the offer is weaker than the demand. Apply for several student halls in order to put all the chances on your side.
  • is not a commitment from your side and if an accommodation is offered to you before your arrival, you can refuse it as long as you have not signed a lease. Please read carefully the rental conditions in each student hall.

The duration of a lease in a student hall is generally for one semester or one academic year. You should choose according to your study project and the conditions for early termination of leases (1 to 3 months on average).

The usual documents are: your letter of admission to EPFL, your passport or identity card, a proof of solvency of the signatory(ies) of the lease (last 3 pay slips or last tax form in the case of a liberal profession), a rent guarantee. In rare cases, a Swiss guarantor may be required.

When you start your application process on the EPFL website, you receive automatically a number starting with BA (for Bachelors), MA (for Masters) or IN (for Exchanges) followed by numbers. This number might be required in some application forms.

The amount of the rent guarantee varies from 1 to 3 months’ rent. A Swiss guarantor is not required to obtain a lease from a student hall.

They are very often included in the rents of accommodation in student halls. Otherwise, the costs for liability and household insurance are between CHF 100 and CHF 200 per year. If your parents already have one, it sometimes also covers their children who are students.

Yes, if you have the financial means (some student halls allow subletting during the summer months).

For the student halls with availabilities online, the reservation is immediate. For those with registration periods, please be patient, accommodation is allocated according to availability. For the start of the academic year in September, allocations are generally made between July and August.

Remember that enrolment in a student residence is not a guarantee of accommodation. Register with several student halls to increase your chances and look for another accommodation option at the same time.