Housing

A significant proportion of what will constitute your ‘Leiden University experience’ will be the accommodation that you stay in and the fellow students that you’ll meet there.

Like many universities in the Netherlands, Leiden University does not have a central campus or student dormitories. Instead, our faculties are spread throughout the cities of Leiden and The Hague and students live in accommodation rented via housing organisations and landlords.

In general, students are expected to arrange their own housing. However, for international students, Leiden University reserves a limited number of rooms each year for early applicants. The number of housing applications always greatly exceeds the number of reserved rooms. We therefore strongly recommend that prospective students also explore alternative ways of finding accommodation well before arriving in the Netherlands.

Steps to take

We strongly recommend that you take both the following steps as early as possible: 

1. Take action to find housing yourself

For example register with local housing organisations. Registration fees are generally inexpensive and the earlier you register, the greater your chance of getting a room by the start of the semester.

• Learn more about how to find housing yourself

2. Request housing via Leiden University

The university can only house a small percentage of students who request housing. Rooms are offered on a first-come first-served basis, so submit your housing request and pay the housing fee as soon as you can! If you are unsuccessful, you can always fall back on the plans you set in motion to find your own housing.

• Read how to request housing via Leiden University

Take a look!

Want to find out more about finding housing? Hear what current bachelor’s students have to say about finding accommodation in Leiden and The Hague.