Are you a student looking for a room in Stockholm?
Maybe you already heard some horror stories about how difficult it is to find a room in Stockholm but we have your back, it’s difficult but it can be done if you do it right ;)
So here you have a step by step guide that will help you find a room.
Maybe you already heard some horror stories about how difficult it is to find a room in Stockholm but we have your back, it’s difficult but it can be done if you do it right ;)
So here you have a step by step guide that will help you find a room.
Initial things to keep in mind
Location- Stockholm is not so big and the public transportation works really well, so don’t get obsessed with getting a room in front of your university. Instead, just check in Google maps the time to go from the room that you are checking to your campus. If you look for rooms in a broader area you will have more chances to get one.
Monthly Rent
- The average price range for rooms is 3000 SEK to 6000 SEK a month (additional expenses can be included or not, remember to ask the landlord about that)
- Rooms in the center of the city can cost monthly up to 9000 SEK, so if your budget is in the 3000-4000s, then it’s better that you look a bit further.
Safety
- Although the majority of rentals posted online are legit, you will sporadically find some “bad people” out there.
- Just follow these simple rules and you will be safe:
- Never pay before signing the contract
- Ask the landlord for his personal id when signing the contract to validate his information (he will do the same with you so don't be shy).
- Pay the deposit only to a Swedish bank account
Finding available rooms
We are going to check in-depth some of the most well known webs to find available rooms.
If you know another website with rooms and want us to add an analysis of them just let us know!
Ready? Let's check these websites and how to (step by step) use them properly:
If you know another website with rooms and want us to add an analysis of them just let us know!
Ready? Let's check these websites and how to (step by step) use them properly:
Blocket
Blocket is probably the most well known website to find a rental in Stockholm. On average more than 100 rentals are posted there daily only in Stockholm, and a big part of them rooms.
But this is also the place where most tenants are looking for rentals, so you have to be smart to get one here.
How to succeed on Blocket
To get a room using Blocket you will need 2 things:1. Be sure that the landlord sees your email
A landlord receives more than 50 emails in the first 30 minutes after he posts his property on Blocket. Therefore, if you want “to be seen” by him, you have to apply (send him an email showing interest) extremely fast.
And with fast I mean: Less than 5 minutes after a property is posted on Blocket. If you apply later than that, your email will be buried in the inbox, and the landlord will never see it.
And with fast I mean: Less than 5 minutes after a property is posted on Blocket. If you apply later than that, your email will be buried in the inbox, and the landlord will never see it.
2. Convince the landlord that you are THE tenant
Now that you are fast as a lightning, landlords will see your email. So, they will take it into consideration.
Now you have to convince the landlord in a few lines that you are the ideal tenant.
In order to write your rental application (the text that you will send to the landlord), just put yourself into the landlord’s shoes: Imagine you were a landlord, what would your perfect tenant look like?
Now you know what to write.
For additional tips about writing good rental applications also check this post.
Now you have to convince the landlord in a few lines that you are the ideal tenant.
In order to write your rental application (the text that you will send to the landlord), just put yourself into the landlord’s shoes: Imagine you were a landlord, what would your perfect tenant look like?
Now you know what to write.
For additional tips about writing good rental applications also check this post.
Following up
It goes without saying that if you get a reply from a landlord, you must reply him back as fast as possible!
Usually, landlords send 3 or 4 emails to the tenants that they think are more interesting, if the first one answering looks good after a phone call or a visit, he will get the place.
As you can see, getting a reply is difficult, so don’t waste the opportunity by replying late!
Usually, landlords send 3 or 4 emails to the tenants that they think are more interesting, if the first one answering looks good after a phone call or a visit, he will get the place.
As you can see, getting a reply is difficult, so don’t waste the opportunity by replying late!
Facebook is becoming more and more popular as a place to find a rental in Stockholm.
Everything happens in Facebook groups, usually you have to join them first, wait until you are accepted by the admin (from hours to days depending of the group), and then you can post your demands or reply through a private message to landlords posting rentals.
There are dozens of Facebook groups where you can find available rooms, we listed below the ones with more activity at the time of writing this post:
- Bostad Stockholm (Swedish)
- Studentbostad i Stockholm (Swedish)
- People looking for a flatshare in Stockholm ! (English)
- Rooms and Roommates in Stockholm and Sweden (English)
- Stockholm Student Accommodation (English)
- Habitaciones en Estocolmo (Spanish)
First join all the groups of the list in order to increase your chances.
Once you are accepted you can do 2 things: Apply to a post or Post your rental request.
Apply to a Facebook post
If you see an interesting room, to contact the landlord you have to do 2 things:1. Send her a private message (“PM”) showing your interest. To do that place your mouse over the name of the person that posted the rental, a pop up will be displayed, now click in “message”.
When you write the message, you will see that the traditional “facebook chat window” is opened with your message there as the beginning of the conversation, if they reply you will see that in the chat window.
2. The second thing to do, which is optional, is to reply the post saying “PM”
PM means: I sent you a private message, please check it.
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| A tenant PMing the person that posted the room |
This is because your message could go to the “others” chat folder (we will see that later), so replying with PM in the post is a good way to remind the landlord to check the “other” folder.
Post your rental request in the group
You can also proactively post in the group defining what you are looking for. |
Usually tenants don’t write really long messages, maximum a couple of paragraphs long.
If you try to write a longer text, Facebook will hide part of the message under a “read more” link, so be careful about the length and put the most important things at the beginning!
Being contacted in Facebook
Now you are going to be the one receiving PMs (private messages) from landlords, so you have to check your “other” folder quite often. Sometimes they will even put the words "PM" in your post, in order to remember you that.To do it just go to the chat bubble icon in the topbar of facebook, and click in the small link that says “other” (and that I am sure is the first time in your life that you see it ;)
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| In black and bold, the link to "Other" messages, surprise! |
Followups in Facebook
Remember that a fast follow-up is key.To do that, download the Facebook and Facebook Messenger mobile apps (yes it's two different apps...), to be alert at any moment and manage everything on the fly.
Akademisk Kvart
Akademisk Kvart was created by the joint effort of universities, student unions and the city of Stockholm.
The steps to succeed here are pretty much the same as in Blocket:
- Be extremely fast (With Easy Rental you will also receive alerts when a property is listed in Akademisk Kvart).
- Stand out sending a good rental application with your profile link in it.
- Follow up fast!
Last minute solutions
If you persevere and follow the steps listed before you should be able to find a room to stay, but if you ran out of time you can go for one of these solutions:
Look for a short term rental in Blocket or Facebook
Everyone is looking for a long term rental (more than 6 months) so if you aim for a short term one (one or two months) there will be less competition. Once you are in Stockholm you will have some more time to keep looking.
Airbnb
Airbnb is a website where you can find really short term rentals, usually up to 15 days. It's aimed for tourism but at least you can get a place to land and buy yourself some time until you find a long term room.
Couchsurfing
Couchsurfing is a thrilling community where people share their places with travellers for a short period of time. It’s another good way to have somewhere to land until you get your own place.
Last thoughts
Remember: Be fast, stand out from the crowd, and follow up as fast as possible.Thousand of students get a room every year to study in the beautiful Stockholm so persevere and don't lose your motivation. It can be done and it's going to be worth it, trust me ;)
