Tuition at German universities can be quite cheap, but affordable housing is becoming increasingly scarce. A new report reveals which cities are getting harder for students to afford to live in.
Germany’s universities continue to attract students from around the world with their strong academic reputation, wide range of English-language programmes and comparatively low tuition costs.
But many international students soon discover a less talked-about reality – finding somewhere affordable to live can be one of the biggest challenges of studying in Germany.
Affordable accommodation remains in short supply across much of the country and costs are going up. According to the newly released MLP Student Housing Report 2026, rents for student housing rose by an average of 2.6 percent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year.
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For prospective students, the findings also offer an important reminder that choosing a university is not just an academic decision.
Depending on where you study, housing costs can vary by hundreds of euros per month, potentially making a bigger difference to your budget than tuition fees themselves.
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Student housing costs vary dramatically across Germany
One of the most useful takeaways for prospective students is just how dramatically costs vary across Germany.
Munich remains by far the most expensive university city in the study. The report estimates that a typical 30-square-metre student apartment costs around €880 per month, while a room in a shared flat costs nearly as much.
Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg and Heidelberg also rank among the country’s most expensive destinations for student renters, with model apartment costs generally exceeding €700 per month.
At the other end of the scale, cities in eastern Germany continue to offer significantly lower housing costs.
In Chemnitz, the least expensive city included in the report, the same model apartment costs around €277 per month. Other comparatively affordable university locations include Magdeburg, Greifswald, Bochum and Leipzig.
For students who are still deciding where to apply, these differences can make a substantial difference to monthly living costs.
You can find estimated rents for the full list of cities which appeared in the study here. (At the bottom of the report.)
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Housing has become students’ biggest financial burden
Arguably the most striking figures in the report are not the rent increases themselves, but what they mean for student budgets.
According to official figures cited in the the study, students living independently spent an average of 54 percent of their disposable income on housing in 2025.
Around 65 percent were considered overburdened by housing costs under the Eurostat definition, which classifies households spending more than 40 percent of their income on housing as financially stretched.
The report also found that the strongest price increases were concentrated in smaller flats, precisely the type of accommodation many students prefer.
Rents for apartments smaller than 40 square metres rose by 3.5 percent over the past year, while shared flat rooms and furnished temporary accommodation also became more expensive.
Government support is not keeping up with rising rents
The report highlights housing costs by comparing them with Germany’s student support system, known as BAföG.
At present, students who qualify for BAföG and live away from home can receive a housing allowance of €380 per month.
That amount is currently sufficient to cover the cost of a model student apartment in only one city in the study: Chemnitz.
The federal government has already agreed to raise the housing allowance to €440 from the summer semester of 2027. But even the higher allowance would still fall well short of average rents in cities such as Munich, Berlin or Hamburg.
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Will things get easier?
There are some reasons for cautious optimism.
The report found that publicly advertised student accommodation listings have increased in some university towns, and student numbers have temporarily declined in certain locations. Together, these trends may create a little more breathing room in parts of the market.
But the researchers warn against seeing this as a genuine turning point, pointing out that construction activity has slowed in many university cities.