The tightest market in the country. A vacancy rate near a third of one percent means agencies can pick, and an international student with no Swiss file is rarely the one they pick. Students who succeed here almost always start in a flatshare and move later.
Rental vacancy in Geneva runs around 0.34%. When that few flats are empty, agencies choose freely — and a student with no Swiss file is rarely the choice.
Agencies in the canton of Geneva ask for a debt-collection extract, proof of income, and a guarantor resident in Switzerland. Two of those three are impossible to produce before you arrive, which is the real reason agency listings stay closed to you. Why applications get rejected explains the circle and how to get round it.
Your deposit is capped at three months' net rent and blocked in your own name — up to CHF 4'200 at the top of the range here. How the deposit works.
Correspondence, leases and cantonal paperwork are in French. Non-EU students in Geneva are asked to prove around CHF 24'000 for one academic year — confirm the figure with the cantonal office rather than with any website.
Where you live changes your commute more than your rent. The areas around the M1 line, with what each one actually costs.
We run student housing in Lausanne. When it is full — or you are in another city — we search the market for you, and we co-sign leases so agencies accept your file.