We run student housing here, so these are the numbers we see in our own applications rather than an average scraped off a portal. Rooms in Écublens and Renens near EPFL clear fastest; Prilly and Malley are cheaper and about fifteen minutes further out.
Agencies in the canton of Vaud 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 3'900 at the top of the range here. How the deposit works.
Correspondence, leases and cantonal paperwork are in French. Non-EU students in Vaud are asked to prove around CHF 21'000 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.