INTERNATIONAL STUDENT HOUSING - How are exchange students in Europe navigating the housing crisis?

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum

International Student Housing examines how exchange students across Europe experience and manage the housing crisis during study mobility. Based on a snap survey launched in early November 2022, the report gathers evidence from more than 8,000 responses in under a month and highlights key patterns on timing, accommodation types, search processes, satisfaction with support from higher education institutions, costs, and scams. It also outlines limitations of the student-led research and provides recommendations for quality housing before, during, and after mobility.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages48

Reading Time2 h 1 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Limitations of the Research

Key Findings

Demographics

Nationality

Age

Gender Identity

Country of mobility destination

Type of mobility

Duration of mobility

Mobility period

The process of finding accommodation

Finding permanent accommodation

Timing of the housing confirmation

Number of housing providers contacted before finding accommodation

The housing experience of students

Type of accommodation

Ways to find accommodation

Level of satisfaction with the support provided by sending and hosting HEIs

Types of support received from HEIs

Satisfaction with quality standards

The cost of housing

Percentage of housing costs covered by scholarships

Issues experienced by students

Equal treatment when finding housing

Scams faced by the students

Recommendations

General considerations on quality housing for exchange students

Before mobility

During the mobility

After the mobility

About the organisations

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT HOUSING: How are exchange students in Europe navigating the housing crisis? Research report by the European Students Union and the Erasmus Student Network Please refer to this publication as: ESU, ESN (2023). International student housing: How are exchange students in Europe navigating the housing crisis?. Authors: ESN: Juan Rayó n González, Giorgos A. Papaioannou, Wim Gabriels ESU: Matteo Vespa, Emily MacPherson, Katrina Sproge, Tanguy Guibert Contributors: Sara Taglia bracci, Lina Mohoric, Pedro Gonzalez, Rita Dias Design: Melike Semercioglu Illustrations: Storyset The publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. For any queries about the report, contact policy@esn.org and [presidency@esu-online.org](presidency@esu-online.org) Table of 03 Contents INTRODUCTION 04 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH 05 KEY FINDINGS 06 ~~ ~~ The importance of student housing and the current challenges faced by students ~~ ~~ 08 DEMOGRAPHICS 15 ~~ ~~ Nationality ~~ ~~ 15 ~~ ~~ Age ~~ ~~ 16 ~~ ~~ Gender Identity ~~ ~~ 17 ~~ ~~ Country of mobility destination ~~ ~~ 18 ~~ ~~ Type of mobility ~~ ~~ 19 ~~ ~~ Duration of mobility ~~ ~~ 20 ~~ ~~ Mobility period ~~ ~~ 21 THE PROCESS OF FINDING ACCOMMODATION 22 ~~ ~~ Finding permanent accommodation ~~ ~~ 22 ~~ ~~ Timing of the housing confirmation ~~ ~~ 23 ~~ ~~ Number of housing providers contacted before finding accommodation ~~ ~~ 25 THE HOUSING EXPERIENCE OF STUDENTS 26 ~~ ~~ Type of accommodation ~~ ~~ 26 ~~ ~~ Ways to find accommodation ~~ ~~ 28 ~~ ~~ Level of satisfaction with the support provided by sending and hosting HEIs ~~ ~~ 30 ~~ ~~ Types of support received from HEIs ~~ ~~ 33 ~~ ~~ Satisfaction with quality standards ~~ ~~ 35 ~~ ~~ The cost of housing ~~ ~~ 36 ~~ ~~ Percentage of housing costs covered by scholarships ~~ ~~ 37 ~~ ~~ Issues experienced by students ~~ ~~ 38 ~~ ~~ Equal treatment when finding housing ~~ ~~ 40 ~~ ~~ Scams faced by the students ~~ ~~ 41 RECOMMENDATIONS 43 ~~ ~~ General considerations on quality housing for exchange students ~~ ~~ 43 ~~ ~~ Before mobility ~~ ~~ 44 ~~ ~~ During the mobility ~~ ~~ 45 ~~ ~~ After the mobility ~~ ~~ 46 ABOUT THE ORGANISATIONS 47 04 Introduction This research report is the product of a collaboration between the European Students’ Union and the Erasmus Student Network. The report analyses the findings of a snap survey launched in early November 2022, which came after several reports from students across Europe regarding the challenging housing conditions they were experiencing in the first months of their exchanges. The survey was launched with the objective of collecting evidence on the housing situation of students doing their exchanges across Europe, in order to provide Higher Education Institutions and policymakers with an evidence based assessment of the situation, and to propose new initiatives that could help to tackle existing challenges. The survey was remarkably successful, collecting more than 8000 answers from across Europe in less than 1 month. This great outreach was only possible thanks to the support provided by Higher Education Institutions, Erasmus+ National Agencies, National Unions of Students’ and other stakeholders such as University networks. Since the end of the data collection in December 2022, both organisations have engaged with a number of institutions and policymakers to ensure that the findings of the survey are considered in the discussions at the European, national and institutional level related to student mobility. 05 Limitations of the Research The international student housing survey was carried out by two student-led organisations, ESU and ESN, and not by a professional team of researchers. The objective of the survey is to provide evidence in order to

FAQs

When did the housing survey start and how long was it open?

The survey started at the beginning of November 2022 and remained open for more than a month.

What proportion of students found accommodation after arriving at their exchange destination?

Only 16% of students found accommodation after arrival, with country differences such as 28% in Italy and 8% in Poland.

What housing-search risks and satisfaction issues does the report highlight?

A quarter of respondents experienced scams, and satisfaction with housing support from sending and hosting higher education institutions is considerably low, with an average of 2.9 among hosting HEIs.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum