Find student housing near the University of Fribourg

Finding housing near the University of Fribourg remains easier than in most Swiss university cities, provided you start early. The university says so itself on its housing page: several halls of residence rent cheap rooms, and the Apartis foundation, which houses students, offers rooms for around CHF 365 per month. For a studio on the private market, the range starts at about CHF 700.

The context remains tight. On 1 June 2026, Switzerland had only 0.93% vacant homes according to the Federal Statistical Office, against 1.00% a year earlier. In the canton of Fribourg, the rate was 1.11% on 1 June 2025. Rents are nonetheless among the most moderate in French-speaking Switzerland: CHF 1,328 per month on average per home (excluding utilities) in 2024, against CHF 1,485 for the national average.

Here are the options open to you, their cost, the neighbourhoods to aim for and the application file to prepare to rent in Fribourg.

Housing options near the university

Apartis, the student housing foundation

Apartis is a private, non-profit foundation. It rents shared-flat rooms and studios in buildings in the city of Fribourg and the surrounding area, with an individual contract for each room and each person. The housing is generally unfurnished. It is the cheapest solution for a student enrolled at the University of Fribourg or a recognised university of applied sciences.

A few rules to know before you apply:

• Eligibility: you must be enrolled at an educational institution recognised by the foundation. PhD students, assistants and people who work more than 40% are not eligible.
• Exchange students: they cannot rent the regular rooms, but Apartis reserves housing for Erasmus students, with fixed-term leases (September to June, September to January or February to June).
• Lease: for regular rooms, it is open-ended and can be terminated for 31 August or 31 January. Those are the dates when rooms become available: watch the list of vacant housing well before the start of the academic year.
• Deposit: three months' rent, paid into a blocked account or replaced by a guarantee company. A contract fee of CHF 50 is charged at signing.

Student residences

The university lists several residences: the Cité St-Justin, the Foyer Beau-Séjour, the Salesianum, the Foyer Père Girard, the Résidence étudiante de Bethléem, and three residences reserved for women (Bel-Abri, Le Tilleul, St-Canisius). Each residence handles its own admissions: contact it directly for prices, house rules and deadlines.

Shared flats and the private market

If you prefer housing outside an institution, the student association (AGEF) runs a housing exchange. Apartis also recommends the notice boards in university buildings, student groups on social media, the ads in La Liberté and the Freiburger Nachrichten, and several shared-room websites.

On the private market, expect to pay from CHF 700 per month for a studio, with a median around CHF 800, and between CHF 1,000 and CHF 1,400 for a 2 to 2.5-room flat. Utilities (water, heating, maintenance) are often added to the advertised rent, at CHF 100 to CHF 250 per month. Sharing a 3 or 4-room flat remains the simplest way to bring the bill down.

Neighbourhoods to target

• Pérolles: a student and residential neighbourhood, close to the university and the universities of applied sciences, with a varied offer from studios to family apartments. It is the first choice of many students.
• Le Bourg: the historic centre, around Saint Nicholas Cathedral. Older properties in high demand, with some of the highest rents.
• La Neuveville: below Le Bourg, on the banks of the Sarine, with a village atmosphere and older buildings.
• Jura-Torry: a lively neighbourhood with a more affordable offer, well served by the buses of the Transports publics fribourgeois (TPF).
• Schönberg and Gambach-Guintzet: rents a little lower than in the centre, recent buildings in Schönberg, a quieter setting in Gambach-Guintzet.

Fribourg is a compact city: on foot, by bike or by bus, most neighbourhoods are within a reasonable distance of the university buildings. Still, check the route to your faculty before signing.