University of Graz
Main building Universitätsplatz, Geidorf
Geidorf is the university quarter with period buildings, cafés and short ways; St. Leonhard and the Innere Stadt are within walking distance next door.
Guide · Studying in Graz
Student housing in Graz: dorm, flatshare or your own flat?
With around 60,000 students at eight universities and colleges, Graz is Austria's second-largest university city; statistically almost one in five people in the city is a student. There are about 6,000 dorm places, so roughly one for every tenth student. Plan early and you will still live well and affordably, and Graz is noticeably cheaper than Vienna. Here is the honest comparison of the three paths, with real prices, the right timeline and the providers to apply to directly.
The honest cost comparison
- Student dorm ≈ €300 to €630 / month
- All-in with electricity, internet and usually furniture. A place in a double room starts at about 300 euros (at WIST even under 220), a room of your own mostly ranges from 390 to 630. Graz students pay 468 euros on average in dorms (Student Social Survey 2025), together with Innsbruck the lowest figure of all major university cities. The cheapest option, but limited supply and house rules.
- Flatshare room (WG) ≈ €350 to €480 / month
- Warm, plus a share of the deposit. On average, Graz students in flatshares pay 450 euros. The middle way: your own room, shared costs, more freedom than a dorm, but a flatmate lottery.
- Own studio flat ≈ €600 to €850 / month
- The Graz average is around 13 euros per square metre gross, but small flats cost more per square metre: 30 to 40 m² mostly land between 600 and 850 euros warm in 2026, plus up to 3 months deposit and furniture. Students living alone in Graz pay 636 euros on average. Maximum freedom, maximum cost.
Prices: Student Social Survey 2025 (IHS, Graz, including utilities), dorm price lists 2026/27, asking rents and flatshare surveys 2026. All orientation, not an offer.
The timeline: Graz rewards the early
- 01
March to May: apply for dorms
For the winter semester most providers accept applications from March or April; greenbox admits for the academic year until 1 August. Waiting lists run by application date, and applications are non-binding with most providers, so apply to several at once.
- 02
Summer: admission and flat hunt
The general admission period of the University of Graz for programmes without entrance exams ends in late August, at TU Graz in early September, and FH JOANNEUM has application windows into September. Start the flatshare and flat search in parallel: starting in June or July gives you noticeably more choice than September, when half of Austria moves to Graz at once.
- 03
August and September: dorms are mostly full
In August 2026 home4students and Akademikerhilfe reported only leftover places and waiting lists, WIST a few free places. More realistic now: a room in a flatshare, dorm places that free up at short notice and a temporary place for the first few weeks. And this year there is a gap: the cheap Riesheim run by the province closes at the end of August 2026, the Schönbrunnheim is under renovation, together around 325 places fewer.
- 04
Move-in: register within 3 days
Registering your main residence is mandatory, in dorms and sublets too. The dorm or the main tenant signs the registration form as your landlord. With a Graz main residence you get 75 euros of city funding towards the youth KlimaTicket.
The dorm providers in Graz: apply directly here
The big providers, alphabetical, with published price ranges for 2026/27 (they change yearly). Applications run directly on their websites, usually free or for a small registration fee (Akademikerhilfe 20 euros, OeAD 35 euros).
- AkademikerhilfeNon-profit, four open houses in Graz with around 750 places (Elisabethheim, Die Münze, Ghegagasse, Hilmgasse), single rooms roughly 290 to 550 euros; the Schönbrunnheim has been closed for renovation since October 2025. For 2026/27 mostly waiting list only.
- greenboxPrivate provider with over 1,000 places in five houses (WEST, MITTE, ZENTRUM, UNI, coolcity) plus the new greenbox TU: rooms in shared apartments roughly 395 to 485 euros, studios from 560, all utilities included. Admission for the academic year until 1 August.
- home4studentsNon-profit foundation, two houses (Leechgasse with a 12-month contract, Neutorgasse with 10 months): a place in a twin room 303 euros, single rooms 434 to 505, utilities included (2026/27 price list). Only leftover places and waiting list for autumn.
- Kolpinghaus GrazCentral, a few minutes on foot from Jakominiplatz, a 10-month dorm from September to June: double room 490, single 605, studio 715 euros, each including breakfast, lunch and dinner and cleaning (2026/27). Application by form, age limit 30.
- MILESTONE by TriberaFurnished all-in studios on Bahnhofgürtel (Graz Lend), almost 380 places, from 619 euros, minimum stay one semester, month-exact contracts. Premium segment near the main station.
- OeAD student housingNon-profit focused on international students, four houses (Steyrergasse, Neubaugasse, Moserhofgasse, Zinzendorfgasse): a place in a double room from about 400 euros, single rooms in shared flats from 515 to 630, single apartments from 662, plus a 21-euro monthly booking fee (from 1 Sept 2026). Bookable year-round.
- ÖJABTwo houses (ÖJAB-Haus Graz on Glacisstraße, Liebigheim near the university), almost 400 places: a place in a twin room from 320 euros, single rooms 478 to 617, including heating, electricity, internet and room cleaning (from 1 Sept 2026). Online application, the earlier the better.
- STUWOTwo newer houses with around 540 places (StudentCity on Eggenberger Gürtel, Smart Living on Köflacher Gasse): single rooms from 469 and 479 euros, all-in with gym and cleaning (2026/27). Bookable year-round.
- WIST SteiermarkNon-profit and the cheapest large provider: five houses with around 870 places (Moserhofgasse, Münzgrabenstraße, Herbersteinstraße). Single rooms from about 390 euros, a place in a double room from about 210, studios from 490 (2025/26 list, valid from 1 Sept 2025; a few places were still free for 2026/27 in August).
Selection without claim to completeness; the dorm list of the Kunstuni welcome centre counts around 30 houses in Graz. All links lead directly to the providers (no commission or advertising relationship). Good to know: deposits of two months' fees (600 to 750 euros) are common, contracts mostly run 12 months, in some houses 10, and under the Student Dorm Act you can always terminate at semester end (winter semester by 30 Nov, summer semester by 30 Apr).
Flatshares: the two models and their traps
Legally there are two flatshare forms: either everyone signs the main lease together (equal rights, but as a rule everyone is liable for the whole rent), or one person is the main tenant and the others sublet. As a subtenant you are the weaker party, your contract depends on the main lease.
Therefore: always put the sublease in writing, with a clearly named room, a fixed rent and a notice period. And the Chamber of Labour rule of thumb: if the main tenant adds more than about 50 percent to the proportional rent, that is abusively excessive and contestable.
Your own flat: what is realistic
The range between Graz districts is narrow for rents: from about 12.50 euros per square metre in St. Leonhard and Gries to 15.10 in Puntigam, and the centre is not the expensive location for renting. Small flats cost more per square metre than large ones, which is why 30 to 40 m² mostly land between 600 and 850 euros warm. What a square metre costs by district is on our price page; which locations are quiet, green or cool, in the topic rankings.
Graz property prices: all 17 districts →
On the contract: fixed-term leases must run at least 3 years with private landlords, and since 2026 at least 5 with commercial ones. You yourself can terminate after the first year with 3 months notice, so you are not bound until graduation. And in pre-war buildings the rent is capped by the Richtwert system: the Styrian reference value has been 9.30 euros per square metre since 1 April 2026, checking pays off.
Living near your university: the right districts
Graz is compact, but its universities are spread across half the city: the University of Graz and the Kunstuni in the north-east, TU Graz on three sites, the Med Uni in the Stiftingtal, FH JOANNEUM in the west. Here are the districts with short ways per university; each district is described with real data in the Neighbourhood Atlas.
TU Graz
Alte Technik, Neue Technik, Inffeldgasse campus
Three sites on one axis: St. Leonhard (Rechbauerstraße), Jakomini (Stremayrgasse) and St. Peter (Inffeldgasse). Live in between and all three are within cycling distance.
Med Uni Graz
MED CAMPUS in the Stiftingtal, LKH
The campus sits in the east at the LKH hospital: Ries and Waltendorf are the quiet neighbours on the hillside, St. Leonhard the more central choice with the tram towards the hospital.
University of Music and Performing Arts
Palais Meran, Leonhardstraße
Right in St. Leonhard, with Geidorf and the Innere Stadt within walking distance. If you practise, check the house rules too, practising is a classic issue in Graz flatshares.
FH JOANNEUM
Alte Poststraße, Eggenberg
Eggenberg right at the campus, plus Lend as the lively neighbour towards the centre and Wetzelsdorf to the south: the west of the city is usually cheaper than the university districts in the east.
FH CAMPUS 02 & PH Steiermark
Körblergasse & Hasnerplatz, Geidorf
Both in the north of Geidorf: Geidorf itself, and Andritz further north with tram lines 4 and 5, quieter and usually a bit cheaper.
Money: subsidies and the transit ticket
- Study grant (Studienbeihilfe)
- On 1 September 2026 the base amount rises from 431 to 451 euros per month, and the supplement for studying away from home from 321 to 336 euros. There is no separate housing allowance, housing costs are part of the away-from-home supplement. Apply for the winter semester between 20 September and 15 December.
- Styrian housing support (Wohnunterstützung)
- The provincial subsidy applies only to tenancies; a dorm contract is not one under the law. For students, the parents' income counts, regardless of where they live; and since the 2026 reform it takes five years of main residence in Austria, so newcomers from abroad are excluded. For flatshare and studio tenants with low parental income it can be worth it.
- City of Graz student flats
- The city allocates its own municipal flats to students: active studies at a Graz university, adulthood, EU, EEA or Swiss citizenship or permanent residence, and a net annual income of up to 49,600 euros. Apply by phone with the city housing office.
- ÖH social fund
- One-off payments for students in financial need, including housing costs. Apply via the social department of your university's students' union. There is no separate housing or deposit allowance of the ÖH in Graz.
- Transit: Top-Ticket or KlimaTicket
- The Verbund Linie student Top-Ticket costs 199.50 euros per semester since 1 July 2026 (under 26, regular studies in Styria). The youth KlimaTicket Steiermark costs 399 euros a year, 324 euros with a Graz main residence thanks to 75 euros of city funding, so cheaper than two semester tickets, but personal and non-refundable.
Styrian housing support: requirements & calculation →
Common questions about student housing in Graz
What does a student dorm in Graz cost?
Depending on provider and category, about 300 to 630 euros per month, all-in with electricity and internet. A place in a double room starts around 300 euros (home4students Neutorgasse 303, ÖJAB Liebigheim 320, WIST according to its 2025/26 list even under 220); a room of your own mostly ranges from 390 to 630 euros (2026/27 price lists). Graz dorm residents pay 468 euros on average, together with Innsbruck the lowest figure of all major university cities (Student Social Survey 2025).
Dorm, flatshare or own flat: which is cheapest?
Usually a place in a double room in a dorm (from about 300 euros all-in), then the flatshare room (about 350 to 480 euros warm, 450 on average), then the own studio (mostly 600 to 850 euros plus deposit and furniture, 636 on average).
When do I have to apply for a dorm?
For the winter semester from March or April; greenbox admits until 1 August. Waiting lists run by application date; in August 2026 the non-profit providers had practically only waiting lists open. Apply to several providers at once, it is non-binding.
Do I get housing support as a student?
Only for a tenancy, not for a dorm place. For students the parents' income counts, and since 2026 it takes five years of main residence in Austria. Whether it works out therefore depends mainly on parental income; our housing-support guide explains the calculation.
Can I register my main residence in a dorm?
Yes, registering within 3 days of moving in is actually mandatory. The dorm signs the registration form as your landlord. A Graz main residence is also the condition for the 75 euros of city funding towards the youth KlimaTicket.
How do I exit a dorm contract early?
Under the Student Dorm Act you can always terminate at semester end (winter semester by 30 November, summer semester by 30 April). For important reasons such as graduation, relocation or a sudden emergency, you can leave at the next month end.
What should I watch out for as a flatshare subtenant?
A written sublease with a clearly named room, fixed rent and notice period. And the Chamber of Labour rule of thumb: more than about 50 percent markup on the proportional rent is abusively excessive.
What does public transport cost for students in Graz?
The student Top-Ticket costs 199.50 euros per semester (Verbund Linie, since 1 July 2026, under 26). The youth KlimaTicket Steiermark costs 399 euros a year, 324 euros with a Graz main residence. If you stay in Graz all year, the KlimaTicket is 75 euros cheaper than two semester tickets.
Read on
- Styrian housing support: requirements & calculation →
- Graz property prices: €/m² by district →
- Living in Graz by topic: quiet, green, cool →
- All 17 districts in the Neighbourhood Atlas Graz →
As of 16 August 2026 (dorm price lists 2026/27 checked house by house, WIST still 2025/26 list; Student Social Survey 2025; Verbund Linie fares from 1 July 2026; Housing Support Act as of April 2026) · Orientation, not legal advice · Free advice: ÖH social department