Organization Welcome Center

Accommodation offers

Information for those seeking accommodation in Bern

The Welcome Center publishes offers accommodation from landlords in Bern and the surrounding area. Our English list is an abridged translation of the German webpage.

The Welcome Center does not act as a broker for accommodation or rental contracts. You are requested to contact the person stated in the respective advert yourself. Most landlords or sub-lessors are able to communicate in English – still, it may be advisable to keep your initial requests simple and easily understandable. Do not expect all landlords to be perfectly familiar with English real estate vocabulary.

Please also bear in mind that there may be customs and practices concerning accommodation in Switzerland that differ from what you are used to – e.g. the expression “shared washing machine”: In most Swiss apartment buildings, the various tenants share one laundry room (often in the basement) with washing machine, dryer etc.

Unless stated otherwise, indications of the total number of rooms include all rooms apart from hallway, kitchen and bathrooms. Unlike e.g. in the USA or the United Kingdom, it is not only the number of bedrooms that is specified. Half rooms (.5) usually indicate either a kitchen-cum-living room or an extra storage room.

Useful tips on the general subject of finding accommodation can be also be found in the FAQ section.

The Welcome Center cannot fully guarantee the authenticity of the accommodation offers. For the selection of serious offers, we are always in contact with the landlords by e-mail or additionally by telephone. By this we hope to minimize the risk of fake offers. The best way to protect yourself from fraudulent advertisements is to visit the room or apartment in person. If this is not possible, we recommend that you never transfer money for rent before a legally valid rental agreement has been signed. In general, it is not advisable to pay the rent via money transfer services such as Western Union or Paypal. In case of doubt, the Welcome Center will be happy to assist you in assessing advertisements.

Information for landlords

Are you looking for your next tenant or do you want to let out a room in your residence? If so, we would be more than happy for you to place an advertisement with us. Please contact the Welcome Center and send us all the relevant details via e-mail. We will post your advertisement online for free within approx. five working days.

The Welcome Center does not act as an intermediary in terms of providing tenants. Similarly, we are unable to act as guarantors or sign tenancy agreements on a proxy basis. All tenancy agreements must be arranged between the landlord and the interested party directly.

We need the following information for any advertisement:

Suggestion for a caption, e.g. "Attractive, bright 2.5-room (furnished) apartment to let"
Location (e.g. Bern, Länggasse + any information regarding public transport links to the university)
Number of rooms (furnished or unfurnished)
Letting period
Rent (incl. or excl. ancillary expenses)
Short description of residence
Are pets allowed (dogs, cats etc.)?
Your contact details (e-mail) – maybe also stating whether you can communicate in English or French (or other languages)

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Tip

International researchers require a tenancy agreement in order to obtain a residence permit. In the event of any subletting agreements (e.g. if you rent out your residence on a temporary basis, but you are only a tenant yourself), you will also need to obtain written authorization from the property management people and provide them with a copy of the subletting agreement. The tenant's association can provide useful tips regarding subletting (website in German only).

Tenant's association (in German only)