Find your room in Hamburg.
Everywhere UMCH sends its own students to live, in one place and in English, every address measured from the campus door at Albert-Einstein-Ring. With what each one really costs today, not what the brochure says. You never pay us anything.
Where UMCH students live.
These are the eight houses UMCH partners with, taken from the university's own accommodation page. None of them are run by the university: they are independent providers, UMCH students are given priority with them, and every one gives you your own kitchen and your own bathroom. You book with the residence, not with us. We checked every address and every price against the operator's own site on 18 September 2026, and each row carries a map of its actual street. UMCH's page →
1. Urban LivingStudent residence
3.4 km from the campus, a short bike ride or one S-Bahn hop
The closest of the lot, and the only one you could plausibly cycle to. Studios of 20 to 43 m², each with its own kitchen and bathroom, most with a balcony or a roof terrace. Gym, event kitchen, sports field and a parcel service.
2. THE FIZZ AltonaStudent residence
4.1 km from the campus, a short bike ride or one S-Bahn hop
453 furnished studios with study rooms, a roof terrace and a cinema lounge, and a supermarket in the building. Holstenstraße S-Bahn is a few minutes away, which is what keeps the commute short. The best value anywhere near the campus.
UMCH's page still lists this one from €1,099. The figure here is what they ask today.
3. HVNS AltonaFurnished apartments
4.2 km from the campus, a short bike ride or one S-Bahn hop
214 apartments with a supermarket and a chemist downstairs, forty metres from THE FIZZ on the same block. Your own kitchen and bathroom in the flat, with a gym, a lounge and a communal kitchen on top. The expensive way to live in this part of town.
UMCH's page still lists this one from €1,349. The figure here is what they ask today.
4. THE FLAG HamburgFurnished apartments
10.8 km from the campus, S-Bahn or U-Bahn across the city
Your own small apartment from 25 m² in Winterhude, opened in 2024. Read the price carefully: rent starts at €600, service charges of €150 to €185 sit on top, and full furnishing is another €143.
Their site says every apartment is let at the moment. Worth an email anyway, people leave.
UMCH's page still lists this one from €750. The figure here is what they ask today.
5. THE FIZZ HammerbrookStudent residence
11.2 km from the campus, S-Bahn or U-Bahn across the city
The same fit-out as the Altona house, between the main station and HafenCity. Cheap for what it is, but it is a real commute out to Bahrenfeld twice a day.
UMCH's page still lists this one from €1,063. The figure here is what they ask today.
6. HVNS HammerbrookFurnished apartments
11.2 km from the campus, S-Bahn or U-Bahn across the city
240 apartments that opened in October 2024, literally next door to THE FIZZ Hammerbrook. Coworking space, a kitchen and bar, lounges and a rooftop terrace over the skyline.
UMCH's page still lists this one from €1,299. The figure here is what they ask today.
7. Yugo NavaleStudent residence
13.3 km from the campus, S-Bahn or U-Bahn across the city
Furnished studios with a kitchenette and a private shower room in Wandsbek, a few minutes from Wandsbeker Chaussee station. Common rooms with table football, a bar and lounges, and a shopping centre next door.
UMCH's page still lists this one from €889. The figure here is what they ask today.
8. Felixx, Gabriel Riesser HausStudent residence
19 km from the campus, S-Bahn or U-Bahn across the city
The cheapest room UMCH lists and the furthest away: Harburg is on the other side of the Elbe. Some subsidised accessible rooms go from €510. Felixx runs four more Hamburg houses, in Borgfelde, at the Hühnerposten, in the Münzviertel and in the Pergolenviertel, from about €520 to €755.
One thing worth knowing. The starting prices on UMCH's page are out of date almost everywhere. We found the real figure higher at HVNS and Yugo, and a lot lower at both FIZZ houses, in one case by €265 a month. The numbers above are the operator's own. They still move with the season and the room type, so check before you count on one. Minutes on foot are our estimate, not a timetable.
The whole thing on one map.
The red pin is the university. Everything else is on UMCH's list. You can see the problem at a glance: only one of the eight is anywhere near the campus, and the cheapest is across the Elbe in Harburg.
How far is far?
The campus sits in Bahrenfeld, in the west of Hamburg, not in the middle of town. Worth knowing before you fall in love with a room, because the difference between the west and the east of this city is about forty minutes of your morning.
Bahrenfeld, Othmarschen, Ottensen
The streets around the campus and the two districts just south of it. Walkable or a short bike ride, close to the Elbe, and where the one genuinely near residence sits. Quiet, green, and a little more expensive for it.
Altona and Sternschanze
Four kilometres east. The busy part: bars, markets, record shops, the Friday night everyone talks about. The S-Bahn from Altona or Holstenstraße runs out to Bahrenfeld in minutes, which is why this is the usual compromise between living somewhere alive and getting to class on time.
Hammerbrook, Wandsbek, Winterhude
Ten kilometres or more, on the far side of the centre. Four of the eight are out here. They are good buildings, but check the journey on a map before you sign, because it is a real commute twice a day.
Harburg, over the river
Nineteen kilometres and a crossing of the Elbe. This is where the cheapest room on UMCH's list is. The rent is real and so is the journey, so only take it with your eyes open.
One ticket covers all of it. The Deutschlandticket has been €63 a month since January 2026 and works on every bus, U-Bahn, S-Bahn and regional train in the country.
Looking for a room yourself.
If none of the eight fit, these are the places UMCH points its students to. A room in a shared flat, a WG, is how most German students live and it is usually the cheapest way to live in this city.
WG-Gesucht
The big German flatshare site, and the one Germans actually use. Rooms in shared flats and whole flats, with filters for everything. Write a short friendly message in your first mail, they get a lot of them.
HousingAnywhere, the UMCH page
Built for students arriving from abroad, so you can book a room before you land instead of viewing it in person. This link is UMCH's own page on the site.
Coliving Hamburg
Shared houses with the bills and the furniture already sorted. UMCH lists this one and coliving.com as the two to look at.
Somewhere to land.
Almost nobody signs a lease before seeing the city. Book a few nights, go to your viewings, then sign. UMCH's own suggestions, closest to the campus first.
Mercure Hotel Hamburg am Volkspark
Across the road, 3 min on foot
Across the road from the campus, and UMCH's own first suggestion. The one to book if you are arriving the night before something that matters. Albert-Einstein-Ring 2, 22761 Hamburg
Superbude Altona Paradise
2.5 km from the campus, a short bike ride or one S-Bahn hop
From about €69 a night, and UMCH says longer stays are possible on better terms. Ask them directly if you need a few weeks while you view flats. Paul-Dessau-Straße 2, 22761 Hamburg
Moxy Hamburg Altona
3.4 km from the campus, a short bike ride or one S-Bahn hop
In Bahrenfeld, the same district as the campus. Kühnehöfe 8, 22761 Hamburg
Superbude St. Pauli
5.5 km from the campus, a short bike ride or one S-Bahn hop
From about €65 a night, in Sternschanze, where the bars and the record shops are. Juliusstraße 1-7, 22769 Hamburg
Moxy Hamburg City
10.8 km from the campus, S-Bahn or U-Bahn across the city
Near the Berliner Tor interchange, on the far side of the centre from the campus. Anckelmannstraße 11, 20537 Hamburg
Four things German law gives you.
Renting in Germany is heavily regulated and almost all of it is on the tenant's side. Knowing these four is the difference between a smooth first month and an expensive one.
A plain-English summary of the rules, not legal advice. The deposit rule is §551 of the German Civil Code; the two-week deadline and the landlord's confirmation are §17 and §19 of the Federal Registration Act. If a contract does not look right, send it to us before you sign it.
The ones we get asked.
When should I start looking?
As soon as you have your admission. Most of these houses have a six-month minimum and fill before the semester starts, and the private market in Hamburg moves fast. If you are arriving for the winter semester, spring is not too early.
Do I have to live in one of these?
No. They are the houses UMCH has a relationship with, which makes them the easy option and usually the safe one, but plenty of students find a room on WG-Gesucht and pay less. Both routes are normal.
Can I book before I get to Hamburg?
Yes, and most students do. The residences take bookings and viewings online, and HousingAnywhere exists so you can reserve a room from another country. Never send money to a private landlord who will not do a video call with you first.
Why are your prices different from UMCH's?
Because we read each operator's own site rather than copying the list across. Where the two disagree we show the operator's figure and say what UMCH lists underneath, so nothing here surprises you at the booking screen.
Is the campus far from the middle of town?
It is in Bahrenfeld, in the west, about twenty minutes by S-Bahn from the main station. Living in Altona or Ottensen puts you between the two, which is why so many students end up there.
What does Medently charge for this?
Nothing. You never pay us anything. This page exists because our students kept asking the same question and we would rather answer it once, properly.
Send us the listing before you sign it.
Send the link, the contract, or a photo of something you do not understand. We will read it and tell you what it actually says. That is free, and it is a lot cheaper than a deposit you never get back.
