How to find rental apartments in Copenhagen Denmark
Finding rental apartments in Copenhagen, Denmark, has never been a piece of cake as there isn’t a huge amount of housing available on the rental market.
It took me three weeks to find my rental home in Copenhagen, Denmark. In this article, I shared my experiences and tips to find accommodation.
My experiences in finding accommodation in Copenhagen
I was accepted to an exchange program in Copenhagen.
Although I was completely aware of how crazy it was with the housing situation in Copenhagen and had thoroughly prepared and checked my mail at the exact time for dorm registration, I could not register because there was no room left!
Since I was unlucky to find myself a dorm room, I had no choice but to find private housing.
I contacted the housing department of my university. However, due to many Erasmus students who had the same situation, it took them one week to reply to my first email. Therefore, I decided to find a place by myself.
I still remember how frustrating it was since I lived in Japan and had no friends in Denmark, particularly in Copenhagen. I had not even come to Europe before!
“Finding accommodation in Copenhagen is incredibly difficult,” someone said. Yes, it is.
Most Danish landlords preferred students from the US, Europe, or English-speaking countries, while I was surely not.
It took me over three weeks to search for my rental home. It was not easy, but I could do it, and so could you.
Read more: 10 Reasons to pack your bag and move to Denmark.
Tips
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How to find rental apartments in Copenhagen Denmark
1. Finding on websites
The best place to search for apartments and houses in Copenhagen is online.
Keep in mind that you will need a CPR number to live legally in Copenhagen. Therefore, you should make sure that you can register the CPR number with your rental room.
What are the best free sites to find apartments for rent in Copenhagen?
Below are some websites that you can find apartments in Copenhagen
- Dorm rooms: http://universitypost.dk/article/top-10-student-housing-copenhagen
- http://www.statsforvaltningen.dk/site.aspx?p=7125: This is a web page of the office that manages many dorm rooms in Copenhagen. They have huge waiting lists, but you never know!
- CBSflat.com: This website is only for students who have parents with companies, and they have to be contacted from the beginning.
- http://hay4you.com/: a website to find accommodation in Copenhagen. It’s in English.
- https://housinganywhere.com/: you can find apartments for mid to long-term rent here.
These websites are in Danish, but you can use Google and give them a try:
- http://www.akutbolig.dk/
- http://www.boligportal.dk/
- http://www.ledige-lejligheder.dk/
- https://www.boligbesked.dk/
- https://www.lejebolig.dk/lejebolig/koebenhavn
Note: Please note that while this website may contain hyperlinks to third-party websites, we are not responsible for the content and do not endorse those sites.
Tips: You can use Wise as a cheap, fast way to send money abroad!
2. Join Copenhagen housing groups on Facebook
Being an active member of a Facebook group is one of the best ways to find rental apartments in Copenhagen. These are some of the groups that I am still a member of:
- Accommodation / Housing in Copenhagen
- ROOMMATE COPENHAGEN
- House/Room Renting in Copenhagen
- CPH Housing. Easy rent out. Finde lejer og boliger i København.
- Housing in Copenhagen (private)
- ESN CPH: Give-Buy-Sell-Rent
- Living in Copenhagen
- Copenhagen/København- Flat/room to rent
- Copenhagen Rent Housing for young people and students, free and secure
- CPH Flat!
It seems like a long list of Facebook groups to follow, but believe me, each post always attracts lots of comments, especially before the beginning of the semester, so you need to be fast to be a lucky one.
What I did was that I tried to check those groups a few times a day to make sure I did not miss any deal.
3. Join a private housing group from your university
If you’re are a university student or an exchange student in Copenhagen, you can join the housing group.
I also joined the private housing group from my university when I searched for one.
In that group, the housing coordinators offered some private housing that they had contracts with. However, one post always attracted at least ten replies from the students, so the housing coordinator had to do some “lucky rotation” to see who was lucky enough to be chosen.
Besides, the Housing coordinators also posted some places on Airbnb or some websites.
However, the students had to contact the landlords by themselves. An excellent point of this group is that you can find someone in the same situation and start to find a room together!
4. Ask your network
If you know someone in Denmark, you can ask Danish friends or someone who lives in Copenhagen to help you to find a place, or at least to check whether it is a real deal. If you know someone in Copenhagen, it would be much easier.
You can also try to contact Danes through scout groups, sports associations, clubs (ex: Rotary or Lions), and the expats’ associations.
Primary concern: How to stand out from hundreds of applications
Most people I met told me they have sent at least 50 emails to the landlords but still no reply. Yes, it’s true.
Many people are looking for an apartment in Copenhagen at the same time, so the landlord surely receives tons of messages and emails.
To me, applying for private housing is much more complicated than applying for a job. You need to stand out!
How to apply for housing in Copenhagen Denmark
It’s really important that you need to know how to “sell yourself.”
First, introduce yourself (name, contact, what you are doing). You also should add your experience when living with other people.
Tell them a bit about your hobbies in your personal life. Make an exciting portfolio and send them. You can also include your picture to increase your chance of getting considered.
Final thoughts on housing in Copenhagen
In brief, you can find accommodation in Copenhagen by joining Facebook groups, websites, or asking your network. You should create an email or message to send out to the landlord, and don’t forget to stay alert with scamming all the time.
Finding housing in Copenhagen, Denmark, from a different country is very difficult and time-consuming.
It requires a lot of effort and dedication, especially luck. You mustn’t give up and continue on your path! I wish you good luck in finding a place.
Do you find this article helpful? Please share it. Maybe someone needs help!
It helped when you mentioned that it is time-consuming finding an apartment. A friend of mine mentioned to me last night that he is hoping to find a no broker fee apartment for his family and asked if I have any idea what is the best option to do. Thanks to this informative article and I’ll be sure to tell him that it will be much better if he consults trusted apartments in town as they can answer all his inquiries
I like how you mentioned that websites can help you find the apartment you need. A friend of mine mentioned to me last night that he is hoping to find an apartment that has two bedrooms for his family and asked if I have any idea what is the best option to do. Thanks to this informative article and I’ll be sure to tell him that it will be much better if he consults trusted apartments in town as they can answer all his inquiries.