Accommodation in Budapest (general information)

Accommodation (2013/2014)

CEU students stay in the CEU Residence Center or rent an apartment in the city. In the CEU Residence Center priority accommodation is provided to CEU Master’s Fellowship recipients as part of their financial aid package. Non-fellowship students, all doctoral students and external funded scholarship students have access to the Residence Center on a space-availability basis, and are expected to cover their costs directly.

Those students who have not requested or who have not been granted in-dorm housing have to arrange their accommodation on their own. Some helpful information is provided in the sections below.

Rented accommodation

Address Registration Process

Change of Address

What prices should I expect in case I rent a flat in Budapest?

Helpful links to find temporary accommodation

The CEU Residence Center

Rented accommodation

Since the CEU Residence Center cannot house the entire student body, many students need to find rented accommodation in Budapest. We strongly recommend that you start looking for an apartment only when you have arrived in Budapest. In Hungary, once a property rental contract has been signed by a tenant and landlord, a legal agreement has been entered into. The tenant cannot give up the tenancy without the landlord's permission. For this reason you should only sign a private sector accommodation contract after viewing the property. CEU cannot take any responsibility for problems arising from signing a contract without having seen the apartment, etc. Experience shows that with the help of the Student Life Office, it does not take longer than two weeks to find appropriate rented accommodation.

If, however, students would like to search for flats in the summer for the upcoming academic year, they can directly contact the following rental agencies:
Duna House at recepcio [at] dh [dot] hu
Otthon Centrum at tamas.lukacs [at] oc [dot] hu
IHomes at flat4rent.budapest [at] gmail [dot] com (Contact person: Szabolcs Kiss http://www.ihomes.hu)

At the beginning of the Academic Year students will have access to a database of apartments for rent. In addition, from August 12 to October 4 there will be an assistant in the Apartment Search Office helping students with their inquiries. In this period, you can contact the Apartment Search Assistant at apartmentsearch [at] ceu [dot] hu or apartment [at] ceu [dot] hu. Please note that the Assitant can help you with questions related to leases, neighborhoods, districts preferred by students, and language assistance, etc., but s/he cannot select or recommend apartments.

When you find a suitable apartment you have to complete a lease contract with the owner. It is strongly recommended to use the CEU blank contract form for this purpose. The blank contracts (in Hungarian and English) are available in hard copy from the Apartment Search Assistant. Students may enter into a separate legal relationship with the landlord independent from CEU. CEU takes no responsibility for the content of and/or any eventual claim arising from such relationship between you and the landlord.

Important: If you are from a non-EEA country, please ask the owner to obtain for you the Certificate of Property Ownership (issued within 30 days) from the Land Registry Office. This document costs HUF 6250 and it will be required when you apply for a residence permit at the Immigration Office.

Address Registration Process

According to Hungarian law all international students must fulfill all requirements for residency in Hungary: failure to do so will result in the termination of enrollment at CEU.

One important aspect of the residence application process is that all CEU students must register their accommodation at the Office of Immigration and Nationality.

Students from non-EEA countries must complete the “Accommodation Reporting Form for Third Country Nationals”, whereas EEA students are required to fill out the “Form for Issuing Registration Certificate and Reporting Accommodation”.

Please note that it is highly recommended to visit the Student Life Office for further assistance, before you start any procedure.

Change of Address

In case students move into another apartment, they must report this change within three working days to the Hungarian authorities.

Non-EEA students should submit a new Accommodation Reporting Form to the Immigration Office, along with a lease contract and a certificate of apartment ownership, issued within the last 30 days. The new proof of accommodation is issued on the spot.

For students from EEA countries this registration process is different: they should report the new apartment to the district’s local government office. A lease contract and a certificate of apartment ownership, issued within the last 30 days are also required. The new address card will immediately be available.

What prices should I expect in case I rent a flat in Budapest?

The prices of apartments for rent in Budapest vary mainly depending on the location and the condition of the flat. The price range that an average CEU student can afford is approximately between 40,000 and 65,000 HUF (for a room in a shared flat) plus utilities.

Find the daily exchange rates on http://www.ceu.hu/admissions/tuitionandfees/payment (bottom of the page), under section „Conversion of fees”. Always use the most current exchange rate!

In case you have no access to the page above, contact Edina Mandoki at: mandokie [at] ceu [dot] hu

The most expensive flats can be found in certain central Budapest districts such as the 1st (Buda Castle), 2nd, 12th (Central Buda), 13th, 5th (Central Pest, CEU is located here). Note that prices do not only depend on the location (district), but also on the condition and quality of the flat. As a general rule, however, in the above districts the location itself tends to push prices upwards. Flats in these districts can be rented from 40,000 HUF per person + utilities. This average is calculated on the basis of a shared flat and 30 square meters/person. If you want to live alone, you can expect a price of 65,000 HUF or more + utilities for a separate 30 square-meter flat.

The medium price range can be found in the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th or 11th districts, however, such flats are more difficult to find and they tend to be equipped and furnished in a simpler fashion. A 30 square-meter share of these flats can generally be rented from 35,000 HUF per person + utilities. If you want to live alone, you can expect a price of 55,000 HUF or more + utilities for a separate 30 square-meter flat.

The lowest price apartments are usually located in the peripheral districts of the town. The cheapest flats are in the housing blocks of 21st, 23rd, 18th, 19th, 10th, 17th. 16th, 15th, 4th, 22nd districts and some areas in the 3rd district. Despite the long commute to CEU, these apartments can be very comfortable, light and well heated, as the main price-reducing factor in their case is the distance from the center of the city. If you want to live alone, the rent can be 45,000 HUF/30 square meters.

Please note that here we have given the average prices in these districts. Actual prices can exceed as well as remain below these averages.

Helpful links to find temporary accommodation:

The CEU Residence Center

CEU Residence Center is a modern residence complex located in the 10th District of Budapest. It provides air-conditioned single rooms for almost 400 graduate students.

Each room provides comfortable furniture and has a private bathroom. Graduate students are accommodated in single rooms only.

Residential life programs and activities are organized regularly.

For details please visit www.ceucenter.hu

File attachments:

Lease Contract, Academic Year 2012/13

Apartment Search Hints and Tips