Lund is a city in the southern Swedish province of Scania, across the Öresund strait from Copenhagen. It is the seat of Lund Municipality, Scania County.
Housing
There are approximately 115,000 inhabitants living in Lund where half of the population are students. So, finding accommodation in Lund can be an issue if you are an international student – except for Swedish Institute scholarship holders who have a housing guarantee (in case of applying for housing on time) – and have not applied on time.
All is not lost if you fail to get accommodation. There are several other channels that you can use to find accommodation in Lund. These include:
- Apply through LU Accommodation;
- Apply through AF Bostader;
- Apply for accommodation through a Student Nation;
- Apply via BoPoolen;
- Apply through private renting.
LU Accommodation
It belongs to Lund University and compared to other options can be more expensive. Three types of students who can apply to this accommodation for housing are exchange students, programme students and students arriving through other agreements or projects. The company offers you 4 types of housing (corridor room, twin room, studio flat, and apartment) in 3 different cities (Lund, Malmö, Helsingborg) of the region. You can choose 5 different options through the system.
There is an application period that you need to check at the accommodation’s website and apply at that exact time. You need to try to apply as soon as the system lets you do it. Because timing is critical in that case and “first come first saved” can be an issue. If you do not apply in the early days of the application period, it’s possible to get a room in any accommodation that you have not applied for.
If you could not make it to apply during the application period, do not worry, you can send an email and ask for housing. In that case: “Depending on the time of year you may still be considered in the allocation process, but you will always have lower priority than applicants who applied during the application period.”
The terms of the contract are also one the critical issues. For example, there is a deposit fee (2000 SEK) that should be paid in advance. Additionally, you need to let them know 2 full months before (for example, if you are planning to move out on the 31st of May, you need to send an email to the company by the end of March) you decide to move out. Furthermore, initial inspection and final cleaning by you should be considered as strict as possible. If you observe any problem when you just moved into the accommodation, you need to submit a fault report where you can show the problem with pictures. If you do not, it can be accepted as your damage to the housing and you can be fined during moving out. It is also so important to clean the room just before delivering keys. Otherwise, the penalty fee can be deducted from your deposit amount.
AF Bostäder
AF Bostäder – is one of the primary housing companies that provide accommodation for international students besides locals. It hosts 7000 students in corridor rooms and studio flats in different parts of Lund city.
You can have a contract with this company in two ways: win a lottery that is for new students – Novisch without waiting, and register for the queue and wait in the list for a couple of months.
It does not demand a deposit fee and the moving out declaration is 1 or 2 months based on the type of the room (usually, 1 month for a corridor room and 2 months for a studio flat, but it will be shown in the contract). You need to be a member of one of the nations and have a studentkortet account to be able to sign a contract with the company.
It offers you a great chance to live with Swedes.
Accommodation by Student Nation
Famous student nations that offer accommodation in Sweden for students at Lund University include Lund Nation, Smålands Nation and Helsingkrona Nation. The catch is that as a student, you have to join and be a member of the Nation.
BoPoolen
BoPoolen is a student housing website run by Lund University’s student unions. BoPoolen is run by the Lund University Student Unions’ Association. Since 1980 it has been helping landlords and students in Lund to find each other through advertisements, as well as giving advice on how to find housing in Lund and its surroundings.
Its primary purpose is to help students in Lund with their housing situation. On its website, you find housing advertisements, important information about housing in Lund and its surroundings, and laws and regulations.
Private renting
You may find information about private renting on social media, specifically on Facebook groups. You may find some of those groups below:
Student nations and unions
The 13 nations are large student social clubs that are unique in Sweden. Each nation has its own particular atmosphere. Getting involved with the nations is a great way to meet friends and enjoy student life.
The nations are large, welcoming social clubs forming the heart of students’ extracurricular life in Lund. They offer a very wide range of activities and services, including lunches, brunches, pubs, housing opportunities, sports, nightclubs, formal balls and traditional festivities. The activities normally take place in and around a nation ‘house’ (the nation’s headquarters), where the nation’s office is located and where some of its members live.
Students run the nations and most of them do so on a voluntary basis. Being active in a nation will give you the opportunity to participate in a wide range of activities and a chance to get to know Swedes and the Swedish culture.
Read more about the nations and get the list of nations on the Studentlund website.
To participate in the nations’ activities you will need to be a member of Studentlund. You join one nation only, but you get access to activities at all other nations through the student card you get when you become a member. Read more and join Studentlund.
The student unions work primarily with educational affairs, and the goal is to maintain high quality in all courses and programmes at Lund University. In addition to monitoring education, the student unions also organise social activities, help out with business contacts, arrange job fairs and lectures. They also arrange welcome activities for new students. Read more about student unions here.
Shopping
Lund’s medieval city centre offers pleasant shopping in many small speciality stores and large chains. Meander through the cosy pedestrian streets, beautiful alleys and squares. Lilla Fiskaregatan, Stora Södergatan, Bytaregatan and Skomakaregatan have great shops to browse in, while central Lund offers a wide range of stores, complemented by the Nova Lund shopping centre.
The Nova Lund shopping centre is on the outskirts of Lund. This mall is popular for fashion, clothing and inspiration. Most of the shops include personal and unique brands.
At Kött & Spices, you will find fresh meats, vegetables, fruits, fish, spices from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Arabian and other daily necessary goods.
At Kattesund frukt, you will find fresh fruits and vegetables as well as all types of dried fruits and nuts, Greece olives and East, Asian and Arabian products.
Hemmakväll is available throughout Sweden and is the best destination for sweets. On its website, you may find tasty recipes, all upcoming news and where the nearest shop is.
Vintage and second-hand stores are popular here, offering an environmentally friendly, personal, fun and affordable way to shop where each item has its own story to tell. If you like flea markets, – head to Södra Esplanaden, where one is organized every Saturday during the summer.
Erikshjälpen is one of the most popular second-hand shops in Lund. It has two branches: one in Stora Södergatan 25, not too far from Botulfsplatsen bus station and the other one is located in Öresundsvägen 16, a little bit outside the city centrum. Selling almost everything you need for your home, Erikshjälpen is like the second-hand version of IKEA and even better because it sells other brands too.
Emmaus – a few meters away from Erikshjälpen, there is another second-hand shop called Emmaus. It has two stores separated by the street of “Stora Tvärgatan”. Emaus sells not only household appliances, but also bikes and electronics. Like Erikshjälpen, the profit generated in this shop is donated to charity.
Ugglan Second hand is a second-hand shop located in Fäladstorget. Owned by Svenska Kyrkan, it sells books, cutlery, and other things except for furniture. This store is not so big but is well organised and easy to locate the items you need.
Food Saving Lund – is a group of people fighting against food waste by doing regular food pick-ups in & around Lund, storing it in food banks & sharing it among the community other than organising workshops & social events to raise awareness. Send a request for joining the Facebook group “Active Members Food Saving Lund“.
Saluhallen is located in the centre of Lund. Here you will find food and drink for all tastes. Warm welcome!
Bike Kitchen Lund is a free-to-use workshop where you can get advice and use tools to fix your bicycle. They are open to everyone! You can also volunteer or bring bike/tools/spare parts you do not need. They are open each Tuesday and Wednesday evening from 18.30 till 20.30. In July and August, it is usually closed for the summer holidays. You will find Bike Kitchen Lund in the white gallery at Stenkrossen, Kastanjegatan 13.
Look through Facebook, there are groups where people post about available accommodation plus things to buy and sell around Lund. You may visit the following useful Facebook groups:
Life in Lund
Lund is a small town where you will reach by your bike wherever you want and walk to some of the university campuses. People here are so welcomed and friendly. As a student, you will have tremendous opportunities to enjoy your social life including going to the bars, restaurants and game nights and parties of the nations as well as organizing picnic activities in the open air enjoying nice weather, especially during spring and summer.
Dalby Stenbrott or Sankt Hans Hills are astonishing places around Lund where you can go for a hike and swim or to see the most beautiful sunset of the city. If you want to feel the silence and freshness of nature in the centre of the city, you can visit the Botanical Garden and the Stadsparken with your friends.
Lundakarnevalen: Sweden’s largest student festival which dates all the way back to 1849 also held in Lund every four years. It attracts 400 000 visitors from all over Sweden to Lund with different activities from concerts by famous singers and university students to a huge parade that goes around the entire town and many more interesting activities.
Moreover, in Lund you will also have an opportunity in terms of improving your sports skills by joining outdoor runnings, football games in Victoria Stadium, using gyms and swimming pools (approximately 200-300 SEK/monthly) of Actic, 24 Seven or Nordic Wellness, or joining extremely enjoyable hiking tours in beautiful and picturesque parts of Skåne.
Considered the number one city for students in Sweden, Lund offers an exciting campus environment with vibrant student life, an international atmosphere and memorable student traditions.
Domkyrkan – in Lund’s famous cathedral, consecrated in 1145. It features an impressive astronomical clock, dating from 1424.
Kulturen is an open-air museum, founded in 1892, which shows how people have lived and worked in Sweden through the ages.
Skissernas Museum – Museum of Artistic Process and Public Art was founded in 1934 by Ragnar Josephson, Professor of Art History at Lund University, and is a unique art museum focused on the creative process around the conception of public art, featuring sketches, preliminary works and models. Free entry for students.
Historiska Museet – The Lund University Historiska Museet, founded in 1805, is the second-largest archaeological museum in Sweden. Among other finds, the collection includes a 7 000-year-old skeleton.
Botaniska Trädgården – The Lund University Botaniska Trädgården (Botanical gardens) in Lund cover 8 hectares and feature around 7 000 different species.
Vattenhallen Science Centre has inspiring and educational workshops, experiments and exhibitions on technology and science. It is a place where children and adults can learn together, so bring your family to one of the exhibitions or astronomy shows in the planetarium.
You may get more information about Lund University’s campus highlights here.
You may visit the following useful Facebook groups:
- International Students in Lund – This is a platform to meet other students, share useful information and exchange experiences;
- Lund University Students;
- SI NFGL Local Network in Lund – This group is for those who have/had Swedish Institute Scholarship and are studying/studied at Lund University.
