How to Find Student Accommodation in Stockholm – Updated 2026

Hello everybody and welcome to this new post! Today, we are going to talk about how to find accommodation in Stockholm as a non-fee-paying international student. As explained in Martyna’s post on moving to Stockholm as an EU student, KTH does not grant accommodation to non-fee-paying students, unless they are part of a Joint Master’s programme. This means you will have to look for accommodation yourself, but don’t panic! We have got you covered.

📌 2026 Update Note: The “Finding housing on your own” page was updated in February 2026. Some previously recommended websites have changed, new resources have been added, and the fraud advice has been significantly expanded. This post reflects all of those updates.

There are two main ways to find housing in Stockholm. The first one is to apply to a housing queue, while the second is to find a sublet apartment on the private market.

Step 1: Join housing queues

In general, a housing queue works like this: you register, and for every day you spend in the queue, you earn one credit day. When you apply for a specific apartment, it goes to the applicant with the most credit days. Simple!

There are two main housing queues worth knowing about: Bostadsförmedlingen and SSSB. Let’s have a closer look at both 👇

SSSB

SSSB is by far the most popular option among students in Stockholm (almost everybody I know found housing through SSSB). It’s a housing queue exclusively for students; new apartments are published twice a week, and locations are generally excellent. Rents are also considerably cheaper than comparable private-market apartments. Signing up is free, but to stay in the queue, you must have an active THS membership (the KTH Student Union) — currently 365 SEK/year.

The 90-day rule: You can start collecting credit days up to 90 days before becoming a student union member — meaning you can register now, even before arriving in Stockholm. Once you hit around 89 days, you can pause your subscription for up to 60 days, then reactivate when you arrive and get your THS membership. It sounds a bit fiddly, but it’s easier than it looks! You can also find an explanation of how the queue works on the SSSB website – Collecting credit days.

SSSB offers both full apartments and corridor rooms (private bedroom and bathroom, shared kitchen). A nice perk of corridor rooms is that you get two months’ rent-free over summer. You’ll typically need a minimum of 80–90 credit days for a corridor room, but in popular locations like Lappis, the average wait is 200–300 days. This means that most students spend their first semester in private-market accommodation and then move to SSSB once they’ve built up enough queue days.

💡 Already guaranteed KTH housing for your first year? You should still sign up to the SSSB queue right away. KTH housing is only guaranteed for year one, and building up queue days now is the best way to secure somewhere to live for your second year.

Stockholm Housing Agency (Bostadsförmedlingen)

Bostadsförmedlingen is the municipal housing queue for the City of Stockholm, open to everyone — not just students. They do have specific housing options for students and young people (ages 18–25). The yearly fee is 200 SEK.

To register, you’ll need a Swedish personal identity number or coordination number, which means you’ll have to wait until you arrive in Sweden. Average queue times here are longer than SSSB, but some students do get accommodation within a year, so it’s worth signing up as a backup as soon as you can.

I personally don’t know anybody who got their accommodation through Bostadsförmedlingen, so I don’t know much more about it. It is worth subscribing to, though, because they have many houses available to students! 

Step 2: Look at Private Housing Ads

Usually, renting from a private individual is more expensive than renting through a housing queue — but it’s still how most students find their first place, myself included. Personally, I’ve used Blocket Bostad (now Blocket Bostad x Qasa)and had a good experience with it: you find a house you’re interested in, send a message to the owner, arrange a video call viewing, and then sign the contract. You can keep private accommodation throughout your studies, or just use it as a bridge until SSSB comes through. If you’re arriving with other new students, sharing a flat or trying a co-living space for a few months is also worth considering.

Recommended subletting websites

The following platforms help make subletting safer by verifying landlords, managing contracts, and handling payments:

• Blocket Bostad x Casa — one of the most-used platforms in Sweden for subletting
• Samtrygg — a popular and well-regarded option with strong tenant protections

Other housing options worth knowing about

• DIS Study Abroad in Scandinavia — a study abroad organisation and KTH partner that sometimes has vacant apartments available to KTH students. Worth checking.
• Studentbostäder i Norden AB (SBS) — manages student housing across Sweden in partnership with municipalities and universities. Their Stockholm apartments are offered via their own queue and through Bostadsförmedlingen. Note that subletting listings here can appear for as little as 1–2 days, so check frequently.

Protecting Yourself from Fraud

Regardless of which platform you use, always stay alert to the risk of fraud. When I was looking for housing, I came across a few listings that felt off. Stockholm is generally safe, but housing scams do exist, and international students are often targeted because we’re searching from abroad and under pressure to find something fast. Before you start sending messages to landlords, I recommend checking out the tips on protecting yourself from scams on the KTH website.

⚠️ A note on Facebook: I strongly suggest avoiding Facebook groups for your housing search. Facebook has very little control over who posts there, and scammers are common. As a rule of thumb: if something seems too easy or too cheap to be real, it probably isn’t.

That’s all for now! I hope this post was useful for you. I remember being super anxious to find accommodation at first, but, in reality, it is not as hard as it seems. Start early, stay patient, and don’t stress too much. Everything will be alright!

Before yu go, remember to check out the upcoming webinars for newly admitted students at the New at KTH website, and don’t forget to check out Martyna’s last post on student discounts and my last post on budgeting tips!

See you next week!

// Lorenzo