Find a flat-share room

It is very typical in Germany to share an apartment with a few flatmates in order to save money. Many students therefore rent a flat privately and then split it up as a so-called flat-share (WG). Here, each person has their own room, and the kitchen and bathroom are for communal use. These are mostly unfurnished private flats; but many students then look for subtenants whilst they themselves are not in Rostock for a term, and they leave their furniture in the room.

In Germany it is not generally normal to create “Purpose Flat-Shares”, in other words to have flat-shares that only concern themselves with the provision of the room, and do not consider social factors, such as communal evening events and discussions. The occupants normally want to get to know you as a person once you have found a room and also want to spend time with you from time to time.

If you apply for a room in a flat-share, first impressions are very important.
The people who are already living in the flat-share are looking for a flat-mate who could, in their opinion, fit in well.
For this reason, when making contact for the first time with your prospective flatmates in your introduction text, it is highly recommendable to include your interests, your occupation, etc. to give them an idea of what you are like. Flat-shares typically get a lot of enquiries at the same time, so it is important to appear positive and to stand out from the crowd.
You should therefore avoid single sentences in your enquiry, such as:

  • “Is the room still available?”
    or
  • “I need a room urgently”

Repeat enquiries are not popular either in flat-share applications. Patience is required, since flat-shares normally get a lot of enquiries at the same time. Nor should you rely on the fact that the first flat-share that possibly starts a conversation with you will, in the end, choose you. As such, you should always look for alternatives to your ideal flat-share.

If you get a refusal, never take it personally. The flatmates have no choice but to make a decision as to who should move in and who, in their opinion, would fit in best, which is not always easy, particularly with lots of applications. You should therefore avoid asking for the reasons for a rejection.

Here there are a few websites for specifically searching for this type of “flat-share”:

The University of Rostock also has a notice board on Facebook.
There is a wide range of offers and classified ads from students, and they are often looking for new flat-mates for existing flat-shares.

If you do not find a flat-share after an extended search, and you already know people in Rostock with whom you get on well, you also have the opportunity of starting a flat-share yourself - but this is also less suited for short stays of 1-2 terms.