FAQ - Frequently asked questions

 

Can KOMBO fix accomodation for me?

Unfortunately no, as we are a tenant organization and don’t have any property of our own. The landlords advertising accommodation at our site decides for themselves who they wish to rent out to and we do not have any say in this. What we can offer you is advise on where and how to find accommodation and in an emergency situation, offer emergency accommodation in august and september.

Is it hard to find accomodation?

As in general in Sweden, the housing situation is difficult at the moment, not least for students. Especially in the autumn there are many seeking housing and so, competition is high. Too ease the search for newly admitted students all student housing companies will reserve mostly all corridor rooms (Studentbo in Norrköping reserve their apartments as well). New students will still compete with their queue points though and not everyone will get student housing for the beginning of the term.To widen your chances you should not just look into student housing but also the other housing companies, look at the second hand market as well as look into getting a lodging room or collective. You might have to accept a temporary solution such as sleeping at a class mates’ place, a hostel or our emergency housing(only offered in the autumn). BUT it is definitely not impossible and most students will have found something after a few months. Just be active in your search and be open minded and you will find something!

I would like to have my own apartment, how can I get it?

To get an apartment of your own is usually difficult for the autumnterm. It is usually easier to get a bigger apartment, like three rooms or bigger. If you are open to sharing an apartment with several students you can take a bigger apartment and advertise for roommates on KOMBO's website, LiU's bulletin board and Blocket.se. Other alternatives are being a lodger, applying to existing collectives, getting a sublet apartment or checking out private housing companies in and outside of Linköping and Norrköping that dosen't use a queue point-system. 

You might need to accept some type of shared accomodation in the beginning and then continue your search. In the spring and summer the demand for student apartments tend to be a lot lower.

I have not found accomodation and I have searched everywhere! What do I do?

It can be difficult and time-consuming to get accomodationbut as the weeks pass after the term has started the demand will lessen. On our website there are tips on how to find accomodation and what you should do. If you have registred everywhere as well as looked at sites such as Blocket or the LiU notice board, all you can do is keep on applying to all alternatives that you find. Look at tge sites several times a day and if a phonenumber is avaliable in an ad, do call rather than email. 

You should alsp look at other alternatives, such as grouping with some classmates and rent a larger apartment togehter. This often happens after school starts, when you meet others who also need accomodation. To rent a lodging room or seek accomodation outside of Linköping or Norrköping should also be considered. 

In case you haven't found ant solution for the schoolstart we at KOMBO offers emergency accomodation from the beginning of August to mid-October. More information about this can be found here.

I registred to Studentbostäder/Studentbo yesterday, how can I compete with everyone else?

During the summer (July/August), the student housing companies reserve housing for newly admitted students. So, even if someone who has hundreds or thousands of queuing points has applied for the same room or apartment, you as a new student has priority. On the respective companies' websites, you will find more information on how the priorities works.

As for private companies, not everyone has queue systems but instead chooses a tenant among all applicants on grounds such as need, income and special circumstances. Therefore you should always include a little about yourself when applying.

Other places without a queue is Blocket.se and our data base. Advertisers there will choose who they prefer to rent out to. So just like with housing companies without a queue, include a few lines about yourself when applying. Simply stating that you’re interested will likely just sort you out when the advertiser has gotten many applications. If a number is available, call rather than email since an email easily can get lost among all the applications a landlord might get. To increase your chances further, do not just apply for apartments in Linköping or Norrköping but also lodger rooms and/or apartment situated at commuter distance.

Which area is best to live in?

Which area is best varies from person to person. It's hard to say what's best for you. Both in Linköping and Norrköping, student housing is spread across different areas of the city within cycling distance(most also within walking distance). We have tried to describe each student housing area shortly, which may be helpful, or you will be able to test yourself. The descriptions can be found here.

What is a reasonable rent?

What the monthly rent will be varies depending on what type of housing it is, when it was built, area, size and what, is included. A corridor room is usually between 3000-4500 kr a month, apartments between 4000-8000 a month. Most student housing includes electricity, water, heating and internet in the rent and some are also furnished. Some housing might require you to get electricity and internet on your own. Student housing also have a 10-month rent which means that the yearly rent is spread out over 10 months,  meaning rent-free summer months. So, between 3000-8000 is what you can expect to pay for student housing.

When subletting a rental apartment or renting a room with someone living in a rental apartment the cost must be equal to the rent that your landlord pays, with a small addition for furniture.

When the house, apartment or room is owned by the landlord, reasonable rent is based on the value of the property. Therefore it’s hard to give an interval on actual reasonable rent. However, most people advertising rooms through us ask for rents around 2500-4000 SEK a month where everything is usually included. Se more information here.

I have accomodation from 1st of September but my classes starts in August, what do I do?

Many student apartments and corridor rooms will be available from September and you will need a temporary accommodation until then. On KOMBO's website and sometimes also at Blocket there are private landlords who rent short term accommodation. If you haven't found a temporary stay when school starts KOMBO does organize an emergency accomodation that is open in august and september. The emergency accomodation is shared with other students and costs 120 SEK/night and 800 SEK/week. Read more about the emergency accomodation here.

On your website it says that you can commute from other places, do people really do that?

Since Linköping University's campuses are located in Linköping and Norrköping, it is of course where most people want to live. In fact, there are quite a few students that commute during their studies, without any problems. Finding accommodation can be easier if you are willing to live in another city or town in Östergötland for at least some time. A 30-day ticket that are valid in all of Östergötland costs about 850 SEK for students.

We have listed commuting times from nearby municipalities, all under 1 hour. We have also interviewed students who commute how it works for them, read more about this here.

I would like to post an ad on your website, how do I proceed?

Great that you want to help! On our homepage there is a button on the start page on the right, which says 'Place an ad.' Click this and follow all steps to publish the ad. When done, click submit ad. The ad must then be approved by our KOMBO administrator before it is published. You will receive an automatic mail when the ad is published.

If you want to make it easy for yourself, you can also email us or call us at office hours and ask us to post your ad. What we need to know is what is hired, address, how long the rental is, price and contact details. You can also email us.

My account has been declined on your website, how come?

If your account has been denied, it is most likely that you have submitted an incorrect proof of acceptance. In order to have the account approved, an official document containing your name, day of birth, what program or which classes you’ve been accepted to as well as year, This is important because we reserve our advertisements to newly arrived students at Linköping University, and we want to make sure that no old students or non-students can compete with new ones. Just follow the steps above and we will be able to put you in our system.

I am bringing my family and must have an apartment before the semester starts! Can you help me?

Unfortunately, all we can offer is advice on where and how to find accommodation as we do not have any property of our own. You might be able to find a sublet apartment at our site but it’s up to the advertiser to decide who he or she chooses as a tenant and we have no say in this.

 First of all you should register with all housing companies that uses queue points, both student housing companies and regular housing companies. Studentbostäder in Linköping has bigger apartments and these are usually easier to get than the smaller ones. As for the “regular” housing companies, the ones with queue points will not be an option until after a few years of queueing but we give this advice since you will be very happy about those points should you choose to stay in Sweden after graduation. For an apartment right now, the private companies without queue points-systems will be one of the most likely options. Victoria park and Willhem are housing companies that has vacant apartments more often than any other private housing company in Östergötland.

 

The sublet market will be another good option, so check out the LiU notice board and Blocket to find apartments. Once in a while small, private landlords will offer first hand contracts through Blocket as well. Do not limit yourself to Linköping or Norrköping but do look at all cities and towns in Östergötland.  Commuting seldom takes more than one hour and you can get a 30-day ticket for about 850 SEK as a student.

 

General tips when applying to housing with companies without queue points or to landlords who sublet is to write a few lines about yourself and your needs as this, along with income and references from previous landlords, are the grounds on which the landlords decide on who to offer the apartment. Also, if there is a phone number available in an ad it is a good idea to call rather than email since a landlord might get a lot of emails and it’s easy to become invisible.

 

If you haven’t found something when school starts our advice is to come by yourself and take something temporary. You can find ads for temporary housing at our site, LiU notice boards and sometimes at Blocket. You can slo stay at our emergency housing. While you’re here, keep on looking for suitable housing and have your family come here when you’ve found something. The overall demand for housing decreases as the weeks go by so it will get easier.

 

If coming alone is not an option you should check out temporary options such as apartment Sweden homes, Forenom or Teotess hostel which offer more long term, yet temporary, housing.

 

Please note that the emergency housing is composed of a three room-apartment filled with camping beds on the floor and is shared with up to 14 other students. Therefore we can not accept children into the emergency housing.