Erasmus in the Czech Republic: How to Find Accommodation Before You Land

You have your acceptance letter, a semester in Prague, Brno or Olomouc ahead of you, and the accommodation email from your host university that says a dorm place is "not guaranteed". This guide is what to do next, in the order to do it, including the parts the welcome pack leaves out: five-month leases, deposits, the proof-of-accommodation form, and the scams that target exactly your situation.

Step 1: apply for the kolej anyway, and early

Exchange and international students usually get priority in university dorm allocation, so apply the day the host university opens applications (typically May to June for the winter semester, November to December for summer). A dorm bed is the cheapest option in the country, about 4,500 to 7,000 CZK a month for a shared room, and the only one with no deposit, no contract negotiation and no landlord. The catch is privacy and noise: it is a bed in a double or triple room, often with a shared bathroom. Prices and the full comparison are in Student Housing in Prague: Kolej vs Shared Flat.

Step 2: understand the five-month problem

Most private landlords in Czechia want a 12-month lease. A single semester is four to five months, which is why exchange students end up with three options: a room sublet from a tenant who already holds a longer lease (the most common and usually the cheapest), a room in a private student residence with semester contracts, or a whole flat rented with other exchange students at a premium for the short term. Landlords who accept five months know they have you: expect 10 to 20 percent above the long-term rent for the same room.

If you take a sublet, read Lease vs Sublease first: your rights depend on the main tenant's lease, and if that ends, so does yours.

Step 3: budget with the deposit in it

A room in a shared flat in Prague runs 10,000 to 14,000 CZK a month plus 2,000 to 3,000 for utilities; in Brno or Olomouc 7,500 to 11,000 plus utilities. On top you pay a deposit (kauce) of one to three months' rent before you move in, which you get back at the end if the flat is handed over in order. So a 12,000 CZK room can cost 36,000 to 48,000 CZK in the first week. Erasmus grants arrive in instalments; plan the first one for the deposit. How the deposit works and how to get it back is in How to Get Your Rental Deposit Back.

Step 4: proof of accommodation, if you need a visa

EU citizens need nothing beyond registering their address if they stay over 30 days. Students from outside the EU applying for a long-term visa or residence permit must show proof of accommodation for the whole stay: a dorm confirmation from the university, or a signed lease or a landlord's declaration (doklad o zajištění ubytování) with the owner's officially verified signature. A sublet from a tenant is often not accepted for this purpose. Sort this before you leave home; the visa appointment will not wait for a landlord who is on holiday.

Step 5: the scams built for you

Exchange students are the perfect target: abroad, in a hurry, unfamiliar with prices, paying a deposit before they can view. The pattern is always the same: a beautiful flat, a landlord who is "currently in another country", a deposit by bank transfer or a payment app to secure it, and keys that will be handed over by a friend or a courier. There are no keys. Never pay anything for a flat you or someone you trust has not stood inside. If you cannot view in person, book a dorm or a residence with a real reception, or arrange a video viewing with the current flatmates and a lease you can read before paying. The full list of signs is in How to Spot a Scam Listing.

Step 6: find the people before the flat

Three exchange students with the same dates and a combined budget can rent a whole 3+kk for a semester where one student cannot rent a room. Landlords take a settled group over a stranger, and it removes the five-month premium because you are the whole tenancy. On DomuHQ you can set your move-in date, budget and city, see other people arriving for the same semester whose lifestyle fits yours, form a group and apply to flats together, all in English or Czech, before you land. It is free until 1 January 2027.

Step 7: the first week

Do the handover protocol with photos and meter readings on day one. Register your address (dorm offices do this for you; in a flat, the landlord confirms it). Find your ESN section; they run the housing chats where rooms change hands between semesters, which is the second-best way to find a room in January. And check the dates: winter semester exams run into late January and February, so a lease that ends 31 December leaves you homeless for your exams.

Sources: university dorm rates for 2026/2027 as published by VŠE and Charles University; Czech Ministry of the Interior guidance on proof of accommodation for long-term visas; deposit rules from the Civil Code (Act No. 89/2012 Coll., § 2254). Rents from our mid-2026 asking price data. General information, not legal or immigration advice; confirm visa documents with the Czech embassy handling your application.