EPIC Guide

Accommodation

Finding housing in Lausanne is possible but not always easy due to how quickly the city is growing.

To help you in your search, we recommend the internal EPFL platform, the “Lausanne à louer - Bouche à oreille” Facebook group (which is not EPFL-exclusive), and the #housing channel in the IC PhD Slack

In general, if you’re planning to rent out an apartment directly from a private landlord or an agency as the main tenant, you will need requires certain paperwork that you will only be able to do once you arrive. The standard set of documents that would typically be needed is

• Valid Swiss residency permit (OR at least a Certificat d’inscription)
• Last three payslips (OR if not available at minimum current employment certificate)
• Extrait du registre des poursuites (can be requested here once you have registered)
• Proof of home insurance (optional but strongly recommended for your dossier to be considered)

An alternative is always to provide these documents for a Swiss guarantor whose name would be on the lease rather than for you personally.