Every autumn the same scene plays out in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich: an empty studio, a suitcase, and three weeks to turn it into somewhere you can work and sleep properly. And underneath it, a question nobody asks early enough — how long am I actually staying?
That question determines everything else. A one-semester exchange, a two-year master's and a four-year doctorate call for completely different decisions. Here is how to tell them apart, and where the money usually gets lost.
The real cost of an empty student flat
Swiss homes are almost always let unfurnished — often without light fittings or curtains, sometimes without appliances. For a student arriving from abroad, this is the most common and most expensive surprise: you need everything at once, precisely when your budget is tightest between the rental deposit, compulsory health insurance and university fees.
Three items are consistently underestimated:
- The bed. It is the biggest purchase and the one people rush most. Two years of poor sleep during a master's is paid in concentration, not in francs.
- The desk setup. A kitchen chair pulled up to a coffee table will not survive an exam period. This is where cheap student furniture shows its limits.
- Storage. In twenty square metres, missing storage does not show on the floor plan — it shows every single day.
Three profiles, three sensible decisions
| Your situation | What makes sense |
|---|---|
| One or two semesters (exchange, Erasmus, internship) | Look first for furnished accommodation or a sublet. If you do have to equip a place, buy nothing: you will resell at a loss in June, into a market flooded with identical listings. |
| Two to five years (master's, doctorate, postdoc) | This is where renting furniture makes most sense: you want quality without tying up several thousand francs, and you do not yet know which city you will be in next. |
| Settling long term | Buy, but gradually. Start with the bed and the desk setup, then fill in. |
Let us be straight with you: if your budget is very tight and you want the cheapest possible option, second-hand markets, student handover groups and end-of-lease sales will beat us. Our offer makes sense when you want quality without buying — for a shared flat splitting the cost, a doctoral student, or parents equipping their child's accommodation.
The case of the shared flat
Shared flats are the dominant format in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich, and they are also where renting furniture is cheapest per person. The logic is simple: the shared spaces — sofa, dining table, chairs — account for most of the spend, and get divided by three or four.
More importantly, shared flats handle departures badly: when one flatmate leaves in June and another arrives in September, who keeps the sofa? Who owns the table? Furniture rented in the name of the flat share removes that negotiation entirely.
What you actually need, in order
A functional student room comes down to six things. The rest can wait.
- A decent bed, with a real mattress
- A desk and a proper task chair — not a stool
- Closed storage for clothes
- A shelf unit or a storage piece
- A task light separate from the ceiling fitting
- Enough to host two people — that is what turns a room into a home
Our guide to setting up a workspace at home covers the desk in detail, which is the most decisive of the six.
Lausanne, Geneva, Zurich: three different markets
Lausanne concentrates EPFL and UNIL on the same campus, with heavy pressure on housing from Dorigny to Renens. Many students end up further out along La Côte or towards Vevey and Montreux, where rents breathe a little. See our furniture rental in Lausanne page.
Geneva combines the university, the applied-science schools and a large international population, in the tightest rental market in Switzerland. See furniture rental in Geneva.
Zurich brings together ETH and the university in the most expensive city in the country — which is why shared flats dominate. See furniture rental in Zurich.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be of age or hold a permit to rent furniture?
We need a Swiss delivery address and a valid payment method. Many contracts are signed by parents for their child's accommodation — that is a common case for us.
Can I rent for a single academic year?
Yes. The duration is agreed when we put the proposal together. Tell us your arrival and departure dates and we will adapt.
What happens when I finish my studies?
We come and collect the furniture. Nothing to resell, nothing to store, nothing to move — which is exactly what costs students who bought both time and money.
Is it really cheaper than buying?
Not always, and we would rather say so. Over five years in the same place, buying wins. Over one or two years, once you factor in reselling at a loss and the move itself, renting is generally better value — and always simpler.
Can several of us rent together for a shared flat?
Yes, and it is the setup where the cost per person is lowest, since the shared spaces are split. Tell us about your flat share and we will quote for the whole thing.
Tell us where you are studying
Your city, the size of your accommodation and your dates: we will send you a proposal within 24 hours, with no obligation. See also our turnkey packs and our full catalogue.
Request a proposal →