Student Housing in Serbia: Dormitories and Private Rent

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Students in Serbia live either in a student dormitory run by a student centre, or in a privately rented room or flat. State dormitories are cheap, but places are limited, so many international students rent privately. This guide covers what the official pages confirm. Prices and application dates change every year, so always read the current notice.

Student centres

According to the government portal Welcome to Serbia, foreign students can apply for housing in nine student centres, five of them student cultural centres. The main ones in the university cities are:

Belgrade, Studentski centar "Beograd": 14 dormitories for about 10,500 students, of which 60 percent of the capacity is first-category rooms with a private bathroom. It also runs 14 canteens.
Novi Sad, Studentski centar "Novi Sad": housing for 3,064 students, with 2,713 places in eight dormitories in Novi Sad, 208 in Zrenjanin and 143 in Sombor, and three canteens.
Niš: four dormitories with 958 places and three restaurants.
Kragujevac: a dormitory of four pavilions in the city centre with 312 rooms and 4 apartments.

The numbers are the portal's own and describe capacity, not what is free for newcomers.

How to apply

Dormitory places are allocated through a call (konkurs) published by each student centre. The Belgrade centre lists its calls at sc.rs/konkursi, together with the documents required and the ranking criteria. We could not confirm on an official page whether and how foreign self-financing students are ranked, how much a place costs for them, or when the 2026/27 call closes, so write to the student centre and to your faculty's international office.

Apply as soon as you are admitted. If you do not get a place, you rent privately. Do not sign a long lease until you have a place at a faculty and know your timetable.

Private rent

Study in Serbia gives these indicative figures, with an exchange rate of about 117 dinars per euro (December 2024):

a shared flat in smaller towns: from about EUR 150 per person, without utilities;
a flat in Belgrade outside the centre: from about EUR 300 a month;
a one-bedroom flat in central Belgrade: up to EUR 1,200 a month.

The portal's cost-of-living page says rents are highest in Belgrade and Novi Sad and lower outside the city centre, but gives no rent figures. These numbers are a guide, not an offer, so check current listings.

Registering your address

Your address must be registered with the police, and a registered address is one of the documents for the temporary residence permit. Study in Serbia says:

a hotel, hostel or dormitory normally registers you automatically;
in private accommodation you register at the nearest police station within 24 hours of arrival.

Ask your landlord to help, because a private host has duties of their own under the Law on Foreigners. Keep the lease and the registration confirmation. See student visa for Serbia.

Food and transport

Study in Serbia reports student canteen meals at EUR 1 to 2.6 for students with a student card, and a monthly public transport pass of around EUR 10 or less, thanks to student discounts. In Belgrade the government portal quotes 50 dinars for a 90-minute public transport ticket. See how much it costs to study in Serbia for the total budget.

Where to look next

Official sources

Welcome to Serbia: living conditions during studies (in Serbian)
Welcome to Serbia: cost of living (in Serbian)
Study in Serbia: finance and living costs
Study in Serbia: visa and residence permit
Studentski centar Beograd (in Serbian)

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.