Accommodation in Leuven

Finding accommodation is something we usually leave to the last minute, or at least this was the case for me. My friend and I took our time finding where we were going to live but didn’t explore many options.

Originally, I wanted to live in our own flat: I had already spent a year doing so but I did have really good memories of living in University halls, and also of the Americans I had met there. It seemed a good way to get to know people from all over the world and after all, the friendships you make are even stronger when you have to live together.

Therefore, we decided against the option of KOT; a type of accommodation used mainly by Belgians and students from abroad that come to study at KUL. Typically, in this accommodation you get your own furnished room with a communal bathroom and kitchen. This can be shared by as few as 3 or as many as 10 people. The difference in Spain is that there usually isn’t a communal area; either because there simply isn’t one or because the idea of watching tv together, chatting and so on isn’t the done thing.

The buildings usually appear old from the outside but on the inside they are completely refurbished. The rooms are usually kitted out with furniture from IKEA and the bathrooms and kitchen aren’t bad either. Of course, this varies. For example, I’ve seen kitchens in some flats even my mum would want but have also seen some which are just average; usually they don’t have a dishwasher or washing machine.

If you go for this option, as I have done before and wouldn’t mind doing again, I would recommend you go to Leuven in June/July to visit KOTs. I know a girl who didn’t even last 3 days there, so paying a visit is the best way to avoid any surprises. There aren’t usually many photos nor is the information very reliable, therefore go visit the place beforehand and look for signs which say ‘TE HUUR’ (to rent).

In terms of shared halls, the options vary widely from facilities to prices, but don’t expect to find much information. From my point of view the accommodation wasn’t advertised very well at all. It was difficult to find photos yet I think this is what attracted people to live here as they only saw the better photos.

However, you may as well forget what I have said about university halls up to now as this type of 'uni life' doesn’t exist in Belgium. To start off with they don’t have a reception, so nobody is present at a desk for 24 hours. There isn’t a canteen either so you have to prepare and cook your own food. Finally, there aren’t any washing machines which means you have to take your things to a laundrette: this is something that I noticed is very normal in Belgium and everyone does it, including 70-year-olds.

If you have ever lived in shared accommodation or University halls you may as well forget the idea that these people will be like your second family, or that if you are sick they will call the doctor or go to the pharmacy for you. As the head of our accommodation told us ‘this is not a hotel’, which means they don’t provide anything; no pillow, duvet, sheets, towels nor toilet paper. I would be grateful for the fact that they provide a mattress (in some cases there weren’t even these but I’m not 100% certain about that).

With regards to what they offer, the university has a variety of subsidized accommodation for any KUL student. You can access a form through the university website which asks you to rank your top three choices of accommodation. However, I would add that many types of accommodation don’t have a website or much information therefore many people end up ruling these out straight away. Nevertheless, we filled out the forms but on the months I was supposedly meant to be subsidised I learnt that Belgian students and students from the poorer EU countries are prioritised. Our second option was accommodation that had been newly refurbished: however, the only photos available were design plans and we couldn’t even find the building on google maps so we decided to look for alternatives.

Nevertheless, you could still be lucky and secure a place in one of these subsidised accommodations. However, I worry a lot in general and saw it was going to take a long time to get an answer so we looked for a plan B (I advise you to have something else in mind as a back up in case you run out of time).

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The first golden rule is to find accommodation within the center: save yourself time by doing this as I can assure you living in the center with a 10 minute cycle ride anywhere is a godsend. This will be especially useful on the days where it is pouring with rain or after nights out when you are returning home at 6am.

Leuven isn’t a very big city but the good thing is that everything you need is in the centre. Anywhere outside the centre is not considered as Leuven since you have all you need on the inside. However, outside the center, you can hire a ‘Velo’ bike and buy second hand things in ‘Kringwinkel Spit’. You can also go shopping, go to the parks, or for the brave you can go to the Sportscenter, however that’s about it.

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In this next bit I am going to talk about the accommodation that I know of and add any extra info that I have:

LOYOLA INTERNATIONAL HUIS: this accommodation is quite central in Schapenstraat. The accommodation is organised by ‘huis’, houses and shared rooms. The good thing about this accommodation is that it has a special agreement with the American university so you can expect to find the American students there. This is the perfect option if you want to immerse yourself fully with English speaking students and avoid the Spanish. I have 3 friends from Bilbao living there and they are very happy. However, I haven’t really seen them much apart from the 2 I see in class as we study the same subjects and, the other only for a couple days when we went out partying in September.

THOMAS MORUS: I am only mentioning this one as I don’t recommend it whatsoever, nor would my friends who are living here. The first reason is that it is located outside the city centre next to the Sportscentre (this is actually the only good thing about it, alongside the fact that it is closer to the Heverlee Campus for sciences). The second reason is that it is very old and unattractive: the corridors are long and the stairs are endless. The rooms aren’t bad but they don’t compensate for the rest of the building. The kitchen and showers are shared between many and the facilities are quite poor, but on the plus side the price reflects that.

GOEDE HERDER: this accommodation is even more central than the first one I mentioned in Minderbroederstraat, with a 7 minute walk to Oude. This is the most famous accommodation for the Spanish students because they have been going here for years. The prices range between 250 euros to 600, and it depends on the type of accommodation: there are individual rooms with a shared bathroom and kitchen, studio rooms with your own bathroom and kitchen as well as shared studios between 2 people with a kitchen and bathroom. However, it is important to note that with every type of room, some can be old with very small windows. Nevertheless, the shared studio is a very affordable and comfortable option and it’s easy to find a flatmate through Facebook pages.

The state of the kitchens show the age of the accommodation. There is a building which has been completely renovated however the rest are quite a bit older; luckily the bathrooms are quite normal. There is also underground parking for bikes and a shared garden with the PML accommodation.

PRO MEMORIE (PML): This is where I live and we found it by chance when my friend was in Leuven in June to visit the accommodation in Goede: afterwards, they showed her this one too. We go to the same college called Regina Mundi but this is usually used more by Belgian and Dutch students.

It is located in the same street as Goede, in fact the buildings are adjoined. It is a 2 year old building and is impeccable. Every room is individual with an en-suite, 4-door wardrobe and mini-fridge (which is a bitch if you forget something as you have to go back). It is also possible to live in a studio. In each building there are 4 floors with 2 kitchens; one on the ground floor and another on the third fitted with cupboards, a shared fridge, table and chairs, coffee tables, and a sofa which is a fairly comfortable place to sit where you can watch then TV. The first and second floor have chill-out zones instead of a kitchen, which contain sofas and a vending machine. Likewise, this accommodation also has somewhere to park your bike.

In total, up to 35 people can live in this accommodation, including the studio rooms. The rule is that those on the ground and first floor share the kitchen on the ground floor, whereas those living on the second and third floors share the one on the top. However, being the typical Spanish students that we are, we ignored the rules from day one. There are 7 of us who are now friends, four from the first floor and three from the second, so we decided to move down to the ground floor kitchen and hang out there. The atmosphere is super: this is mainly because the Spanish are nice people and we all got along quite well. This also includes some people living in Goede as our kitchen connects to the shared garden so we watch films together or drink (this is actually completely forbidden but nothing ever happens).

In my opinion, the Belgians are quite dull by nature and we hardly get involved with them. At times we don’t agree, if we do it isn’t very often. For example, many of us were caught cooking where we weren’t supposed to and had to go back upstairs. On the whole, we keep to ourselves, apart from an Italian girl and Lithuanian boy who stick with us too.

It costs 550 euros a month and an extra 70 euros for bills. The deposit is the same as two monthly payments (this had to be paid in July, plus the first month). This is expensive compared to Spain but it’s worth it. The only bad thing about this accommodation is the manager, Berni: she has the worst attitude in the world. She is always angry, especially with the foreign students yet has nothing but good words about the Belgian students. She is never able to help you if you have a problem or need something but this is ‘normal’ as you’re the one in the foreign country and apparently don’t understand a thing of Dutch. She is a bitter employee who shouldn’t be working with the public. In Spain, she would have been fired a long time ago but in Belgium the policy must be different (and this opinion is unanimous by the way).

I have also been told about WATERVIEW and REGA. These accommodation options are totally new but nearer the north of the centre circle. Unfortauntely, I don’t have much more information on these.

At the end of the day, my advice is to go beforehand and take a look if you are going to be studying at KOT. If you are going to live in University accommodation I would search for the Spanish FaceBook page where you will find lots of information and might even be able to create a group where you can chat about these things. Above all, make sure you live inside the centre circle and if you are going to live in Goede or PML, don’t forget to make an appointment with Bernadette a few days before arriving so that you can collect the keys and sign a contract: if not, they will literally shut the door in your face. Better still, you could be stranded in the street for 3 hours like I was because it’s the manager you have to meet not the receptionist, so just be careful with this!