Accommodation Service On The Free Housing Market

You can find our accommodation service in the service portal on our website. To use it (and other services), you need to register once. If you are already registered with us, simply log in with your access data. You will need a current proof of enrollment to activate your account.

Instructions for activating and using the accommodation service:

Register to be able to use the service portal. Then please upload your current proof of study under “My Account”. We will check your academic record and activate you to use the service portal. Once you have been activated, you can search for room offers in the service portal.

If necessary, you must have your account reactivated by us each semester by uploading the current certificate of study for the following semester under “My Account”.

Please bring your student ID/admission letter with you to the viewing appointments and present it to the landlord. Rooms are only available to enrolled students.

You can find the most frequently asked questions and answers in our FAQ on finding accommodation: FAQ zur Zimmervermittlung und Wohnungssuche.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

We screen the room offers in our service portal before the offers are made available to students. Nevertheless, we cannot completely rule out dubious offers from landlords. Therefore, be careful if

• an advance payment is requested directly
• no viewing appointment is possible

If you think you have found a dubious offer, please contact our accommodation service: zimmer@swfr.de or call 0761 2101 204.     
We can only investigate such cases if we are informed.

You can find our accommodation service for the independent housing market in our service portal. To use the accommodation service (and other services), you need to register once.

You can then create, edit or deactivate your room offers yourself. We will review the offer and then activate it. We reserve the right to adapt offer texts if necessary.

Students must also register in order to view and select offers. Their proof of study will be requested. Nevertheless, we ask you to show your valid student ID or letter of admission before signing the rental contract. This is the only way you can be sure that your room will be allocated to a student.

Please note that your room offer is valid for two weeks. It will be automatically blocked if you do not extend it. Three days before the deadline, you will receive a message from us with a reminder that the deadline has expired and a link to extend the offer. You can also change, deactivate or delete your offer yourself at any time within the deadline if you have rented out the room.

In this way, we keep our database up to date and you do not receive any superfluous requests.

Of course you can always contact us by phone or in person if you have any questions.

Link to the service portal

A great, fully furnished apartment at a bargain price - an offer that is too good to be true. Apartment hunters can fall for scammers, especially on real estate exchanges on the Internet.

The scam is almost always the same:

The scammers pretend to be English or American and claim to have inherited the apartment for rent. Or they say they have worked in Germany in the past and want to rent out their old home after moving abroad for work.

After an advance payment of the first rent and the deposit by bank transfer to a domestic or foreign bank account or by cash transfer, the keys are to be sent to the new tenant via a parcel service or an agency.

If the tenant is not satisfied, the money can be refunded later. However, victims never see the money again and the apartment often does not even exist - or belongs to another owner who is unaware of the fraud.

These indications can point to fraud:

The classic core of a fraudulent real estate ad is often a very affordable apartment in top, renovated condition - and in a sought-after location. But there are other clues:

• Photos as if from a catalog
• An unusual amount of modern furnishings
• Property does not match the residential area
• Service charges far too low
• Missing or falsified contact details
• Contact in German hardly possible
• Request for money transfer before actual viewing
• Request to create an account with Airbnb
• Request for a copy of the identity card
• Suspicious account number

A specific request for payment before the viewing is unusual. Reputable landlords and estate agents do not expect sensitive data to be handed over in advance. Personal data such as proof of income, Schufa self-disclosure or any guarantees are only handed over after they have met the interested parties in person during a viewing.

What you can do if you have been taken in by real estate scammers:

• Does an apartment advertisement seem suspicious to you? The most important thing to do in this case is not to transfer any money or provide any personal details.
• If you have already transferred money to a supposed landlord, ask your bank to reverse the payment immediately. Please note: If you paid by direct debit, you can request a refund within eight weeks.
• Legally, it is fraud if you make payments on the basis of a fake housing advertisement. If you have been taken in by a fraudulent advertisement and have already passed on your details to the fraudsters, file a criminal complaint with the police.

You can also do this online.

You should also report the fraud to the real estate portal concerned to protect other home seekers from the same fraudsters. Many internet portals with housing advertisements have a report button: Anyone who discovers a suspicious ad can report it by clicking on it. The ads are then checked. If the suspicion is confirmed, they are taken offline.

If you have any further questions or would like advice, please contact us at freiburg.pp.praevention@polizei.bwl.de.

We want you to live safely!

Your Freiburg Police Headquarters