Paramètres des cookies

Notre site utilise des cookies afin d’améliorer la qualité de votre expérience. En continuant à parcourir notre site internet, vous acceptez l’utilisation de ces derniers.

news
FAQ
Find answers to your most frequently asked questions here

Bookings

The FMEL’s buildings are reserved for bachelor’s and master’s students enrolled at one of the following schools:


  • University of Lausanne (UNIL)
  • Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL)
  • École cantonale d’art de Lausanne (cantonal school of art, ECAL)
  • School of Management and Engineering Vaud (HEIG-VD)
  • La Source School of Nursing
  • Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU)
  • Haute Ecole de Santé Vaud (HESAV)
  • Haute école de travail social et de la santé Lausanne (HETSL)
  • Haute école pédagogique du canton de Vaud (HEP-VD)
  • Changins – School of Viticulture and Oenology
  • Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL)
  • La Manufacture – Haute école des arts de la scène
  • University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland (HES-SO)

Students enrolled in the School of French as a Foreign Language at UNIL, EPFL, in the Special Mathematics Courses (CMS) at EPFL and in propaedeutic year at ECAL may also book accommodation.


However, doctoral and postgraduate students, as well as students who have already have a master’s degree, are not entitled to book accommodation in FMEL buildings. (See Applications guidelines, art. 1)


You can choose the type of accommodation (individual room, shared room, studio or flat).

No. At present it’s not possible to choose the people you share with.

  • Once you’ve reserved your accommodation, please continue the process without delay, at the latest within 48 hours.
  • During the process you’ll receive an email confirming your provisional booking. Various items of information regarding payment of your security deposit and contractual documents to be signed electronically (check boxes) will be available on the portal.
  • Please continue the process until you reach the Final Validation page.
  • Your booking will be final once the FMEL has received proof of your security deposit from your bank.

  • The security deposit comes to CHF 1,200. You must pay it no later than 10 working days after receiving the relevant email. The security deposit is provisionally blocked in an account to cover any damage or breakages to your accommodation. It will be returned to you in the weeks following the end of your lease.
  • You can transfer the security deposit to Banque Cantonale de Fribourg, our partner bank, which offers you an exclusive simplified procedure. You can also open a security deposit account with the Swiss bank of your choice. An email with more information will be sent to you in due course.
  • As soon as the FMEL has received proof of deposit from your bank, the booking will be definitive and you will receive all the necessary information for your arrival.

As soon as the FMEL has received proof of deposit from your bank, the booking will be definitive and you will receive all the necessary information for your arrival. Please note that it takes between 10 and 20 days to open a security deposit account.

  • Merci d’adresser votre demande d’annulation à info@fmel.ch.
  • En cas d’annulation, votre profil sera bloqué pendant un mois. Vous ne pourrez plus réserver de logement durant cette période. Pour débloquer votre profil, des frais de réactivation de CHF 100.- vous seront facturés. Le déblocage est gratuit passé le délai d’un mois.

  • Please send your request for cancellation to info@fmel.ch.
  • If you cancel your profile will be blocked for one month. You won’t be able to book any accommodation during this period. You will be charged a reactivation fee of CHF 100 to unblock your profile. Once the one-month period has elapsed there is no charge for unblocking your profile.

Terminations will be accepted in cases of exmatriculation for "force majeure" if the exmatriculation is for failure or medical reasons (proof of failure or medical certificate required).


  • Termination notice given 1 month in advance 150.- (force majeure)
  • Termination notice given less than 1 month in advance 300.- (force majeure)


Exmatriculation at the end of your studies, or because of voluntary interruption of studies, is NOT considered a case of "force majeure".

Problems logging into the portal

It’s not unusual to have problems logging in. Please contact your admin manager or reception. They’ll send you a login link to activate your account.

  • Check that you’re using the correct email address (the one used to create your profile).
  • Click on the Login button on the booking portal, enter your login details and click the LOGIN button with the mouse, without using Enter on your computer keyboard.
  • If this still doesn’t work, please try with another browser or send an email to it-helpdesk@fmel.ch.

During my stay

  • Yes. You can sublet your room or studio to another student.
  • The future tenant must send an email to the admin manager of the building concerned to submit the request for subletting before the start of the subletting period.
  • For more information, please consult the rules and regulations of our buildings.

Yes. You can request an upgrade from a room to a studio, but only after you’ve been renting for one year. Please send your request to the admin manager for your building. They’ll put you on a waiting list and keep you updated on the further process.

All requests for assistance should be made via the booking portal under Room Maintenance. 

Yes. This is your responsibility to make sure everyone has good conditions to live in. You are responsible for the cleanliness of your accommodation and, if you’re sharing, of the common areas (living room, kitchen and shared bathroom). You are also responsible for any damage caused.


During your stay, and in particular at check-out, you must leave your room or studio as well as the common areas (kitchen, living room and bathroom) in a perfect state of maintenance and cleanliness. Think of the next tenant. They want the place to be nice when they move into it.


To ensure the hygiene of the common areas of your accommodation, the caretaker team occasionally makes visits to check the state of cleanliness. These checks will be announced. The caretaker team has coloured cards to evaluate your housework skills or lack of them.


If they find the common areas of your accommodation…

  • ...bright and shiny, they’ll award you a green card. Keep it up!
  • ...really leave something to be desired, you get a yellow card. You have 48 hours to get out your mop and broom to remedy the situation.
  • ...still in an unacceptable state despite the fact you’ve already had a yellow card, the caretaker will see red and give you a red card. You’ll receive a warning and will be billed for cleaning expenses.

Rent, fees and insurance

As a tenant, your first obligation is to pay the monthly rent in advance, at the latest within 5 days of the invoice date. Each month an email with an e-bill and a QR-code will be sent to you. If for any reason you don’t receive your e-bill, please contact Finance and Accounting; but please check your spam folder first. You can also use the previous QR-code.


Important points:


  • Only use the monthly QR-code invoice. This enables us to process your payment automatically. You have two options for payment: transfer from a Swiss bank account (by scanning the QR-code with your bank application) or payment in cash or debit card at a post office using the QR-code. Please note that any bank charges must be charged to the customer.
  • To make your life easier we strongly recommend that you create a standing order by scanning the QR-code with your bank application. If you have questions about how to do it, please contact your e-banking hotline.
  • First Rent payment:
    • If arriving in your room within the first month after the beginning of your housing contract, please pay your rent payment only once you’ve opened a Swiss bank account
    • If arriving in your room more than 1 month after the beginning of your housing contract, please contact our finance department regarding payment on finance@fmel.ch
  • Please note that payments by cheque, credit card, international money transfer, etc., are not accepted.
  • In case of payment without the use of the BVR, we will be obliged to charge you an administration fee.


Thank you for respecting the payment terms. This makes life easier both for us and for you!


  • In Switzerland, the visitor’s tax is set by the municipality and in most cases amounts to CHF 37 per month. It is not included in your rent.
  • Students whose place of residence is abroad and who are staying in the canton of Vaud to attend a course are subject to the visitor’s tax.
  • Students who receive a Swiss or foreign grant or scholarship or who have a secondary occupation where tax is deducted directly from their pay do not have to pay the visitor’s tax.

SERAFE is the body commissioned by the Federal Office of Communications to collect radio and television licence fees. The radio and television licence fee is a legal obligation for all private households in Switzerland, regardless of whether they own a device (television, radio, computer or smartphone). It currently amounts to CHF 335 per year per household. Whether students are subject to the fee depends on the type of accommodation. Please contact your admin manager on this matter

  • The tenant’s personal belongings are insured for up to CHF 5,000 for fire and natural disasters (flooding) by the ECA (Etablissement Cantonal d’Assurance, the cantonal insurance institution). The FMEL’s burglary insurance covers private belongings up to a maximum of CHF 5,000.
  • From the beginning of the lease and throughout its duration, FMEL tenants are covered by liability insurance for any damage that they may cause to third parties, to buildings or to outdoor spaces, all over Switzerland.

On my departure

Depending on the terms of your lease you can terminate it on the 15th or the last day of a month, with two months’ notice. To do this, log in to your account and go to Termination to select the desired end date of the lease. You’ll find more information here. Please also refer to Art. 57 of the internal regulations

Once you’ve completed check-out (an inventory of your room fixtures when you leave it), your admin manager will send you the documents you need to complete the formalities for reimbursement. We will do our best to release the security deposit as quickly as possible, but it may take a few weeks.