Finding a room in Rome
Finding a room for rent in Rome – or even a bed in a shared room! – is not easy. Rome hosts around 40,000 students living away from home. Add to that the countless Italian and foreign workers who don’t earn enough to rent a whole apartment to themselves, and you can see that competition is fierce.
If you’re a student, your first port of call should be your university. They may be able to help you find accommodation, or they may have student digs of their own that you can use. Here are some useful links/email addresses for the main universities:
- Sapienza
- Tor Vergata:
- Roma Tre:
- Trinity College Rome
- John Cabot
- American University of Rome
- LUISS
- LUMSA
- Rome City Institute
- Link Campus University
What about if your university can’t help – or you’re not a student?
It’s usually easier to find a room once you’re already in Rome. This also means you can visit potential accommodation in person, reducing the risk of running into scammers (see below for more on this topic). It also gives you the chance to meet your future housemates.
However, it does mean you might need somewhere to stay for a few weeks while you’re looking for a long-term solution. Online platforms are your best option in this case. While they will cost more, sites like Spotahome, Airbnb and Housinganywhere offer the reassurance that the room you’re paying for over the internet does actually exist and will be available to you when you get to Rome – giving you peace of mind before your arrival and a place to sleep while you look for a more permanent solution.
To find that solution, Facebook comes into its own. There are a multitude of groups for people looking for (or offering) accommodation in Rome, such as:
- Rent in Rome
- Accommodations in Rome
- Rome Student Accommodation
- Rent Rooms in Rome
- Rooms in shared flats in Rome
- Rome – housing & roommates
- Official Rent a room in Rome
- Rome Housing, Apartments, Rooms, Sublets
- Camera in affitto a Roma – Rooms for rent in Rome
You could also try venturing into the Italian language groups, such as:
Cerco offro camera stanza in affitto a Roma
Appartamenti e camera in affitto Roma
This is not an exhaustive list – you’ll find other groups by searching for “rooms for rent in Rome” or “camera in affitto a Roma”. General and social groups for expats in Rome may also be useful, such as Expats in Rome Noticeboard and (for women) Rome | Girl Gone International and That Chick in Rome.
When using these groups, look out for any WhatsApp groups mentioned in them and try to get added to them. Many rooms are let out by word of mouth, without ever being advertised. Take a young friend of mine: of the three rooms she’s rented here in the last 18 months, she found one through sheer serendipity – messaging a friend who happened to have a friend who was looking for a lodger right at that moment – and the other two through a WhatsApp group.
You also need to beware of scammers: both the Facebook groups and (to a lesser extent) the WhatsApp chats are full of them. If it seems too good to be true, leave well alone. Bear in mind that in more central areas, a room generally costs upwards of €600 a month and a bed in a shared room is €400 a month or more, so be extremely cautious about any “bargains” costing less than that. If you’re lucky, it’ll just be a bad room (damp, noisy, in a basement or way out in the sticks). If you’re unlucky, you’ll just have handed your money over to a scammer. (And on that note: never send ID, or wire any money, directly to someone claiming to have a room available: you’ll never see them, or your money, again. The only time you should ever send any money to reserve a room is if it’s through a trustworthy platform such as Spotahome or Airbnb.) See my articles here and here for red flags you should be looking out for.
You may also find it useful to scour the main property websites like idealista.com. Another friend found her current room by setting the site up to ping her every time a room meeting her requirements came up. She then just sent a basic message in Italian (using Google Translate) giving a few personal details, actually got a few responses, and is now happily living in her new digs.
There are also some agencies specialising in renting rooms to students and workers: try affitto studenti (website in English and Italian); Gabri Camera https://www.gabricamera.it/ (website in Italian only)
You might also find rooms offered through agencies on the main property websites. Going through an agency will cost more, as you will have to pay their fee (typically between 1 month’s rent and 15% of the annual rent, plus 22% VAT). But it does offer greater peace of mind, as it protects you from the risk of…
Dodgy dealings
There are a few points you should watch out for when renting a room directly from a landlord:
- As a foreign student or worker in Rome, you will probably need to use your address as your place of habitual residence. For this reason it’s essential a) that you have an official contract and b) that your landlord registers it. (The registration fee is 2% of the annual rent, and by law is split equally between the landlord and tenant, so it’s perfectly OK if they ask you to pay your share.)
- To reduce their tax bill, your landlord may claim in the contract that, say, 50% of your rent is to cover heating and utility bills, etc. That doesn’t actually make any difference to you… Except if they then come back in winter demanding more money because the bills have gone up, you know that officially, you are already paying an extortionate amount for these costs! Ask to see the bills before handing over any more money. (As a very rough guide, gas and electricity for a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment might come to €100 a month, plus another €100 a month for the heating in winter. That cost should then be split between you and your co-tenants.)
- Another dodge your landlord might use is to declare a lower rent than they’re actually charging you. It’s entirely up to you whether you’re prepared to go along with this – they’re committing tax evasion, but you’re not committing any offence. In any case, be aware that the only valid rent is what’s written in the contract. You are under no legal obligation to pay any more, whatever you’ve agreed to do under the table.
- Make sure that the amount of any security deposit you’re asked to pay is included in the contract. You’re entitled to get it back when you move out.
Final Thoughts
Finding a room to rent in Rome isn’t easy, but it can be done. Networking and prompt action are key, so get your social game together and get moving!
Disclaimer
Please note the above information is shared in good faith but is not intended and should not be construed as legal advice, and might not reflect current Italian law. I recommend consulting a lawyer for any legal or contractual concerns you may have.