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Don't hesitate to contact us:

City of Heidelberg
(Stadtverwaltung Heidelberg)
Rathaus, Marktplatz 10
69117 Heidelberg
Phone + 49 6221 58-10580
Fax +49 6221 58-10900

City's Administration Offices

A residential complex in Heidelberg's neighbourhood Bahnstadt. (Photo: Diemer)

Living in Heidelberg

An attractive place

Heidelberg is popular as a place to live and work – and that inevitably has an impact on the housing market. Although land prices and rents are lower than in major cities like Stuttgart or Munich, in many of the city’s districts they are above the average for the surrounding region.

The city authorities have introduced a family-friendly housing policy to make sure that people – especially families – can afford to live in Heidelberg. Subsidies are available for rented accommodation and owner-occupied housing, as are family-friendly apartments in the new Bahnstadt district. When the former US Army areas are being developed, priority is also given to the development of low-cost housing. And 2013 saw the launch of a special alliance for affordable housing.

Barrier-free living: Almost 23,000 senior citizens over the age of 65 live in Heidelberg, and most of them want to live independently for as long as they can. The same applies to some 20,000 people with disabilities and chronic medical conditions. To help them, the city authorities offer free housing advice, with information on housing options, mobility aids, modifications to buildings and also an official program entitled “Barrier-free Life-long Housing”. 

Heidelberg wouldn’t be Heidelberg without its students. Anyone looking for a room should contact Heidelberg Student Services (Heidelberger Studentenwerk), where the staff can provide information about student accommodation. The city also has its own housing association (Wohnbaugesellschaft GGH), and students have been known to move into some of the conversion areas following constructive and unbureaucratic discussions between student services, the city authorities and the Federal Property Agency (BImA).