Student housing near NTU, NTUST and NTNU: dorms, off-campus rooms and one-semester leases

On this page

1. How is a dorm different from renting off campus?
2. What if you don't get a dorm place?
3. How long a lease do you need for a semester, a Mandarin course or a summer internship?
4. How long does it take to walk from Gongguan to NTU, NTUST and NTNU?
5. When should you start looking?
6. Which documents should you have ready?
7. What should you check on a video viewing from abroad?
8. What mistakes do students make most often when renting?
9. Where can you find each university's official housing information?
10. Frequently asked questions
11. Sources

Maybe you're coming to Taipei for an exchange at National Taiwan University (NTU), National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST, also known as Taiwan Tech) or National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU). Maybe it's Mandarin classes at NTNU's Mandarin Training Center, or a summer internship. Either way, try to have somewhere to live agreed before you fly. No time to read the whole thing? Keep at least these in mind:

1. If you want a dorm, say so when you apply for the exchange. NTU exchange and visiting students pick their dorm preferences on the application form, and nothing can be added after the deadline. NTUST has no dorm places for exchange students, and neither NTU nor NTNU guarantees a bed, so start looking off campus as soon as your acceptance letter arrives.
2. Sign for as long as you'll actually stay. A semester exchange, one term of Mandarin and a summer internship all fall in the "30 days to under 6 months" tier. A full exchange year is about 10 months, which puts it in the "6 to under 12 months" tier.
3. NTU announces dorm placements only about a month before classes start. Have an off-campus place settled by then at the latest.
4. If you're abroad, view the room by video. Don't pay a holding deposit on a place you haven't seen.
5. If you enter on a resident visa, you have 30 days to apply for your ARC (Alien Resident Certificate), and a lease can serve as your proof of address.

How is a dorm different from renting off campus?

Plenty of people expect the university to sort out a dorm for exchange students. Each of the three universities handles it differently, as the table shows.

Dorms are on campus or right next to it, and you usually pay once a semester. The catch is timing: you apply early and hear late. NTU exchange and visiting students tick their dorm preferences when they submit the exchange application. After the deadline they can neither apply nor change their choices, yet placements only come out about a month before classes start. You can't pick your roommates. Winter and summer breaks may not be covered either. NTU's Office of International Affairs says plainly on its accommodation page that you can't stay on in campus dorms after 15 August.

Off campus, it's the other way round. You decide when to move in, how long to stay and whether to have a single room or share, and there's no announcement to wait for. In return, all the homework is yours: viewings, reading the lease, checking the landlord. How often you pay rent depends on the lease. According to the Ministry of Education's student rental site, 雲端租屋生活網, monthly, quarterly and per-semester payments are all common.

What if you don't get a dorm place?

Get on the waitlist, but don't count on it. On 7 October 2026, NTNU Student Housing posted its 21st round of waitlist offers for academic year 115 (Taiwan numbers academic years on the ROC calendar), so places were still being filled in October. Nobody can tell you whether your turn will come, or when. Look for an off-campus room at the same time.

Start with the channels the universities themselves point to:

• The Ministry of Education's 雲端租屋生活網 has an off-campus housing page (校外賃居網) for each of the three universities: NTU, NTUST and NTNU.
• NTU's Office of Student Affairs also runs its own off-campus rental listings, but you can only search them in July and August each year.
• NTU students can log in with their university account and apply for the off-campus housing safety service (校外賃居安全服務). Staff from the Student Safety Center then inspect the place together with the landlord.

Still on a waitlist? Then take extra care with an off-campus lease. Suppose a dorm place comes up mid-semester. How would ending the lease early be worked out? Ask before you sign, and get the answer written into the lease. At Seal Co-living the minimum lease is 30 days, and you sign a residential lease. Ask us before signing and we'll explain how ending early is calculated.

How long a lease do you need for a semester, a Mandarin course or a summer internship?

Start with the academic calendar. In NTU's academic year 115 (2026 to 2027), the first semester begins on 7 September and winter break starts on 28 December. The second semester begins on 22 February, with summer break from 14 June. At NTUST a semester is 16 consecutive teaching weeks, with fall running from early September to mid-December and spring from mid-February to early June. NTNU's fall semester is September to December, and spring is February to June.

At the Mandarin Training Center, classes run in terms of about 3 months each. The 2027 spring term runs from 4 March to 26 May, and the summer term from 7 June to 25 August. On top of that there's a two-month summer program in July and August.

Counting teaching weeks isn't enough. You'll probably arrive early for orientation and leave after your last exam, and those days belong in the lease too. In terms of the time you actually live there, it works out roughly like this:

Every Seal Co-living house sets monthly rent by these three tiers. The longer you stay, the less you pay each month:

Sure you're staying for two semesters? Sign for 6 months or more from the start and your rent drops into the cheaper tier. Before moving in, you'll need the deposit (1 month of rent), the first month's rent, the first month's utilities fee of NT$1,000 and the one-time move-in fee of NT$1,500. That utilities fee already covers water, electricity, gas and internet.

How long does it take to walk from Gongguan to NTU, NTUST and NTNU?

Gongguan House · Zhongzheng District · about 3 min walk to Gongguan Station · from NT$8,300 (≈ US$260) per bed per month · Single room, 3-bed room, 4-bed room, and 6-bed room

We estimated the distances below from OpenStreetMap data, measuring from the house's approximate location (accurate to about 100 m) to the center of each campus. On our website, the neighborhood page lists only the distance to each university. The walking minutes were worked out separately, as straight-line distance × 1.3 ÷ 80 m per minute, so treat them as a rough guide. Your real walk depends on which gate you use and which building your classes are in.

One thing people often miss: NTNU's main campus and its Gongguan Campus are in different places. The exchange student dorm is on the Gongguan Campus, but the Mandarin Training Center's address is on Sec. 1, Heping E. Rd. If your classes are on the main campus, allow extra travel time from Gongguan. For MRT exits, YouBike stations (Taipei's public bike share) and supermarkets near Gongguan House, see the neighborhood page, which uses OpenStreetMap data.

Below is Gongguan House's monthly rent for each room type and lease length, from the same price table as the house page. For one semester or one summer, look at the "30 days to under 6 months" column.

When should you start looking?

Work back from the official dates and you'll see there's less time than you'd think. NTUST announces exchange results by 15 June for the fall semester and by 15 December for spring, which leaves two to two and a half months before classes. Dorm placements come late too; at NTU it's about a month before the semester starts. The Mandarin Training Center is tighter still. Applications for the 2027 spring term close on 15 January, and classes begin on 4 March.

Go in this order and you're less likely to be scrambling at the last minute:

1. Decide whether you want a dorm when you submit your exchange application. At NTU you tick your dorm preferences on the application form, and you can't add or change them after the deadline.
2. Start looking at off-campus places the week your acceptance letter arrives.
3. With 4 to 6 weeks to go before classes, do video viewings, check the lease and the costs, and fix your move-in date.
4. Before you leave, work out how to get from the airport to your new place. How to get from Taoyuan Airport to Taipei: Airport MRT, buses, taxis and late-night arrivals walks you through it.

Which documents should you have ready?

Which visa you need depends on how long you'll stay. The international offices at NTUST and NTNU both put it the same way: for up to 6 months in Taiwan you get a visitor visa, and for more than 6 months a resident visa. NTU recommends a resident visa to anyone studying for an academic year or longer. If you enter on a resident visa, the law gives you 30 days from the day after arrival to apply for your ARC. NTNU's Office of International Affairs is stricter and asks exchange students to apply within 15 days of arriving. For the documents your university and your visa require, go by what your university's international office and the Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs) say.

Students at the Mandarin Training Center apply for a visitor visa with their admission letter, the visa application form, proof of funds and a passport valid for at least 6 months.

Coming for an internship? First check how long you can stay in Taiwan. Visa-free stays depend on your nationality, and BOCA lists 90-day, 30-day and 14-day categories. Whether an internship needs a separate permit is for BOCA and your host organization to confirm. Both your move-in date and your move-out date have to fall inside the period you're allowed to stay.

While you're looking, keep digital copies of your passport and your acceptance letter or internship contract to hand, along with firm arrival and departure dates.

If you'll use the lease for your ARC application, say so before you sign. The National Immigration Agency (NIA) gives a lease as an example of proof of current address. If you move later, you also have 30 days to update the address. ARC (Alien Resident Certificate) application and address change: what to bring and how long you have covers the whole process. Students from Hong Kong and Macao apply for a Taiwan Area Resident Certificate instead, under different rules, and that article covers those too.

Check the landlord as well. Ask to see their ID card and the building ownership certificate or a house tax bill. If you're renting from someone who is subletting (a 二房東, or "second landlord"), ask to see their lease with the owner. Renting from a company? You can check whether it's registered, and Common sticking points for foreigners renting in Taipei: agent's fees, deposits, lease language, ARC address registration, and how Seal Co-living handles them explains how.

What should you check on a video viewing from abroad?

The trouble with a video viewing is that you may only ever see the room from its best angle. Ask whoever is showing you around to point the camera at these:

• The water heater: what kind it is and where it's installed. According to the National Fire Agency (Ministry of the Interior), an outdoor-type gas water heater has to go outside, somewhere with good airflow. In a bathroom, a kitchen or a balcony that has been closed in with windows, you need a forced-exhaust type that vents the fumes outdoors. The water heater is on the renting checklist of NTU's Student Safety Center too.
• Stairs and exits. Is anything piled up there, and do the metal window grilles (common on Taipei homes) open? That's your escape route.
• Fire alarms. Taipei City is promoting home fire alarms, and NTU advises asking the landlord to install one if a building of five floors or fewer has none.
• Ceilings and wall corners near the bathroom and balcony, for leaks or mold.
• A tap, the toilet and a socket: ask them to run, flush and test each one on camera, and check that the door lock is solid.
• The walk from the MRT station to the front door.

What the camera can't show is money. Does the rent include water, electricity, internet and the building management fee? How do you pay, and how often? How much is the deposit, and what furniture comes with the room? Ask all of it in one go.

On Seal Co-living's booking form you can choose a video viewing, so you can see the house from abroad. You can write to us in Chinese, English, Japanese or Korean, and we reply in the same language. When you book, just ask us how signing and payment work after the viewing. First time in co-living? Start with Getting the hang of co-living for the first time: getting along with housemates, shared spaces, and your first-week checklist.

What mistakes do students make most often when renting?

• Paying a holding deposit before seeing the place properly. Citing Article 249 of the Civil Code, the Ministry of Education's rental site explains that if you back out for your own reasons, you don't get the holding deposit back. If you do pay one, have the landlord sign a receipt that states the amount and how long the room will be held.
• Agreeing only verbally. The Mandarin Training Center reminds students to sign a lease however short the stay. Wherever the lease has been changed, both sides sign or stamp it with their personal seal, and each keeps a copy.
• Counting only teaching weeks and forgetting the days that orientation, finals and moving eat up.
• Skipping photos on move-in day. Photograph the room as you found it, and there's less to argue about when you move out.
• Moving for the second semester and forgetting to update the address on your ARC within 30 days.

Where can you find each university's official housing information?

Rules can change every academic year, so check the official pages again before you leave.

• NTU Office of International Affairs, "Accommodation": https://isss.ntu.edu.tw/zh-hant/campus-life/accommodation/
• NTU Office of International Affairs, exchange and visiting student application (the dorm preference rules are on this page): https://isss.ntu.edu.tw/zh-hant/exchange-visiting-students/application/
• NTUST Office of International Affairs, "Accommodation": https://oia-r.ntust.edu.tw/p/412-1060-8941.php?Lang=en
• NTNU Office of International Affairs, exchange students page (includes housing): https://bds.oia.ntnu.edu.tw/bds/en/web/goexchange
• NTNU Student Housing: https://dorm.sa.ntnu.edu.tw/
• NTNU Mandarin Training Center housing information: short stays and long stays
• Academic calendars: NTU, NTUST and NTNU

Frequently asked questions

Can exchange students live in an NTUST dorm?

No. NTUST's Office of International Affairs says that because demand is so high, it can't offer dorm places to exchange students, who have to find housing off campus themselves. The office suggests looking in Daan District and Zhongzheng District, where NTUST, NTNU and NTU are.

I'm only coming for one exchange semester. What's the shortest lease I can get?

At Seal Co-living, the minimum is 30 days. A semester means staying roughly 4 to 5 months, so your monthly rent comes from the "30 days to under 6 months" tier.

I have a two-month summer internship in Taipei. Can I rent just for the summer?

Yes. An internship of 8 to 12 weeks is already longer than 30 days, so simply sign for the length of the internship. Your move-in and move-out dates need to fall within the stay your visa or visa-free entry allows.

Is there a university dorm for students at NTNU's Mandarin Training Center?

You won't find a dorm application on the Mandarin Training Center's website. Its housing information is split over two pages. The short-stay page lists contact details for hotels and private accommodation, and the long-stay page lists rental websites and tips for signing a lease. Classes are on Sec. 1, Heping E. Rd., so factor the commute into where you choose to live.

Sources

(All retrieved on 2026-10-09. Distances from Gongguan House to each campus use OpenStreetMap data from 2026-10-06.)

1. 1.NTU Office of International Affairs, International Student Services, "Application" (exchange and visiting students)isss.ntu.edu.tw/zh-hant/exchange-visiting-students/application/
2. 2.NTU Office of International Affairs, International Student Services, "Accommodation"isss.ntu.edu.tw/zh-hant/campus-life/accommodation/
3. 3.NTU Office of International Affairs, International Student Services, "Visa / ARC"isss.ntu.edu.tw/zh-hant/campus-life/visa-arc/
4. 4.NTU Office of Academic Affairs, academic calendar (academic year 115)aca.ntu.edu.tw/w/aca/calendar
5. 5.NTU Office of Student Affairs, Student Safety Center, "賃居資訊" (rental information)ssc.ntu.edu.tw/Campus_security/OffCampusHousing/Rentinformation
6. 6.NTU Office of Student Affairs, Student Safety Center, "租屋安全宣導" (renting safety tips)ssc.ntu.edu.tw/Campus_security/OffCampusHousing/Rentalsecuritypromotion
7. 7.NTUST Office of International Affairs, Inbound Exchange Programsoia-r.ntust.edu.tw/p/412-1060-8919.php?Lang=en
8. 8.NTUST Office of International Affairs, Accommodationoia-r.ntust.edu.tw/p/412-1060-8941.php?Lang=en
9. 9.NTUST Office of Academic Affairs, Academic Calendaracademic.ntust.edu.tw/p/412-1048-8756.php?Lang=en
10. 10.NTNU Office of International Affairs, Exchange Studentsbds.oia.ntnu.edu.tw/bds/en/web/goexchange
11. 11.NTNU Office of International Affairs, Incoming Visiting Studentsbds.oia.ntnu.edu.tw/bds/en/web/invisit
12. 12.NTNU Office of Student Affairs, Student Housingdorm.sa.ntnu.edu.tw/
13. 13.NTNU Office of Academic Affairs, academic calendaraa.ntnu.edu.tw/zh_tw/Calender
14. 14.NTNU Mandarin Training Center, seasonal coursesmtc.ntnu.edu.tw/course-seasonal.htm
15. 15.NTNU Mandarin Training Center, visasmtc.ntnu.edu.tw/visa.htm
16. 16.NTNU Mandarin Training Center, short-stay housing informationmtc.ntnu.edu.tw/stay.htm
17. 17.NTNU Mandarin Training Center, long-stay housing informationmtc.ntnu.edu.tw/rent.html
18. 18.Ministry of Education, 雲端租屋生活網 (student rental site)house.nfu.edu.tw/
19. 19.Ministry of Education, 雲端租屋生活網, rental FAQhouse.nfu.edu.tw/faq
20. 20.Bureau of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Visa-Exempt Entryboca.gov.tw/cp-149-4486-7785a-1.html
21. 21.National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior, 外國人申請居留及延期居留或變更居留原因送件須知 (filing guide for foreign nationals applying for residence, an extension of residence or a change in the purpose of residence)immigration.gov.tw/5385/7244/7250/7317/%E5%B1%85%E7%95%99/29996/
22. 22.National Immigration Agency, Ministry of the Interior, 香港澳門居民申請在臺灣地區居留送件須知 (filing guide for Hong Kong and Macao residents applying for residence in the Taiwan Area)immigration.gov.tw/5385/7244/7250/7296/%E5%B1%85%E7%95%99/148063/
23. 23.National Fire Agency, Ministry of the Interior, 消防防災館, "認識燃氣熱水器及其安裝環境" (gas water heaters and where to install them)tfdp.com.tw/cht/index.php?code=list&flag=detail&ids=64&article_id=199
24. 24.OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0)openstreetmap.org/

Approximate conversions use the Bank of Taiwan rate on 14 Oct 2026. You pay in Taiwan dollars.