Renting off campus

Where students look

• Your school's off-campus housing office (校外賃居). MOE rules say each school must have a help desk for renting and its own rental listings or a page on the MOE platform. Schools also run safety visits and self-checks for students who rent, and help in disputes by referring students to complaint or mediation bodies.
• The MOE rental platform. The MOE runs the Formosa cloud rental platform (教育部 Formosa 雲端租屋生活網) at house.nfu.edu.tw, with a page for each school, for example /STUST or /NPUST. Before a listing goes on a school site or the platform, the school must check the landlord's identity, the ownership deed or tax bill, and the safety checklist.
• Your school's own list. Some schools also list landlords that passed their fire-safety check. National Pingtung University of Science and Technology does this in its 2026 freshman guide.

The MOE's Study in Taiwan site suggests asking school staff about trusted rental services and contracts. It also lists a host family program, LMMF (Light a Match Meet a Family), set up by the MOE.

For international readers, the city guides have renting pages written for people moving to the city: Inside Hsinchu's Renting in Hsinchu and Zhubei, Inside Taipei's Living in Taipei and Inside Tainan's Living in Tainan.

→ What rent costs in each city → Cities with universities

Before you sign

• See the real room. Adverts must match the facts and can't say they are "for reference only". New Taipei City's land office says to view the actual unit and test the fittings, not a "same layout" unit.
• Check who the landlord is. Ask a landlord who says they own the home for the ownership certificate (房屋權狀) and ID card, or, without a certificate, the last year's house tax bill, to check the taxpayer is the person signing. Ask a sublessor (二房東) for the owner's written consent to sublet. New Taipei's advice: if you can't confirm the landlord's identity, don't sign.
• Earnest money (定金). It is normally paid after viewing and before signing. If you back out, it isn't returned. If the landlord backs out, they return double (Civil Code art. 248).
• Take the contract home. You get at least three days to review it.
• Check safety. The MOE's self-check form for students asks about: wooden-partition rooms or rooftop sheet-metal additions; overloaded extension cords; smoke alarms; a working fire extinguisher; clear escape routes (75 cm); the water heater (electric or forced-exhaust, because of carbon monoxide); and building entry control.
• Use the standard form. Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology gives students standard lease forms free from its student life section (生輔組).

What the contract must say

• Term At least 30 days. Leases shorter than 30 days, holiday lets and government or cooperative housing are outside the Act.
• Rent Set by agreement. The landlord may not raise it during the lease for any reason.
• Deposit At most two months' rent, paid at signing. Get a receipt, or keep the transfer slip.
• Bills The contract says who pays management fees, water, electricity, gas and internet, item by item.
• Taxes The landlord pays house tax and land value tax.
• Subletting Only with the landlord's written consent.
• Repairs The landlord repairs, unless agreed otherwise or the damage is yours. Before signing, the landlord must explain which repairs are yours and give a contact for repairs.

A landlord may not put these terms in the contract, among others:

• That you may not register your household residence (戶籍) at the home.
• That you may not apply for a rent subsidy, or claim rent as a tax expense.
• That the advert is for reference only, or that you waive the review period.
• That notices can be given by phone only.

The Act also treats landlord and tenant as being in a consumer relationship, so the Consumer Protection Act applies.

Good to know: New Taipei City's land office publishes the MOI model lease in English (amended July 8, 2024), with Vietnamese and Indonesian versions, on its page for foreigners renting. Taiwan's law applies whatever your nationality: the two-month deposit limit is the same for everyone.

Electricity

If your landlord charges you for electricity, the standard contract has said this since July 15, 2024:

• If you pay by the unit (kWh, 度), the price per kWh can't be more than the "average price per kWh for the current period" (當期每度平均電價) on the home's electricity bill.
• If you don't pay by the unit, the total the landlord collects for a billing period can't be more than the bill's total.
• Common-area electricity can't be added unless it was split into the bill through Taipower.
• The landlord must give you the bill information, and you can apply to Taiwan Power Company (Taipower, 台灣電力公司) to look it up online for your lease period.

For reference, Taipower's residential rates in force since October 1, 2025 (NT$ per kWh, monthly billing; for two-monthly bills each band is doubled):

Prices include 5% business tax. The Ministry of Economic Affairs decided in September 2026 not to change rates then and to look again in December 2026.

Ending a lease early

• By agreement. The contract says whether either side may end the lease early. Where it allows this, you give at least one month's notice. A side that leaves without notice pays a penalty of at most one month's rent, and prepaid rent is returned.
• Your grounds, with no compensation. Illness or an accident that needs long-term care; defects the landlord doesn't repair by your reasonable deadline; a defect that endangers your safety or health; part of the home destroyed, not by you; a third party's claim that stops you using it. Give written notice with evidence 30 days before, except in an urgent safety case.
• The landlord's grounds. These include rent or fees two months behind after a deadline, subletting without consent, damage you don't repair, and rebuilding. Notice is 30 days, or three months for rebuilding.

Moving out

• You and the landlord check the home together. If one side doesn't turn up after a reasonable deadline, the handover counts as done.
• The landlord returns the deposit, less any debts under the lease. New Taipei's land office says normal wear and tear, such as marks on walls from use or a sagging mattress, can't be taken from the deposit.
• Things left behind after the landlord's deadline count as abandoned, and disposal can come out of the deposit.
• Move any household registration out of the home.

Registering your address

• International students Register a new address with the National Immigration Agency (NIA, 移民署) within 30 days of moving, counted from the next day (Immigration Act, art. 31). Bring your passport, ARC and proof such as the lease to the NIA service center for your new address. Not registering can mean a fine of NT$2,000 to NT$10,000.
• Local students The Household Registration Act lets students away for study leave their 戶籍 where it is. A landlord can't ban you from registering at the home if you choose to.

→ The resident certificate (ARC) → Household registration and dorms

Rental scams

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (刑事警察局) warned in September 2026 that at the start of the school year scammers target students in social-media rental groups with cheap, well-decorated listings. Some ask for a deposit before any viewing and vanish. Others say they are away and will send the key by convenience-store delivery, then send a fake delivery page and a "real-name verification" (實名認證) step that leads to bank transfers or game-point purchases.

• Police advice: view in person, check identity, and pay only after signing (現場看屋、核對身分、簽約後再付款).
• Taipei City Police: transferring money before a viewing is always a scam.
• Convenience-store delivery companies don't ask you to transfer money or use online banking to verify your name.
• To check, call the 165 anti-fraud line or 110. The 165 dashboard can check a suspicious link.

Rent subsidy (for ROC nationals)

The government's rent subsidy, the NT$30 billion central programme (300億元中央擴大租金補貼), is for ROC nationals with household registration in Taiwan. International students can't apply. For 2026 it took applications from January 1, 2026, 9:00, to December 31, 2026, 17:00, handled as they arrive.

• Who An adult ROC national (18 or over) with household registration in Taiwan. There is no separate student rule.
• Your household You, your spouse, your minor children and wards. Your parents are not counted for an adult applicant. No household member may own a home, and average income per member must be under the local limit (for example NT$61,137 a month in Taipei, NT$46,545 in most counties).
• Your registration It must be in Taiwan but doesn't have to be at the rental.
• The landlord No landlord consent is needed. You can't rent from a household member or a lineal relative, such as a parent.
• The home From 2026 it must have a house tax record and registered title or legal building papers. Rooftop additions and other unregistered units don't qualify.
• The lease A fixed-term lease in your name, starting on or within 60 days of the application date, showing your national ID number.
• How Online at has.nlma.gov.tw, by post, or at the city or county government where the rental is. Hotline (02)7729-8003, weekdays 8:00 to 18:00.

Monthly amounts

The subsidy follows your actual rent, up to the cap for your area and group. A one-person household under 40 with no disadvantaged status is in the lowest group.

"Low-income families" here means a household of 2 or more with a low-income member, or 3 or more with a middle-low-income member. A single adult under 40 gets the cap times 1.2. Other multipliers apply for newlyweds, children and disadvantaged households, and only the highest one counts. When we checked, we found no announcement of a 2027 round.

Good to know: the MOE's dorm subsidy, NT$5,000 a semester, is for students in school housing, not renters. → Dorms

Where to get help

• Free mediation. In a residential lease dispute, either side can apply to the city or county government for mediation (調處), free (Act, art. 16). In Taipei this is the Real Estate Dispute Mediation Committee.
• Free legal advice by phone. The Legal Aid Foundation's line for tenants: dial 412-8518, then 2, then 6. Monday to Friday 09:00 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 17:00, 20 minutes a call.
• Consumer complaints. Call 1950 for your local consumer service center.
• Electricity. Taipower's line 1911, to check abnormal electricity use.
• Others. New Taipei's land office also names the township or district office and the 崔媽媽基金會 (a nonprofit) for mediation, and the local land administration bureau for advice.

Questions

How much deposit can a landlord in Taiwan ask for?

At most two months' rent. This is in the Rental Housing Market Development and Regulation Act (art. 7) and applies whatever your nationality.

Can a student get the rent subsidy?

An ROC national with household registration in Taiwan who is an adult (18 or over) can apply; there is no separate student rule. Parents are not counted in an adult applicant's household, registration does not have to be at the rental, and the landlord's consent is not needed. Renting from your parents or other lineal relatives does not qualify.

Can international students get the rent subsidy?

No. The 2026 programme is for ROC nationals with household registration in Taiwan, and nothing in its rules opens it to foreign residents.

Should I pay to hold a room before I see it?

Police warn that asking for money before a viewing is a common scam. Their advice is to view in person, check the landlord's identity, and pay only after signing.

→ Arrive and live

Sources (27)

Checked November 2026.Show

Laws and rules: Rental Housing Market Development and Regulation Act, MOI standard lease rules (住宅租賃定型化契約應記載及不得記載事項), Immigration Act, Household Registration Act, Housing Act. NIA FAQ on address changes. Executive Yuan on the electricity rule, Taipower rate table, September 2026 rate review. New Taipei City land office: renting for foreigners, English model lease, 10 QAs for foreigners, tenant legal advice line. Taipei City Land Administration, mediation. Scams: Criminal Investigation Bureau notice, Taipei Department of Legal Affairs, Taipei City Police. Schools and MOE: MOE off-campus rental directive, NPUST freshman renting guide, STUST off-campus housing notice, Study in Taiwan, living in Taiwan. Rent subsidy: NLMA rent subsidy zone, 2026 conditions, 2026 Q&A, 2026 programme rules (Taichung City copy), MOI, February 2026, MOE dorm subsidy rules.