When to start looking for accommodation in Heraklion (2026-27)

Start looking for accommodation in Heraklion as soon as you know which semester you are coming for: in practice that means around June for an autumn arrival and around mid-November for a spring arrival, which is when the University of Crete’s Erasmus nomination deadlines fall. Aim to have a signed contract a few weeks before your first lecture, not in the week you land. Below is the month-by-month version, tied to the 2026-27 dates of both universities in the city.

Last checked: 28 September 2026.

When to start looking for a home in Heraklion: the 2026-27 dates

Heraklion has two universities: the University of Crete (UoC), whose Heraklion campus is at Voutes, and the Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU), whose central campus is at Estavromenos. Their 2026-27 calendars are close but not identical.

	Autumn / winter 2026	Spring 2027
HMU teaching	28 Sep 2026 to 15 Jan 2027	15 Feb to 4 Jun 2027
UoC School of Sciences & Engineering lectures	21 Sep to 18 Dec 2026	8 Feb to 21 May 2027
UoC Erasmus nomination deadline	15 June (full year or winter)	15 November

Sources: HMU academic calendar 2026-27, UoC academic calendar and the UoC 2026-27 fact sheet.

Two things to keep in mind. The UoC lecture dates above are for the School of Sciences & Engineering only; if you are at the School of Medicine or another school, check your own school’s dates. And we do not list an HMU nomination deadline, because the deadline page we found on HMU’s site was out of date when we checked. If you are coming to HMU, ask your home university’s Erasmus coordinator.

The same UoC fact sheet states that accommodation is not provided for Erasmus students, so if you are joining UoC you will be renting privately. If you are joining HMU, ask your coordinator what, if anything, the university offers.

When demand peaks (our reading, not data)

We have no published figures on when the Heraklion rental market is busiest, so treat this section as our inference.

Both universities start winter teaching within a week of each other in late September. It seems reasonable to expect that the weeks just before those start dates are when the most incoming students are searching at the same time, and so when the choice is thinnest. The same logic applies, on a smaller scale, to late January and early February before the spring semester.

What we can point to is price. Argophilia, citing Spitogatos Insights, reported in July 2026 a rent figure of €12.0 per m², up 12% year on year. Erasmus Play (updated February 2026) shows Heraklion listing averages of €500 for a room and €661 for a studio. None of that tells you the best week to search, but it does not suggest that waiting will get you a cheaper place.

One more inference, from our own buildings: most of our tenants stay for one Erasmus semester, so our homes tend to change hands around the turn of the semester. That is when we are most likely to have something free for a spring arrival.

Arriving in autumn: month by month

The dates in the table are for 2026-27. If you are planning for autumn 2027, use the same shape but check the new calendars when they are published.

March to May: research

Work out which campus you will be on, since it decides the neighbourhood. UoC’s Voutes campus is about 10 km from the city centre, next to the University General Hospital (PAGNI) and close to FORTH. HMU is at Estavromenos. Our guide to getting to campus by bus covers the lines.

Read up on local habits too. UoC’s Erasmus and exchange students page tells students to expect one month’s rent upfront plus a deposit of the same amount, rent that usually excludes electricity, water and phone, and furnished flats that usually come without bed linen or towels. Budget for that.

By 15 June: nomination

UoC’s nomination deadline for full-year and winter students is 15 June. Once you are nominated, you know your semester and can search in earnest.

June and July: shortlist and paperwork

This is the window we would use. Ask each landlord for a video walk-through, and ask exactly what the rent includes.

Apply for your Greek tax number (AFM) now. A residential lease is declared to AADE, the tax authority, and needs both parties’ AFM. AADE says non-residents can apply remotely through myAADE with a myAADElive video call, or through a representative. We cannot tell you how long it takes, so do not leave it until August. Our guide to AFM, deposit and rent goes through it step by step.

August: sign

Get a written contract in a language you can read before you pay anything. Since 1 April 2026, rent must be paid by bank transfer to the landlord’s declared account, so ask for those details at signing.

September: arrive

Aim to land before your first lecture: 21 September for UoC Sciences & Engineering, 28 September for HMU.

Arriving in spring: month by month

September and October: research

Same homework as for autumn: campus, budget, what is normal. The gap between UoC’s spring nomination deadline (15 November) and the first spring lectures (8 February) is a little shorter than the autumn gap from 15 June to 21 September, so the search window is tighter.

By 15 November: nomination

UoC’s spring nomination deadline is 15 November. For HMU, ask your coordinator.

Mid-November to December: shortlist and AFM

Line up video walk-throughs and start the AFM application. Winter lectures at UoC Sciences & Engineering end on 18 December, and HMU winter teaching ends on 15 January. We expect that some autumn students leave around then, which is when places free up; that is our inference, not a statistic.

January: sign

Try to have a contract by the end of January. Spring lectures begin on 8 February at UoC Sciences & Engineering and on 15 February at HMU.

Early February: arrive

Heraklion’s airport, Nikos Kazantzakis (HER), is about 5 km east of the city. City bus lines 6, 11 and 12 start from an airport terminal; check Astiko’s timetables for your arrival time.

If you are reading this in late September

HMU winter teaching starts on 28 September 2026 and UoC Sciences & Engineering lectures started on 21 September. Searching now is still possible, but you are searching when, by our reading, competition is highest. Do not let hurry push you into paying before you have seen the home on video and read a contract. Our guide to avoiding rental scams is worth ten minutes first.

Be honest with yourself about location

Our two buildings are a 4- and 5-minute walk from the HMU gate. That suits HMU students well. If your lectures or lab are at Voutes, at PAGNI or at FORTH, you would probably be better off looking closer to Voutes than at our homes. Line 11 serves the campus and the hospital, and only some of its weekday trips run via FORTH. Plan the journey in the Heraklion Urban Bus app before you sign anywhere.

Practical checklist

• Write down your first lecture date (UoC Sciences & Engineering: 21 Sep or 8 Feb; HMU: 28 Sep or 15 Feb).
• Note the UoC nomination deadline (15 June or 15 November); for HMU, ask your coordinator.
• Apply for your AFM as soon as you are nominated.
• Budget for one month’s rent plus a deposit of the same amount, as UoC advises. ESN UoC warns that going through an agency often means three rents upfront.
• Ask every landlord what the rent includes: bills, bed linen, towels, kitchenware.
• Get a video walk-through and a written contract before you pay.
• Pay rent by bank transfer to the landlord’s declared account.
• EU citizens staying more than 3 months: apply for a registration certificate with the police Aliens department; check the current requirements locally.
• Bring your EHIC if you are an EU student.

Our homes, if your dates fit

We run thirteen furnished homes in two buildings near HMU, from the top-floor studio at €400 a month to the renovated three-bedroom at €1,200, or €400 each if you share it three ways. There is no agency fee, bills are included (with the detail on each home’s page), bed linen and kitchenware are provided, and the minimum stay is two months. You can read more about us.

If you know your dates, tell us on the request page and we will let you know what is free for them.