Amsterdam student housing shortage getting worse, needs urgent attention: Assoc.

The student housing shortage in Amsterdam is getting worse and worse, and if nothing is done about it, students will start opting for universities in other Dutch cities, a group of Amsterdam universities, colleges and housing corporations said in an urgent call to the municipality. According to them, Amsterdam needs at least 2 thousand new student homes per year, Het Parool reports.

According to the institutions, the student housing shortage will particularly affect international students. A third of the about 100 thousand students currently in the city, come from abroad. That is important for the city and its international knowledge-based economy, the institutions say. Foreign students need student accommodation even more than Dutch students, who can live at home while they wait for a room to open up.

In a manifesto titled Coalition Knowledge City, the institutions state that Amsterdam is already facing a shortage of 12 thousand student homes. And the municipality's plans to create 8 thousand student homes between 2014 and 2018, and after that 400 per year, will not solve the shortage. They call on the city to build 2 thousand new student homes per year. Specifically homes renting for a maximum of 410 euros per month, so that students can apply for rent allowance.

The manifesto was signed by managers of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, the University of Arts, Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Inholland, University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, and housing corporations Duwo and De Key.