Student housing shortage: Tens of thousands don't have rooms

The housing shortage in student cities will be at least as dire as last year in the coming academic year, according to a preliminary estimate by the Knowledge Center for Student Housing (Kences). Then some 26,500 students didn’t have housing, Kences director Jolan de Bie said to AD.

All signs point toward similar problems this academic year, according to Kences. “We’re still calculating the definite figure, but it won’t be many thousands higher or lower,” De Bie said. If nothing changes, the student housing shortage will increase to about 60,000 in the coming years, Kences warned.

Multiple universities, including the University of Amsterdam, the VU Amsterdam, and Utrecht University, have called on international students not to come if they haven’t found a place to stay yet.

High rents are also a problem for many students, according to Kences. On average, students spend about half their income on rent. Many who still live at home say that they don’t move out because they can’t afford the rent.