Rotterdam wants more and affordable student accommodation

Students must be able to arrange accommodation in Rotterdam faster and for an affordable price. On Tuesday, the municipality signed an agreement with housing corporations, lobbyists and educational institutions, including Erasmus University.

In the Student Accommodation Agreement 2020-2025, the parties agreed to tackle malpractices on the accommodation market, such as excessively high rents, discrimination, poor maintenance and lack of safety.

‘Students are important for the dynamics and cultural climate in our city. We also want to keep graduates in Rotterdam. We can only achieve this by working together with education and student accommodation services to provide good and affordable housing for students and recent graduates,’ says councillor Bas Kurvers (Construction and Housing).

Apartments on Woudestein

The municipality wants to reach agreements with developers about affordable student accommodation in new property developments. More space should be created on Rijnhaven and the Schiekadeblok, for example. In addition, various plans are being prepared for new residential complexes. On Rochussenstraat, 150 rooms are being created in a new apartment block on campus Woudestein, which will accommodate a maximum of 400 students. In the Brainpark and on Hoofdweg in Prins Alexander, there will be accommodation for 250 and 150 students, respectively. The existing De Snor complex on Kralingse Kerklaan is also being expanded.

Rotterdam is the second student city in the Netherlands. There are currently over 100,000 students in secondary vocational (mbo), higher professional (hbo) or university education. A third of these students live in accommodation. The waiting lists have been increasing for years. At Stadswonen, young people wait an average of thirteen months for their first room.