Rotterdam has a plan for 400 new student homes a year

The municipality will tackle the huge shortage of student housing. This is set out in a new plan recently signed by the alderman, educational institutions and student housing providers. The plan has caused discord in the municipal council regarding the growing number of international students.

Alderman Chantal Zeegers of Climate, Building and Housing recently signed the Rotterdam Student Housing Implementation Plan (Uitvoeringsplan Studentenhuisvesting). She did this together with educational institutions, student housing providers and student organisations. The plan should ensure that at least four hundred additional good, affordable student homes will be built every year.

Maximum rent

Many measures in the implementation plan are not set in stone. To what extent the influx of international students can be curbed is still uncertain, for example. “It is not realistic to expect all plans to go ahead”, the alderman wrote in the letter from the municipal executive. It is therefore uncertain whether an additional four hundred student rooms will be built annually over the next five years.

What is already certain, however, is that the first new homes will be completed in 2025. In addition, the municipality is asking Capelle, Schiedam and Dordrecht to build more student homes. Other measures include improved information on student housing, extra temporary housing and agreements to better manage peaks at the beginning of the academic year.

400 student homes per year

Many measures in the implementation plan are not set in stone. To what extent the influx of international students can be curbed is still uncertain, for example. “It is not realistic to expect all plans to go ahead”, the councillor wrote in the letter from the municipal executive. It is therefore uncertain whether an additional four hundred student rooms will be built annually over the next five years.

What is already certain, however, is that the first new homes will be completed in 2025. In addition, the municipality is asking Capelle, Schiedam and Dordrecht to build more student homes. Other measures include information, extra temporary housing and agreements to better manage peaks at the beginning of the academic year.

Concerns about international students

The Rotterdam city council has ‘concerns about the sharp increase in the number of international students’. According to the letter from the municipal executive, ‘sensitivities in that respect’ exist between signatories of the plan.

This was also a hot topic among the municipal council on Thursday. Some councillors want the intake to be limited, while others stress the added value of international knowledge in the city. The council and the university are currently discussing possible measures to curb the influx of international students.

Motions

Several motions were passed during the municipal council meeting. One motion stated that the municipality should look for more building sites for student homes in Rotterdam-South. Another calls for existing buildings to be inspected for compliance with quality requirements.