Erasmus University wants 2,000 extra student-housing units

Rotterdam will have to build some 2,000 extra student units in the next seven years, according to the Chair of the EUR Executive Board in Tuesday’s Telegraaf. Otherwise the municipality will lose these students to surrounding cities and towns.

Baele directly addresses the formateurs forging the new municipal coalition government: “While housing and employment are high on all political agendas, student housing is an important issue too. We’re here too, I’d like to point out. And the need is greater here than in other degree programmes.”

International talent

The Dutch research universities and universities of applied sciences presented their joint Internationalisation Agenda last Monday. In this document, the institutions expressed their concern about various issues, including student housing. They have observed an overheated housing market in a number of university cities, which directly affects the options open to Dutch and international students.

“If you intend to attract and retain international talent for the city, you need to make sure that housing is in order,” adds EUR via its spokesperson. In the 2024–2025 academic year, Rotterdam will need an extra 2,160 student units compared to the 2016–2017 academic year. The Chair of the Executive Board will shortly meet with Rotterdam’s formateurs to reconfirm the importance of adequate student housing.

Housing problem

An investigation performed last summer by Erasmus Magazine shows that over the last few years the shortage of student-housing units has grown much worse. And international students in particular bear the brunt: they pay a lot more than Dutch students, are forced to ‘hop hostels’ or even become the victims of brazen fraud.