Student housing scarcer and more expensive: “Almost everything is rented out in two to three weeks” (Antwerp)
The Flemish Association of Students (VVS) is sounding the alarm. “The demand for student accommodation is skyrocketing,” says Julien De Wit, housing specialist at the VVS. “That’s because Antwerp welcomes more students every year. This academic year, for example, 10% more students moved into their flat than last year. There are still a few rooms left, but they are often more expensive, because they have kitchen elements, such as their own living room or even a jacuzzi.”
The University of Antwerp also receives more complaints from students who cannot find accommodation. “The increase in complaints is mainly among foreign students,” says Peter De Meyer. “Often they don’t start looking for a room until September of October and they only stay for five months. That can be a problem, because some landlords prefer to rent out their property for a whole year.”
Students keep their room longer
It is not only the number of students that causes a tight market for student accommodation. “Students also stay in their room, longer they may have missed social life during the corona crisis,” says Sandra Aznar, speaking of Xior, one of the largest landlords of student rooms in Belgium. “The number of students who choose to extend the rent of a room has grown from 45% to 60% in a year, so that fewer new rooms are available.”
The cabinet of the Antwerp alderman for Education Jinnih Beels (Vooruit) that has risen sharply to student housing. “We traditionally have a surplus of rooms in Antwerp. That surplus has fallen from 15% to 5% in a year’s time,” says Nel Aerts. “We know that the rooms that remain are not always suitable. The question now is whether we will have a number of students in Antwerp, or whether the trend will continue.”
Gap in the market
A peak isn’t it? The real estate sector has no doubts: “Student housing is a gap in the market”, says Kristophe Thijs, said of CIB, the professional association of real estate agents. “Students have to decide more often in April whether they want to move into a room. Otherwise it won’t work. There is a huge scarcity.”
Xior has few rooms available in Leuven in Ghent. “Almost everything was rented out in two to three weeks,” says Sandra Aznar. “The kick-off of the rental was given in Antwerp last weekend. There are now just under two hundred of our 860 rooms available.”
But there is also good news. “Next year, 641 new rooms will be added in Antwerp,” says Aznar. “There will be 387 new rooms in Wilrijk on the Drie Eiken campus and 203 rooms in our Felix project in Groenenborglaan. And we also want to open at least 51 rooms at Rooseveltplaats in 2023. The rents for those rooms have not yet been determined.”
Average room costs 461 euros
So more costs. But will a room in Antwerp also become more affordable? Figures from the CIB show that Antwerp is one of the most expensive student cities in Flanders. An average student room costs 461 euros. In the 2018-2019 academic year, this was still 418 euros.
With these figures it can be said that the rental of rooms through brokers is slightly higher than the say in the student market. According to the website Kotweb, an average furnished student room in Antwerp costs 373 euros per month and 469 euros if it has a private bathroom and a kitchenette.
“Life for students is becoming more expensive,” says Julien De Wit. “Students don’t just have to pay more for their room. Everything is getting more expensive. The need is very high. That is not obvious for students.”
Perhaps that is why students are doing more extra jobs. Labor market specialist Randstad reports that an average of sixteen thousand students in Flanders took a holiday job every week during the past Easter holidays. That is two thousand more than in 2019, the year before corona.