Nearly 4% of the entire student population in Delft have no access to student housing accommodations, according to the latest figures of the 2014 Student Housing Monitor.
Commissioned by student housing industry organization Kences and the Dutch Interior Ministry, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the annual report assesses the current living situation and housing needs ofuniversity students (including international and university of applied sciences students) in the Netherlands. Prepared by ABF research, the monitor provides insight into the projected growth of the student population and criticaldatafor student housing providers with the use of their Apollo forecasting model and a nationwide survey.
Compared with other university cities in the Netherlands, it appears that the majority of students in Delft rent out rooms, rather than live independently. Based on the report, this is due in part to immense pressure on the housing market and local housing allocation policies in place. Despite the relatively high price of rent (an average of €350 per month for a room with shared facilities), almost half of the student population (roughly 45%) lives in the city itself.Moreover, while 50 to 60% of students in most cities find accommodations through a private landlord, a large number of students in Delft rent out rooms with student housing organization DUWO.
“Delft is a fairly exceptional city because DUWO provides housing for some 60% of all students at TU Delft,” says DUWO Accommodate Manager Gijsbert Mul. “In Delft, you see some thousand (1,200) shortages of student housing and that is around 4% of the total student population.”In contrast withthe housing shortages of more populated cities such as Utrecht (approx. 6,000 rooms) and Amsterdam (approx. 10,000rooms), this figure seems relatively small. “We have building plans for that amount of rooms,” Mul claims. “It isn’t there yet, but we are a little bit optimistic that there is some sight to ending the shortage.”
With more than 22,000students currently studying in Delft, the race is underway to provide suitable housing accommodations for the city’s growing student population. Over the next eight years, the total number of students in the Netherlands in expected to increase by 54,000 (9%). In the case of Delft, the city must be able to provide new housing accommodations for more than 2,500 students by 2022. Given this projected demand, the effects on city’s housing market remain to be seen.
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