Housing corporations are falling behind on their pledge to build an extra 16,000 student housing units by 2016, according to student union LSVb.

Two years ago, housing corporations promised to focus on student housing to alleviate the chronic shortage in cities like Utrecht and Amsterdam.

So far, 7,000 units have been delivered, 3,000 are being built and 3,600 are at the planning stage, the LSVb says.

But that is not enough to meet the target, and it will take time before the ‘planned’ units are actually ready to be lived in, the student union says.

Government policy

Vincent Buitenhuis of student housing umbrella group Kences told the Volkskrant many housing corporations had put their plans on ice because of confusion about government policy.

But the uncertainty is now gone and housing corporations are starting to catch up again, Buitenhuis said.

While some commercial providers have stepped into the market, their housing is often ‘extremely expensive’, Buitenhuis told the Volkskrant.