The shortage of student rooms has reached 10,000 and what is available is too expensive for most students, according to Platform31, an institute which focuses on complex housing issues.

In particular, the government should cut back on housing benefits paid to thousands of students who live in studios with their own front door so that landlords focus again on affordable rooms with shared facilities, the agency said on Tuesday.

Students who live in an “independent” dwelling are able to claim housing benefit which covers a large part of the cost. “This system is ensuring that student housing companies can build studios, but that it is not cost effective to build cheaper student rooms,” Platform 31 housing expert Frank Dirks told the AD.

The shortage of student rooms has now hit 10,000 and the situation threatens to worsen in years to come, he said. On average, a student in a studio is able to claim €3,300 in housing benefit a year, money which Dirks said could be better spent building cheaper rooms.

Reducing the rent subsidy by €50 per studio would free up €9.3 million a month to invest in new student rooms, or €112 million a year, he said. That would help fund the building of 2,800 students rooms a year without extra costs for landlords.

Union

Student union LSVB is also calling for government action. “Accommodation is our biggest headache, day and night,” said chairman Abdelkader Karbache. “There are too few rooms and those there are are unaffordable.”

“Old-fashioned” rooms in shared houses are much more popular among students because they encourage social contact, he said.

The union also wants the government to set up a fund to encourage student housing firms to build more rooms, which should also qualify for housing benefit.

The housing situation is so bad that several universities warn international students not to take up their place unless they have found a place to live in advance.

The University of Amsterdam, for example, lists a number of student housing providers, all of which have long waiting lists. However, the commercial Social Hub, formerly known as the Student Hotel, offers a standard room with bathroom for €45 a night, or €1,250 a month.