A month after the start of the academic year, the student room shortage appears to be less severe than predicted. The emergency shelter is no longer full up and students are moving into their own rooms.
The municipality isn’t sure why this is is. Was it because the UG and the Hanze University of Applied Sciences told students not to come to Groningen if they hadn’t found a room yet? Or did twice as many students come here last year because of the pandemic?
‘We have no clear explanation’, says municipality spokesperson Manon Hoiting. ‘But when we talked to the institutes and the Groninger Studentenbond last week, we were once again told that very few students are currently looking for emergency shelter.’
Beds available
In early September, the 111 beds in the city’s emergency shelter were all taken; today, there are actually several beds available. The quiet is remarkable in comparison to last year. There are fewer emergency beds, while the number of incoming students appears to be the same.
All emergency shelters will close on November 1. Last year, they emergency shelters were forced to stay open until late December, but this year, it appears as though students are finding a room in time.
Long-term solution
In the meantime, the municipality is busy building four hundred units at the Zernike campus, which should be finished by next year. ‘They’re intended as a long-term, structural solution’, says Hoiting.
‘The idea is that the number of rooms in the building can be scaled up or down depending on need. That will allow us to have more space during peak times and we can use it for regular housing when there isn’t such a great need.’