Alderman Roeland van der Schaaf confirmed the news on Wednesday afternoon during a municipal hearing. The container units will be built across from the Tuinland megastore at the Peizerweg.
Van der Schaaf was unable to say who will be developing and renting out the units. ‘The permits are still being dealt with. It will be announced soon. Once these extra units have been constructed, every student that is still looking for a room will have a roof over their head.’
Short stay contracts
Just like the units at the Suikerlaan, these small apartments are intended for international students. But there is at least one big difference: the Peizerweg units will have shared facilities. ‘That means people will have to share a bathroom with approximately five others’, policy adviser Michiel de Boer explains.
The two hundred extra rooms will measure fourteen square metres and will cost 250 euros a month. They will be rented out using short stay contracts. These are special contracts for shorter stays and provide tenants with furnished rooms. However, these short stay contracts are not subject to regular tenancy law, which means tenants will not have the same legal protection as students with regular contracts, who also tend to pay more rent.
Sore spot
This is a sore spot for student party DAG. ‘We’re very enthusiastic about the new construction at the Peizerweg because the room shortage is enormous’, DAG member Koen Marée said. ‘But why can’t the alderman promise rental protection for these rooms? And why can’t they just abolish short stay contracts altogether?’
Van der Schaaf has responded that he’s not a fan of short stay contracts as a permanent solution, either. ‘The construction works for places like The Student Hotel, but the contracts for the Peizerweg and the Suikerlaan need to be amended.’
Unfortunately, the zoning plans for the two locations do not currently allow for residential construction, and according to Van der Schaaf these plans cannot be changed in the short term. ‘We have to chose the latter of two evils: either we construct these new units and rent them out using short stay contracts, or we have no units to offer anyone. We have to make do with what we have.’
The containers will be rented on the website athomeingroningen.com.