In efforts to reduce the shortage of student housing in the Netherlands, the Dutch government has introduced the National Student Housing Action Plan 2022-2030, which plans to offer an expansion of 60,000 affordable student housing for the eight upcoming years.
According to a press release by the central government, this initiative intends to offer accommodation to the influx of international students reaching the Netherlands, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
“To be able to make this choice [students moving out], sufficient student housing is needed. That is why we are joining forces with various parties to offer 60,000 extra affordable student housing in the next eight years to build,” Minister De Jonge for Housing and Spatial Planning said.
Moreover, the new plan intends to create 60,000 student units by 2030 by building new accommodation spots and encouraging the better use of existing places.
In addition, taking the total number of flex homes to 37,500, the cabinet is also investing €37 million via an incentive scheme for housing of special groups, which will cover students’ housing bills.
The decision comes after students complained of having to deal with high rents and poor housing, which discouraged them from pursuing their academic careers.
“It is clear to me that something has to be done about the room shortage. It takes students a lot of time, stress and energy to get a room if it succeeds or they decide to stay at home after all,” Minister Dijkgraaf of Education, Culture and Science said.
In order to deal with the peak load, better information about accommodation has to be at students’ disposal. International students prioritising housing can make them more likely to be victims of housing market discrimination.
The form of the leases or short-stay alternatives can have certain obstacles as they aren’t completely legally protected. In order to improve the position of international students, the authorities have come to a common agreement of establishing a suitable rental contract for international students in a bid to provide more transparency in the rent and to offer alternative rental methods.
However, the issue of the student housing shortage is being enhanced in the upcoming years as the number of incoming international students rises. The demand for affordable accommodation and the pressure on the affordable housing stock is so great that the solution does not only lie in new construction.
That’s the reason why more detailed organising and maintaining of the data is needed regarding the influx of international students with more control options for educational institutions.
At the beginning of next year, Minister Dijkgraaf is expected to introduce new instruments to the House of Representatives, which should enable universities and colleges of higher education to control the influx of international students in an efficient manner without putting at risk the benefits of internationalisation.