Finding accommodation can be quite challenging for students. The shortage of housing for students, and staff as well, has increased rapidly in the last five years. Student numbers are increasing and the currently very tight housing market plays a role. Last summer, UT was confronted with an acute shortage of student housing. The university has set up many initiatives to alleviate this problem. Lieke Schreel (director CES) and Ineke ten Dam (S&P, project leader) tell us more about the project student housing, in which different working groups have been working on the matter for a few months now.
How could UT have been overwhelmed while student numbers have been increasing for years already?
Ineke: “Apart from the standard high inflow, there were three unique causes that were different from other years. There were fewer vacancies, the Brexit caused an unexpectedly high influx of international students, and there was an additional influx of students who only moved to Twente in their second year due to Covid-19 in their first year. All in all, it was more difficult to predict exactly what the housing demand would be. Although this was unexpected, hats off to the colleagues from UT for reacting and acting to this situation as they did. Led by Campus & Facility Management (CFM) and Twente Board, in collaboration with local partners, 230 extra flex houses are realised in a very short time, in addition to already existing plans. In the next couple of weeks, these houses will be ready. Plus, there have been many heart-warming initiatives by students and staff to provide (temporary) shelter to students.”
Are these 230 flex houses enough to prevent student housing shortage next summer?
Lieke: “The housing crisis in the Netherlands will continue to play a part in this. But we do our best to reduce the shortage as much as we can. That is why we started this project. We set up a plan for next summer and the next five years. We have a couple of goals: a clear plan to increase the availability of sufficient and affordable student housing for next summer and the coming five years. Additionally, the shortage this summer led us to reconsider the current division of tasks for student housing, so we are working towards an efficient and effective internal organisation that suits the current situation.”
Multiple working groups are currently working on the housing project. One group is working on a new forecasting model; the more timely and more accurate the forecast, the better we can respond. Another group is optimising the procedures of the Housing Office and communications to prospective students. A third group revises the allocation policy to give the various student groups equal chances on housing. Also, mixed housing, international and Dutch students sharing the same facilities, get attention. But, of course, the most important goal is to balance the housing demand and supply.
Lieke: “It is important to realise that UT cannot solve this problem itself as universities are not allowed to invest in real estate that is not intended for the primary processes of teaching and research. Housing associations will only invest when the demand is clear and the risk is acceptable. That means that supply always follows demand and unfortunately in housing that can take some time. Besides, more than half of the UT students rent housing from private landlords and larger private investors. UT has little influence on housing from these parties. Although universities are not and cannot be responsible for student housing, UT feels a strong moral obligation to support all students in finding a place to live, which is the starting point of the project.”
What does UT and other parties do to balance demand and supply?
Ineke: “CFM does an excellent job. They work closely together with housing associations as De Veste, Domijn, and Stichting Jongerenhuisvesting Twente (SJHT). They also work with the municipality of Enschede, Kennispark, Saxion, and construction companies.” For the next four years, a couple of housing projects will be realised: on campus, at Kennispark, and in the city of Enschede. On the campus, zoning space has been reserved for the addition of several hundred student apartments. Plans are being made for the years after. Also, the municipality of Hengelo is involved.
“But there will always be a difference in the forecasting and actual numbers of students, and between demand and supply. That is why a flexible layer of housing is important to cover peak months as August till November. We have already received several ideas for the flexible layer of housing and there will be a brainstorming meeting on this topic.” On Thursday, 20 January, 12:30-15:30h (if COVID-19 measures allow in DesignLab, if not online) there will be a brainstorming meeting. Students, staff, the municipalities Enschede and Hengelo, housing associations, a firm that manages vacant properties, and Saxion are invited. If you want to think along and participate, please let us know via sp-office-management@utwente.nl.
Ineke: “We are also thinking about how to influence the demand for housing. The UT education strategy for ‘growth’ and ‘internationalisation’ in the past ten years has been very successful, especially among international students. But we at UT do not want unrestrained growth. We also have to consider the workload and the presence of sufficient facilities. ‘Quality over quantity’ as Vinod Subramaniam said a couple of weeks ago in an interview with Utoday. It will take time to further develop and implement this approach.”
Will the student housing project solve the housing shortage?
Lieke: “Student housing will continue to be an issue. UT cannot solve this alone. Other university cities have been struggling for years with this problem. However, I expect that we are capable to reduce the housing shortage. We continue to aspire a unique selling point of UT: availability of good and, in comparison to other student cities, low-priced student housing for students and graduates.”
More information about long-term housing strategy can be found on: www.utwente.nl/en/ltsh
