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Steeds minder studenten vinden een kamer door het groeiende kamertekort, blijkt uit een artikel van de NOS over de Landelijke Monitor Studentenhuisvesting van Kences. Slechts 44 procent woont uit, terwijl bijna de helft dat wil.

Het tekort belemmert volgens de NOS de toegankelijkheid van onderwijs, sociaal-emotionele ontwikkeling en internationale concurrentie. Oorzaken zijn o.a. de verkoop van studentenhuizen door particulieren na nieuwe huurregels, waardoor het aanbod met 13.500 kamers daalde. Huurprijzen stijgen, studenten verdienen minder en ervaren meer stress. Kences pleit voor soepelere regels rond tijdelijke contracten en woningdelen. Het tekort wordt verwacht zelfs op te lopen tot 63.200 kamers in 2032-2033.

A new housing concept by StudentenkamerKopen.nl, in which students become joint owners of a property, is facing strong criticism from the municipality of Utrecht. It calls the initiative "bad" and fears higher housing costs and further erosion of the affordable room segment. Yet this criticism is striking, precisely because local and national governments themselves have been reducing the supply of student rooms for years - including through strict permit requirements for house sharing and the introduction of the rent point system.

Instead of being a threat, StudentroomKopen.nl actually offers an innovative solution to the housing shortage among students. Unlike the sell-out boom where properties are converted into expensive owner-occupied flats and student rooms disappear, this model preserves the rooms. The difference is that students - often with the help of their parents - no longer pay rent to commercial landlords, but become joint owners. This gives them more control, stability and protection from excessive rents or rogue landlords. In a completely legal way, according to lawyer Nicky Loekemeijer: "There is no architectural division, so you don't need a permit for this."

Where municipal regulations have eroded the room segment and pushed up rents, this concept offers a concrete alternative that both preserves the existing supply and does justice to the huge demand. The municipality's opposition is therefore more of an attempt at symptom control than a structural solution.

Finding a student room in Utrecht has become even more difficult this summer. The cause is the new Affordable Rent Act, which has been in force since 1 July 2024. This law determines the maximum rent through a point system. This allows landlords to charge less rent, making room rentals financially unattractive. In addition, strict permit requirements for house sharing with more than three residents are an additional barrier. In many cases, these permits are not granted.

As a result, many landlords are dropping out or deciding to sell their properties. As a result, the rental supply in Utrecht has dropped by 10.9 per cent, compared with a 43 per cent drop nationwide. Students like Charlotte struggle to find a permanent place to live and are therefore often forced to move regularly.

Interest group Vidius supports the law, but argues for more lenient rules around house sharing, for example by allowing it up to four people without a permit. Kences director Jolan de Bie also sees housing sharing and improving campus facilities as possible solutions. She questions the effectiveness of the law if it leads to a decrease in the supply of rooms.

The law is well intentioned, but in practice leads to a decrease in the number of available rooms. More flexibility in regulations, especially around permits, could help balance the housing market.

Students are finding it increasingly difficult to find a room, partly due to new rental rules. Especially in university cities, the supply has decreased significantly: the number of available student rooms has dropped by 30% in one year. Almost half of student rooms are owned by private landlords, but stricter regulations and higher taxes make renting to students less attractive. Many landlords are selling their properties, further adding to the shortage.

The Affordable Rent Act determines through a point system how much rent can be asked for, which often comes out lower than landlords want. It has also become more difficult to rent to more than two people, as this now requires a permit. As a result, students have to travel further and miss bonding with their college town.

Solutions such as campus contracts and relaxing permit rules are suggested. The LSVb calls on educational institutions to take responsibility, while Kences, on the other hand, calls on municipalities to be more lenient towards room renters.

The supply of student rooms fell by 40% in the second quarter of 2025, especially in The Hague, Amsterdam and Utrecht. Small rental properties are the scarcest. Landlords are pulling out due to stricter regulations, taxes and rent caps. Parcellation is often banned and new construction lags behind.

Students often take more than three months to find a room. Hospitalling is tough, the quality of housing is often poor, and international students are regularly excluded.

Universities and unions warn that the room shortage is hampering higher education. Only structural construction of more student housing can solve the problem.

In 2025, finding a student room will be harder than ever. The average rent is around 705 euros per month, with peaks above a thousand euros in some cities. In Amsterdam, students pay an average of 974 euros for a room, followed by Utrecht with 835 euros. In Maastricht, the price is a bit lower at 600 euros. Only in cities such as Groningen, Leeuwarden and Wageningen are rooms still somewhat affordable, with monthly rents of 490, 441 and 359 euros respectively.

The high prices are due to a combination of factors. The housing supply has shrunk significantly in many cities, sometimes by more than 30 per cent, while the number of students continues to grow. At the same time, the introduction of the Affordable Rent Act has caused private landlords to pull out, as renting out rooms has become less attractive to them. The influx of international students also plays a role. They are often completely dependent on private renting, putting additional pressure on an already tight market.

Although the situation in big cities is bleak, there are still opportunities for students who are flexible. By looking in smaller cities or outside the city centre, they can sometimes still find a room for under five hundred euros a month. In addition, alternative housing forms are on the rise, such as anti-squatting or shared housing projects where students manage or buy a property. At the same time, the risk of scams is growing. According to the National Union of Students, students should stay alert to offers that seem too good to be true.

In the last quarter of 2024, student rooms became on average 5.6% more expensive, with a national average rent of €705 per month. The biggest increases were in Leiden (+17.3%), Tilburg (+16.9%) and Nijmegen (+15.2%). Amsterdam remains the most expensive with an average of €974.

The number of available rooms decreased slightly (-1%), with especially strong decreases in Leiden and Haarlem (>30%). In cities such as Zwolle, Eindhoven and Ede, supply actually increased. According to Kamernet CEO Seelmann, new regulations discourage landlords, further reducing supply.

Flat rents also rose sharply in major cities, except in Eindhoven, Groningen and Utrecht, where declines to almost 16% were recorded.

The average rent price of a student room in Utrecht rose by 22.5 per cent to 837 euros last year. This makes Utrecht the most expensive student city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam (961 euros). The price rise is due to a shortage of rooms and declining supply on the private market. In other student cities such as Breda and Zwolle, prices even rose by 30 per cent.

Kamernet, which published these figures, reports that rooms have become larger on average, leading to higher rents via the point system. In addition, new rental rules make it less attractive for private landlords to rent to students. As a result, they more often choose to sell properties or rent to couples. At SSH in Utrecht, rooms are cheaper (350-600 euros), but the waiting time there averages 38 months.