Student dormitories in Germany are not enough , to accommodate all applicants. Especially in university towns, demand is twice as high as supply. Private accommodation has become a real luxury.
"Urgently looking for a room in a student apartment in Frankfurt" or "I need a room – like where": the Internet is full of such ads, especially at the beginning of the semester. They show the desperation of searchers in Germany, the situation is particularly tense in big cities like Frankfurt am Main, notes ARD.
And if someone is lucky enough to find private rental accommodation, they will have to pay a high price for it: a room in a student accommodation in Frankfurt costs 680 euros on average. But there are also higher rents – for example in Munich, where the average price is 790 euros, informs the German public-law media.
„In the context of constantly rising rent levels, students are threatened by a new form of social selection”, Matthias Anbuhl from the German Student Network told ARD on this occasion. In the future, it will increasingly apply: “I can only follow where I can still afford the rent“.
Demand is double the supply
In Frankfurt am Main this is definitely felt, Timo Wenninger from the Student Commission at Goethe University tells ARD. in Frankfurt. He is adamant that more financial incentives are needed to provide affordable student housing.
The German student network in Frankfurt has allocated 3,700 places in student dormitories, but needs twice as many, says network representative Konrad Zündorf. “Currently, construction costs are very high, and public funding is not keeping up.“
The situation is similar in other university cities: in Munich there are 11,500 people waiting for accommodation in a dormitory, in the Nuremberg area there are 3,500, in Heidelberg the missing places are 2,500.
Private student dormitory
Private landlords often take advantage of the situation. For example, the largest private student dormitory in Europe opened its doors this year in Frankfurt, writes ARD. There are over 1,000 fully furnished rooms available to students, accompanied by a host of extras such as games tables, a cinema, a football pitch and even a yard with hens whose fresh eggs can be ordered for breakfast via a special app.
However, all this is not cheap – the mini-apartments with an area of 18 square meters cost from 650 euros upwards, including overhead costs. Demand is high, the owners tell the German public-law media – already at the beginning of the semester, 70 percent of the apartments were occupied. It is expected that all places will be filled by the end of the year.
Although 150 of the rooms are subsidized and offered at a lower price, the Student Commission does not think this is enough. “We need affordable housing for students,” emphasizes Timo Weninger. And this will not happen if things are left in the hands of private players on the capital market.
"Bed Exchange" as a short-term solution
For all freshmen who have not yet found an apartment at a suitable price, the Student Commission offers a type of “bed exchange”. In it, other students who currently have a free bed or will be out of their residence for a few days can provide a place to sleep to those in need. But this is not a permanent solution for freshmen.
And finding such a solution remains difficult, as those who are looking for housing at a decent price are increasing every day, comments ARD.