Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Netherlands' Student Housing Shortage Deepens as Private Room Sales Accelerate

Kences says accelerated sell‑offs risk erasing up to 45,000 rooms within two years without short‑term fixes beyond new construction.

Overview

  • Sales of private student rooms are about 1.5 times higher than last year, according to Kences using Landelijke Monitor Studentenhuisvesting data and ABF Research analysis.
  • Amsterdam shed roughly 2,080 private student rooms in the past year, with Rotterdam losing about 1,025, the highest city-level declines reported.
  • Regional figures show 790 rooms sold in The Hague in 2024 plus Q1 2025, 305 in Leiden, and 260 in Delft, underscoring losses across major study cities.
  • Nationally, the private-room stock fell by 17,800 in 2024, and Kences warns that continued sales could cut up to 45,000 rooms—around 9% of the 393,000 total—within two years.
  • Amsterdam has begun building 1,232 permanent student units this year and targets around 3,000, but Kences urges measures like housing-sharing and permit-free room rentals, citing Utrecht’s three-room exemption as pressure there intensifies.