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Semester Start Lays Bare Germany’s Student Housing Shortage

Average WG-room costs reach €505, far above the €380 housing allowance.

Overview

  • Deutsches Studierendenwerk reports about 33,000 students waiting for dorm places nationwide as the winter term begins.
  • Munich remains the priciest market at roughly €800 for a WG room with around 8,800 students on hall waitlists, while Frankfurt averages about €675 with only ~9.5% subsidized coverage and roughly 2,800 waiting.
  • WG-room rents have climbed around 21% since 2020, pushing many students to spend more than half of their income on housing.
  • Listings increasingly feature furnished and serviced apartments from professional providers, often priced above traditional shared flats.
  • Research institutes MMI and IW Köln cite tight supply and slowing construction and call for higher housing support and simpler, faster building rules.