Overview
- The MLP and Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft report shows quality‑adjusted student rents rose 2.6 percent in the first half of 2026 and averaged about 4.0 percent per year over three years, with units under 40 m² climbing 3.5 percent.
- Only Chemnitz remains an exception where the current BAföG housing allowance of €380 covers a 30 m² model apartment, and the government plans to raise that allowance to €440 for the summer semester 2027.
- Major university cities are far more expensive: Munich tops the list at roughly €880 for a 30 m² student apartment, with Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne typically around €700 to €725.
- The report finds construction activity has waned at about two thirds of the 38 studied locations and notes a fall in building permits since 2022, which the authors say will deepen supply pressure as student numbers rise again toward 2040.
- The human impact is acute: students with their own households spent about 54 percent of disposable income on housing in 2025, forcing many into more work, living with parents, or choosing study locations for affordability rather than academic fit.