Many students have difficulty finding accommodation – and initially find accommodation in hostels, campsites or children’s rooms. Demand is increasing and dormitories are at full capacity.
“It’s so frustrating. I doubted whether I was unpleasant or whether I wouldn’t be a good roommate,” says Anika Hagen. The student came to Münster from Hamburg and is starting her studies here. So far no success in finding an apartment. “I started to think whether I was the problem and not the housing market at all.”
She has been looking for a room or an apartment in Münster for more than three months. “But the rush has been quite large since the university accepted even more people this semester. I’m looking in vain. Now I’ve found accommodation with Carlotta.” Carlotta is her friend and also studies in Münster. She offered her desperate friend help in her parents’ house in neighboring Emsdetten and they now share the old children’s room.
Not ideal, but at least something like a solution for the transition. Without them, Anika might have given up on the university in Münster entirely. “I now have some security that I can be here and take part in my studies. And I don’t have to drop out,” says Anika.
The situation is becoming increasingly desperate
Many students like you are currently having difficulty finding an apartment. For them, living space is not only scarce, but often unaffordable. In a survey by the German Economic Institute, the basic rent in 38 university towns surveyed is currently an average of 6.2 percent higher than the previous year. Rent and additional costs would explode.
A student model apartment with 30 square meters in Frankfurt and Munich now costs around 700 euros rent, with Frankfurt just overtaking Munich as the most expensive place to study at 696 euros. According to the scientists, due to rising energy prices, additional living costs have also increased. “The situation on the housing market is becoming increasingly desperate for students,” says real estate researcher Michael Voigtländer from the German Economic Institute. Rents for student housing have been rising continuously for a decade, but the dynamics have become even more intense.
Students stay in the children’s room
“In addition, rising energy prices are now putting a strain on the monthly budget as well as the continued high consumer prices, especially for food,” says Voigtländer. Students are increasingly considering living at home with their parents. According to Voigtländer, the proportion of students who live at home is almost 30 percent.
That is a significant increase compared to the previous year. There is a fear that economic restrictions will influence the choice of study and not personal inclinations. “It is all the more important to take countermeasures now,” says the scientist. “Students should receive more financial support. Only around one in six students currently benefits from BAföG. Small, affordable apartments should be built.”
In Münster, the student union is planning a new dormitory for 200 people, but there are currently 5,500 waiting for a place to sleep. Things don’t look any better in Cologne either. In the winter semester, the university in Cologne speaks of a quota of eight to nine students per room.
More than 1,000 on waiting list
There are more than 1,000 people on the waiting list who are not receiving care. And yet it is not new: in previous semesters, students had to go to a campsite, sleep in shared rooms or commute very long distances. For many of them, looking for an apartment means a lot of disappointment and self-doubt. Office hours at the student unions are often fully booked.
Anika Hagen wrote to around seventy apartments and shared apartments in Münster. She rarely got answers – and mostly just rejections. “It’s very sobering. The apartments are often so expensive. And the supply simply isn’t there despite the huge demand. The competition is pretty tough,” says Anika Hagen. For now she will sleep on a mattress in her friend’s room.