Affordable housing for students needed more urgently than ever before

• Deutsches Studierendenwerk (DSW) with new figures on state-subsidized student housing
• Currently more than 196,000 places available at Studenten- and Studierendenwerke
• Supply rate remains at less than 10%
• DSW Chairman Matthias Anbuhl: "Affordable housing for students is needed more urgently than ever. Dormitory places for students must be expanded. "

 
Berlin, 14 December 2022. The supply rate of students with state-subsidized dormitory places continues to persist at less than ten percent. At the same time, the high demand for student housing continues. Deutsches Studierendenwerk (DSW) draws attention to this with a new publication.

According to the DSW publication "Wohnraum für Studierende. Statistische Übersicht 2022," there are currently a good 239,000 state-subsidized places to live for students nationwide, of which more than 196,000 are with the Studenten- und Studierendenwerke.

As the new DSW figures once again show, the supply of state-subsidized student housing lags far behind the number of state-subsidized student places.

At 9.52%, the ratio of students to supported housing places, known as the accommodation ratio, remains at less than 10%. By comparison, the accommodation ratio was 15% in 1991 and 12.13% in 2008.

DSW Board Chairman Matthias Anbuhl comments on the figures:
"The housing market in college towns is strained to breaking point. Housing remains a central social issue of our time. Prices for gas, electricity, heat and food are going through the roof. Low-cost housing for students is therefore needed more urgently than ever. Dormitory places for students must be expanded.

Studenten- and Studierendenwerke are building wherever they can. More than 14,000 dormitory places are currently being planned or built. But to meet the continuing high demand for affordable housing, we need the support of policymakers.

We need a total of €2.6 billion in federal and state subsidies by 2027 for the climate-friendly construction of 25,000 additional places, as well as the renovation and modernization, and also digital updates, of the Studierendenwerke dormitory stock.

We expressly welcome the measures taken by the German government, such as the Alliance for Affordable Housing, which we have also joined. The same applies to the "Young Housing" program, with which the federal government intends to create more affordable housing, including for students, from the beginning of 2023 with €500 million from the federal budget."

The DSW publication "Wohnraum für Studierende. Statistische Übersicht 2022" (40 pages) to download.

You can also find this press release online.