DSW: Students at risk of social segregation due to rents

• New “Hochschulstädtescoring 2025” by Moses Mendelssohn Institut and WG-Gesucht.de portal reveals a slight calming of the market at a very high level
• Average rental costs for a room in a shared flat on the free housing market at 493 euros per month
• DSW CEO Matthias Anbuhl: “The next federal government must increase the federal-state ‘Young Housing’ program and make it permanent”

Berlin, 10 March 2025: The new “Hochschulstädtescoring” by Moses Mendelssohn Institut (MMI) confirms the German Student Union (DSW) in its demands to increase the federal-state program “Junges Wohnen” and make it permanent.

In the MMI's “Hochschulstädtescoring” published today for the summer semester 2025, the average rent for a room in a shared flat is estimated at 493 euros per month. According to the MMI, this corresponds to an increase of 14 euros compared to the summer semester 2024. In comparison, the BAföG flat-rate housing allowance is currently 380 euros per month.

Matthias Anbuhl, Chairman of the Board of Deutsches Studierendenwerk, comments:
“The lack of affordable housing for students and the very high rents on the free housing market are leading to social selection in university cities: Students from wealthy families can afford to study in expensive cities such as Munich, where a room in a shared flat now costs an average of 800 euros. Students from families with lower incomes cannot. They have to choose their place of study based on the rent and not on their subject interest.

The pressure to build affordable housing for students remains very high. The federal-state program 'Junges Wohnen' is the right way to relieve the student rental market. The next federal government must therefore urgently increase it and make it permanent so that it can be vigorously implemented by all federal states.”

The new “Hochschulstädtescoring” for the summer semester 2025 by Moses Mendelssohn Institute (MMI) can be found here

You can find this press release online