Fewer rooms for students and flat sharers, but prices are going up

There has been a ‘worrisome decrease’ in the supply of rental housing for students and young professionals in the Netherlands and average rents are up by 10%, according to room rental agency Kamernet in a new report.

‘The supply of rental housing, especially for students and young professionals, decreased, while demand increased sharply,’ the agency said. ‘We also see that there is less availability on Kamernet.’

In particular, the return of in-person education has boosted the number of students, both Dutch and international, trying to find a place to live, Kamernet said. And while room rents are up 10% across the country as a whole, the increase is far higher in university cities like Amsterdam, Tilburg, Nijmegen and Maastricht.

Government regulation and higher taxes are already hitting the supply of rental accommodation, but local authority bans on flat sharing are also having an impact, Kamernet said.

‘The real effects of such measures will only become visible in 2023-2024 but they are not a  good sign for the housing supply for this target group,’ the agency said. ‘We expect the supply on the rental market will continue declining to historically low levels, while demand will only increase.

‘This will probably mean that rents in (university) cities will continue to rise. We fear that young professionals and students will find themselves in an even worse position on the housing market than they already are in.’

Almost half of the accommodation offered on Kamernet is provided by private landlords while over a third is advertised by singles or groups of people looking for a flatmate.