The cost of student accommodation has risen again, with a room in Amsterdam costing an average of €951 a month in the first three months of this year, according to rental platform Kamernet.

In Utrecht students will pay an average of €800 for a room and in The Hague €745, Kamernet said. On average, prices have risen 5% on a year ago.

Kamernet said there are now an average of 20 inquiries about every student room on its website, up from 18 a year ago. The shortage of accommodation is one of the reasons cited by the incoming government for reducing the number of university places for foreign students.

In recent years, a number of universities and colleges have warned students from abroad not to come unless they have somewhere to live.

Slow students

Meanwhile, student organisations have slammed the next government’s plans to increase college and university fees for slow students.

The incoming coalition wants to add €3,000 a year to the fees for students who take more than one year extra to complete a degree. The basic fee is currently €2,530 per year.

The four parties say the “fine” will generate €282 million for the treasury.

Experts have also said the higher fees will do nothing to help students who pause their studies for a year or who take longer to graduate because of stress, their personal situation, or other pressures.

A similar fine was included in Mark Rutte’s first cabinet in 2010 but was scrapped in 2012.