Student
Student life

‘First-years still move into lodgings’

Idealis sees no decrease in the number of first year students that register as searching for a room. The student housing desk does not recognize themselves in the image of Statistics Netherlands (CBS), who recently reported that 22 percent fewer first year students move into lodgings.
Linda van der Nat

The CBS mapped the relocation of our country per municipality. This shows that in the start of the academic year (July until October) a quarter less eighteen year olds moved to a different municipality in the same period compared to last year. In Wageningen 178 less 17-22 year olds have registered. This comes down to a decrease of 22 percent. The CBS links this to the abolishment of the basic student grant. This causes students that choose to live on their own to be off thousands of euros more expensive per year.

Idealis however sees no effect of the student grant on the housing demand of Wageningen first year students, says Idealis director Sylvie Deenen. ‘The demand remains high, probably due to the nationwide recruitment for the unique studies of Wageningen and the thereby often long travel times from the parent’s house. In June we held a survey among students that had registered for a study in Wageningen. Back then it already appeared that there would be no decrease in demand for rooms. At least in Wageningen. Among the students of the Christian College in Ede we do see the effects.’

Deenen finds it difficult to say why the figures of the CBS do not match the figures of Idealis. ‘It is possible that the students do not benefit from registering at the municipality. Before they had to register to be able to receive the grant, but this is no longer the case.’

The waiting lists for the rooms have decreased in Wageningen. Deenen however does not link the reduction in the waiting list to a decrease in demand, but to the increase in supply. On the 55 rooms that Idealis advertised in December, 132 first year students responded. ‘We had 450 new rooms in Wageningen this year and they have all been filled’, says Deenen. ‘We do notice that we need to advertise rooms multiple times before they are accepted. For example for complexes such as Hoevestein and Asserpark it is not candidate two or three that rents the room, but candidate 10 or 11.’

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