The cabinet has presented a new action plan to solve (at least a part of) the housing crisis. How? They plan to build 60,000 additional affordable homes for students to live in while studying in the Netherlands.
The National Student Housing Action Plan is the knight in shining armour in this case.
The plan cooperates with existing housing associations and educational institutions, and according to NOS, it will even include input from private investors and students to solve the problem.
It may sound a bit unreal for now, but we would certainly love to see it!
So, what will this plan look like?
The goal is to execute the plan over the next eight years — so it’s not going to solve the whole problem by tomorrow (obviously).
The cabinet will take a number of steps to achieve this.
Firstly, they are hoping to build 37,500 more flex homes between 2022 and 2024. Secondly, they plan to invest €37 million in an incentive scheme for housing for special groups — under which student housing is also covered.
In a press release by the government, Minister De Jonge for Housing and Spatial Planning also commented on the action plan:
“Every student should be given the opportunity to move into a room. It is a special moment to leave the parental home and step towards independence,” he says.
“To be able to make this choice, sufficient student housing is needed. That is why we are joining forces with various parties to offer 60,000 extra affordable student housing over the next eight years.”
A growing problem
Student Housing has become a big problem in the Netherlands in recent years.
It affects both Dutch students, who are trying to move out from their parents when they go to university, and international students trying to move to the Netherlands.
READ MORE: Why is there a housing shortage in the Netherlands? The Dutch housing crisis explained
The issue is partly caused by Dutch tuition fees. EU students enjoy the same tuition fee rates as the local students, which means that for many of them, it is far cheaper to study here.
Let’s not forget that good ol’ Brexit has also had a considerable impact; many internationals who were planning to study in the UK are now coming to the Netherlands instead.
Fewer internationals
Another solution to the problem would be if there would be simply fewer international students in the country — and some institutions are thinking this way.
The University of Amsterdam plans to admit fewer international students in the following years.
This morning, the NRC even called for the government to block international students from coming to the Netherlands.
While the proposed plan may not solve the entire housing crisis, it’s definitely an improvement if students don’t need to sleep in garages or in those cosy tents in the park.
The Cabinet and the parties hope these steps will help the problem faced by a growing number of international students in the Netherlands. Who knows? Maybe, in the end, students won’t need to write their first essays for uni under a bridge. It would be remarkable indeed!
What do you think about the new action plan? Let us know in the comments!