In the latest episode of the Dutch housing crisis, students from abroad are being told to avoid Amsterdam — or they’ll risk homelessness and exploitation.
The call comes from the Dutch student union ASVA, which says 4,720 international students registered for just 2,416 available rooms at Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA).
That leaves 2,304 students competing to find alternative accommodation, adding to a shortage of 6,600 last year. 🤯
“Our mailbox is full of questions from desperate students, who we cannot even refer to a hostel,” ASVA board member Job Vermaas told AT5.
“If this continues, we will have a shortage of 10,000 rooms in September, which is really unsustainable.”
The UvA agrees that the current situation is concerning. “We also discourage international students from coming to Amsterdam if they have not yet found a room in mid-August,” said a spokesperson.
The lowdown on the Dutch student housing crisis
Student housing has been an issue in major Dutch cities for years. There has been shortage after shortage reported, students who have been forced to live in ‘tent cities’, other students left homeless, and projections that 50,000 students could be lacking a home in the next two years.
The ultra-competitive environment has also made housing scams rampant. Government programs have had little success in easing the pressure. The Netherlands has been in crisis mode for so long that the crisis has become the norm.
Compete or go home
Now the student union is calling on the university to intervene and only offer as many spots for English-language education as there are rooms available.
However, the UvA says that’s not an option, with a spokesperson telling AT5, “the courses are also popular among many Dutch students.”
Instead, the university wants to implement numerus fixus for international students, a strategy that limits spots in a program and offers them to students via a selection process.
Okay, you might be saying, “isn’t that how all universities work?” but the answer is no.
Numerus fixus is pretty standard for many countries, but in the Netherlands, it’s only used for studies in high demand, like medicine, physiotherapy, or computer science.
READ MORE | University of Amsterdam concerned by the rise in international students
The UvA submitted a bill to the minister to implement numerus fixus for international students two years ago. However, with the switch of the Dutch cabinet after the 2021 general election, the decision has been delayed.
Have you struggled to find housing in Amsterdam? Tell us your story in the comments below!