UC | Housing shortage in Eindhoven
Like any other city, Eindhoven has its own well-established concepts and landmarks: our Limbopad, used by students who live at home for their daily walk to the university, Strijp-S, the Evoluon and football club PSV. Now, a serious shortage of student housing has unfortunately been added to that list. An open house that attracts fifteen people or more is the norm rather than the exception these days.
But what exactly brought about this student housing shortage? First of all, student population is growing fast, in Eindhoven as well. Since 2009, student numbers have increased by almost fifty percent. That doesn’t have to be a problem if housing accommodation keeps pace, but it doesn’t. Not enough housing units were built during the last ten years to accommodate this large group, and this has inevitably led to a shortage.
The solution seems obvious: build new apartments and turn existing houses (partially or completely) into suitable student rental property. Unfortunately, things aren’t that simple. The municipal council is currently caught up in a battle between a steering group that tries to come up with solutions to make housing shortage less acute – for example by placing prefab houses near the Berenkuil – and another group on the council that works on the so-called thirty-meter rule. This new rule dictates that it is not allowed for a house with room rental to be located within thirty meters of another house with room rental. The idea behind it is to prevent problems in the neighborhood from occurring.
René van den Nieuwenhof, spokesman on behalf of the municipality, had the following to say about this: “These policy measures are intended to make room rental and house splitting possible in a careful manner. That carefulness is necessary in order to prevent nuisance as a result of concentrations of student houses. They also need to meet spatially relevant conditions, such as the exact dimensions. And it has to be legal, that means with the correct permit.” However, during a consultation meeting, DAS Eindhoven argued that students aren’t responsible for neighborhood nuisance, and pointed out that there is no convincing evidence to substantiate this claim.
It should be clear to everyone that such a rule will significantly increase student housing shortage. Looking towards the future, the problems will be even more significant, since our Executive Board aims to realize further growth. Within a few years, your younger brother, sister, nephew or niece may not be able to find a room in Eindhoven, which could mean that they can’t study at TU/e. Simply because there aren’t enough rooms.
Do you want to stand up for your interests and address the problem of student housing shortage? Send an email to bestuur@daseindhoven.nl to make your voice heard during consultation meetings with the municipality.
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