Rising Rent Prices & Lack of Accommodation Causes Difficulties for Students in Portugal

A housing “crisis” in Portugal seems to have also affected students in the country because the latter are having difficulties in finding a place to stay.

João Caseiro, the president of the Academic Association of Coimbra, a student union in Portugal, said that students are struggling to find accommodation because of the high rent prices and lack of housing in the country. He said there had been a great demand for accommodation from students and their families in the summer months.

“They are experiencing a lot of difficulties, because the rents are high and the supply is very small,” the President of the Coimbra Academic Association was quoted as saying by The Portugal News.

In an interview with Lusa agency, he highlighted that the average monthly rentals in Portugal increased by 10 percent, explaining further that in Coimbra, the average monthly rent is currently €270 to €290. He added that the rent earlier stood at about €200 per month.

“The average value of a room has gone up a lot and becomes heavy on the pockets of students’ families, which can be reflected in a greater school dropout,” he stressed.

The newspaper reports that Caseiro, among other things, called on the government to take measures in this regard and see what is happening with the rental market in the country in order to help students who are struggling to find housing.

He mentioned several options that the Academic Association of Coimbra has to help students find accommodation, including guiding students to university residences or through “the certified habitability project.” However, Caseiro emphasized that there are not enough beds in the university residences for a city with a total of 25,000 university students.

Similarly, the housing crisis has affected students in other world countries, including the Netherlands, Ireland, and Germany.

In July, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) advised all international students not to head to the capital without finding accommodation beforehand. It noted that the university’s accommodation request list was full.

>> University of Amsterdam Worried Over Increase in Number of Int’l Students

In an attempt to alleviate the accommodation crisis, the Dutch government presented a plan which foresees the construction of 60,000 student homes in the Netherlands between the years 2022 and 2030. This plan was launched in cooperation with students, municipalities, private investors, educational institutions, and housing associations.

In Ireland, international students were forced to sleep in clubs due to the lack of accommodation, while some other students also had to sleep in the streets or cars after failing to find a place to stay.

Recently, the French Embassy in Ireland warned students about the housing crisis in Ireland and advised them to be vigilant about rental scams and not sign contracts or pay for the housing if they haven’t met the owner or seen the accommodation in advance.

It has been reported that student housing is also high-priced in Germany, and even shared accommodation is becoming unaffordable for students in the country.

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