If it were up to Kences, tenants in student houses with shared amenities would recieve a subsidy for their rent, the living allowance. (Photo of student house Het Zaad in Wageningen). Photo Guy Ackermans Stimulating the construction of new so-called non-independent units, student housing with shared amenities such as a kitchen and bathroom is an important topic in the Letter to Parliament ‘state of student housing’ which is to be discussed in the House of Representatives shortly.
In the past few decades, an increasing number of studios are being constructed rather than houses with multiple rooms and shared amenities for students. The rent subsidies form an incentive for the construction of studios as investors can ask more rent for studios than for a room in a student house.
Idealis director and Kences board member Bart van As says this must change. ‘In Wageningen, this is not an issue; we agreed with the municipality to build forty per cent independent units and 60 per cent with shared amenities. That agreement does not only apply to us, but to everyone wanting to build student housing in Wageningen. It is based on the premise that having housemates positively impacts student wellbeing.’
Living allowance
Such agreements have not been made in other cities, Van As says. To ensure more ‘old-fashioned’ student houses are built, Kences is lobbying for a subsidy for student housing projects with shared amenities in The Hague. This should provide project developers with the required financial stimulus.
Kences also calls for a new form of rent allowance for non-independent units, the living allowance. Van As: ‘The living allowance is comparable to the rent allowance, but specifically meant for students living in a house with shared kitchen and/or bathrooms.’
