As Norwegian universities and colleges launched into their autumn terms this week, more than 11,000 students were stuck on waiting lists for housing. A chronic shortage of student housing has been made worse by sky-high prices and rental rates in the private housing market.
This year’s numbers from the Norwegian student organization NSO show an increase of 1,770 students on waiting lists compared to last year. The 11,307 students needing a place to live have emerged despite extra funding from the state to build 2,200 more student housing units this year.
NSO is lobbying for another 3,000 units for next year. “It’s a serious situation when so many students start school without a place to live,” NSO leader Marianne Andenæs stated in a press release this week. She linked the housing shortage to an increase in the overall number of students and problems finding property for new housing projects.
newsinenglish.no staff
