About 40,000 students taking up courses in Ghent, are not staying in local student digs. Prices for a room have gone up 120 euros in two years' time to reach 523 euros per month on average. 37 percent of the students say that this the main reason why they commute to university each day.
The figures were revealed by a large-scale poll organised by the city of Ghent, universities and high schools. About 8,000 students took part.
There are an estimated 85,000 students in Ghent. Just over half of them are not staying in local student digs. This is because it is simply too expensive (37 percent), because they don't want to or they are not allowed to (32 percent) or because they can't find a room (7 percent). A quarter of the respondents does not mention a specific reason.
The average student digs will set tenants back 523 euros. This is compared to the maximum of 445 euros that students (or their parents) are willing to pay.
Impact on the local housing market
The number of students in Ghent is ballooning. The growth goes at a rate 10 times faster than capacity is improving.
Students are seeking other solutions, but this impacts on housing for "normal" local residents. Students rent a private apartment or a house together to turn it into student digs, which ups the pressure on the local housing market, pushing up local real estate prices.
The city of Ghent is taking the problem seriously and is set to announce measures.