Many students in Nijmegen are once again spending more on housing this year. The average room price in the private market in Nijmegen increased by 12.8 percent over the past year, according to figures from the rental website Kamernet. Prices at SSH& are rising less sharply: by 4 percent.

The latest Kamernet Rental Report shows that room prices in the most popular student cities in the Netherlands have increased by 5.4 percent compared to last year. In Amsterdam, you pay the most for a room: an average of 961 euros, followed by Utrecht (837 euros) and Rotterdam (770 euros). The average price of a Kamernet room in Nijmegen is now 552 euros.

Smaller supply

Students in the relatively small student cities of Zwolle and Breda are spending nearly 30 percent more on a room this year than they did last year. In Breda, a student room on Kamernet now costs an average of 670 euros per month, and in Zwolle, it is 578 euros. The cheapest places to live are Wageningen, Enschede, and Leeuwarden, where a room costs 354, 366, and 406 euros per month, respectively.

The rental prices for one-bedroom apartments increased nationally by 3.9 percent, and studio prices by 4.6 percent. In Nijmegen, the price of a one-bedroom apartment increased by 4.6 percent to 1,156 euros, but the price of self-contained studios decreased by 5.2 percent to 776 euros.

While the demand for rooms is high, the supply is actually decreasing, Kamernet observes. According to the website, this is the main reason why student room prices are rising across the country. From March to June, the period when students typically search for housing for the upcoming academic year, the supply on Kamernet was 7.6 percent lower than last year.

SSH&

Kamernet’s research only considers student housing offered on its own platform. In Nijmegen, many students also rent from the housing corporation SSH&. The prices for this type of housing are not included in the research and are generally much lower than private rentals.

SSH& rents out more than 4,000 rooms and over 2,000 self-contained units in Nijmegen, making it the largest student housing provider in the city. SSH& also plans to build an additional 1,000 student units over the next ten years. The allocation of these rooms and units is largely done through a lottery system.

‘We are never allowed to charge a rent higher than the maximum rent limit.’

‘On July 1, 2024, the basic rent for a room was on average 315 euros, and for a studio or apartment, 450 euros,’ says an SSH& spokesperson. ‘Compared to a year ago, the increase in basic rent for our tenants was around 4 percent.’

For many rooms and apartments, SSH& provides gas, water, and electricity, and the foundation also offers services like internet connection and cleaning: the service costs. ‘The basic rent and service costs together make up the gross rent. On July 1, 2024, the gross rent for a room was on average 460 euros, and for a studio or apartment, 605 euros.’

An additional advantage of renting with SSH& is that tenants often qualify for housing allowance. ‘This ranges from a few dozen euros per month for rooms to up to 300 euros per month for apartments,’ the spokesperson said. ‘Moreover, the maximum rent that we, as a social housing corporation, are allowed to charge is determined by the government. We are never allowed to charge a rent higher than this maximum rent limit.’

Translated by Lieke Stevens