International students in Europe are faced with an average annual 14.5% price increase across all rental property types.
The HousingAnywhere International Rent Index by City report published its results from the first quarter of 2022 which looks at one-bedroom apartments, studios, and private rooms across 22 European cities. Hence Rental Costs for International Students are Rising Across Europe
The report found Paris to be the most expensive city in Europe for both a private room and a one-bedroom apartment with the latter costing, on average, a staggering €1,978 per month in rent, closely followed by London at €1,940.
While the rental housing shortage persists, demand from renters continues to rise, driven by the ending of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and the return of international student mobility.
“Since most travel restrictions have been lifted, demand for rental properties has been rising fast, resulting in an overstrained rental market,” said Djordy Seelmann, CEO of HousingAnywhere.
For many international students, the space which a private one-bedroom apartment offers is a luxury that they cannot afford. Instead, many choose studio apartments or house shares as more affordable options.
Hannah Jones, originally from Edinburgh in Scotland, is studying a master’s degree in Education Sciences in Paris and told that she feels that she has an exceptionally good deal, paying €550 per month for a private room in a shared apartment.
According to the report, Jones’ rent is significantly below average with the average monthly cost for a private room in Paris being €789.
Unfortunately for students like Jones, the report indicates the year-on-year increase for all property types across all cities, which exceeds pre-pandemic prices, including a 12% increase for private rooms and 16.2% for studios.
“I think the rent prices are extremely high in Paris compared to other cities in France and although the prices may be only just affordable, the apartments are usually very small and in bad condition,” added Jones.
“The rental market is extremely competitive and it’s very hard to find an apartment. As a foreigner and a student who doesn’t earn three times the rent, most landlords are not at all interested in letting to you.” Jones is eligible for Caisse des Allocations Familiales (known as CAF), the French government’s housing allowance which covers students. However, since applying for support six months ago, she has not received any money.
Elsewhere, Amsterdam has shown almost double the average quarterly increase for each type of accommodation with a 10.8% increase for apartments, 9.2% for studios and 7.7% for private rooms.
According to HousingAnywhere, “the stress level is expected to intensify even further as the rental market enters its traditional peak season in the next quarters”.
Seelmann added that “as cities struggle to develop and implement long-term strategies that combat the imbalance of supply and demand, the lack of available, affordable and accessible rentals is likely to continue”.
Throughout the report, the only yearly price decrease found was for private rooms in Helsinki and Brussels which saw decreases of 5.9% and 1.1%, respectively.
Market intelligence and advisory firm BONARD noted that purpose-built student accommodation, however, “remains affordable”.
Overall, rents have been increasing steadily since 2019, Bonard said. Most cities in Europe showed a single-digit increase in 2021, with the exception of Groningen (10%), Amsterdam (12%), Barcelona (22%), and Krakow (69%). Milan and Hamburg instead have seen their private PBSA rents decrease by 5% and 3% respectively.
Editor’s Note: It seems with the Coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine-Russian War, the rental costs, as well as living costs for international students, are on the rise across Europe for international students. That means Universities and European Agencies should find a way to provide extra support to international students as international students create diversity and cultural exchange to Europe as well as to provide high-level brain transfer.