- Student
- 08/09/2026
Housing shortage: “I realized I had to invest more”
Although the supply of student housing from private landlords has declined sharply, the national shortage remains stable at around 20,000 units. The housing shortage in Eindhoven is expected to remain high in the coming years. Three students share their experiences searching for a room in the city.
This year, the shortage of student housing is estimated at 20,200 units, according to the National Student Housing Monitor. That is comparable to last year, even though the expectation was that the shortage would increase significantly as private landlords sold their properties. New tax rules have made renting out properties less profitable. According to the monitor, more than 32,000 fewer students have been living in privately rented rooms since 2024.
Yet the shortage decreased by 1,300 housing units last year. According to Kences, the knowledge center behind the monitor, this is due to a demographic decline in the number of Dutch students. Dutch students are also less likely to live independently. Over the past eight years, the share has fallen from 50 to 43 percent. The total influx of international students is also declining slightly.
“I tried everything“
The housing shortage makes finding accommodation difficult for many students. For students at TU/e, too, finding housing in time remains a challenge.
That was the case for Karla Barrios, a master's student in Built Environment. She started looking for housing in August. “I tried everything, from Kamernet to Funda. I even paid for a few websites so I would have more options.”
Despite her efforts, the Guatemalan student was unable to find housing in time. “Eventually, I found a hotel with studio-like rooms. I’m staying there temporarily.” Barrios has already extended her stay there several times while continuing to look for permanent housing.
Kences would like to see more housing units built on campus sites. The knowledge center is also calling for the abolition of the corporate income tax on housing associations. Kences estimates that the additional financial resources this would generate could be used to build around 15,000 to 25,000 additional student homes. Since the signing of the National Student Housing Action Plan in 2022, social student housing providers have built nearly 5,000 new student homes per year.
Eindhoven
According to the monitor, nearly 14,000 students in Eindhoven currently live independently. They have an average monthly disposable budget of 1,290 euros, just below the national average of 1,340 euros.
The majority rent rooms, for which students pay an average of 515 euros per month. Students in Eindhoven spend 42 percent of their budget on housing costs, one percentage point below the national average.
”I couldn’t start the degree without housing”
Czech first-year Electrical Engineering student Nic Topolánek began actively searching for housing in Eindhoven in early May. He responded to numerous listings but did not receive a single response.
“I had a premium account on one of the websites, but eventually I realized that I couldn’t start the degree I really wanted if I hadn’t found housing by September 1. That was when I realized I had to invest more.”
He decided to hire a rental agent. This cost him as much as twice his monthly rent, but it did result in the apartment he lives in now.
Building projects
The monitor also lists student housing construction plans for different cities. In Eindhoven, 230 student housing units are currently planned through 2030.
That is notable because the municipality of Eindhoven, housing organizations, Brainport Development and educational institutions have set a goal of adding 3,410 student homes by 2028. TU/e is also part of this effort.
Universities cannot legally build housing themselves, but they can cooperate with developers or make land available. Last year, the university signed an agreement of intent for the construction of 5,400 social student homes over a period of eight years.
The monitor only includes plans for which all procedures have been completed and construction can begin in the short term. Kences does not include letters of intent or plans that are not yet considered sufficiently concrete. This may explain why, for example, the construction plans for Hondsheuvels (750 housing units) are not included in the report.
”I'm not really in a position to be picky”
Alan Kyjovský, who is also from the Czech Republic, started looking for housing in May. He is currently in his first year of Mechanical Engineering at TU/e. Kyjovský responded to around 60 rooms but was offered a viewing for only one of them. “At the beginning of August, I registered with several rental agents to see if they could help me further,” Kyjovský says.
Nevertheless, he managed to find a room in time through one of the agents. “I would have preferred to have my own bathroom and kitchen, but unfortunately I couldn’t get that. I’m not really in a position to be picky, and I’m mostly just happy that I have a place here in Eindhoven.”
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