Municipal council sees smaller student rooms as a solution to housing shortage

The action plan for student housing, adopted by the municipality of Utrecht last year, stipulates that a student room must be at least 14 square metres wide, with a common space of at least 3 square meters per unit. The rule only applies to new student rooms, so it has no consequences for existing rooms. The measure aims to ensure that students have a reasonable space to live.

But there is a dilemma, according to municipal councillor Berdien van der Wilt (D66). She argues that the requirement of 14 square metres would reduce the number of student rooms newly-built houses could offer. In her view, this would be counterproductive in a city that suffers from a significant student room shortage. Last spring, Utrecht was estimated to have 6,000 fewer student rooms than it needs.

That's why she would like to lower the minimum requirement in some cases. More specifically, she is considering SSH's plans for IBB, a substantial student housing complex which is due for a thorough renovation that will replace old buildings with new ones. It is still unknown when the renovation works will start and what IBB will ultimately look like, but one thing is for certain: adopting a minimum requirement of 12 square metres instead of 14 would make a difference in terms of how many rooms SSH would be able to rent. Many of IBB's current rooms are 12 square metres in size. Those rooms were built when the 14-square-metre requirement did not exist yet.

Van der Wilt submitted a motion on this matter alongside parties EenUtrecht, Student&Starter, Horizon and Volt. The motion states that the minimum requirement of 14 square meters should be abandoned in IBB's case, on the condition that SSH will build more student rooms. 

A heated debate ensued in the council. “It is a bit like choosing between two evils,” Maarten van Heuven, from the Party for the Animals, is quoted by the local newspaper AD Utrechts Nieuwsblad as saying. “We're running the risk of having a sliding scale in which the requirements will only get lower and lower.” The Christian Democratic Party (CDA) fears that students will be housed in "chicken coops". The parties in favour of lowering the requirement aim to underscore the need for more rooms. “We know that many students don't mind a 12 square-metre room,” argues Tess Meerding, from VVD.

The council could not decide on an initial vote held early in July. There was an equal number of members in favour of the motion as there were members against it. A week later, when more members were present, the municipal council held another vote and the motion was adopted with a minimal majority.

A spokesperson for SSH says that the organisation welcomes the motion because it opens up more possibilities.