The Netherlands is appealing as a destination for foreign students. Currently over 1,500 courses in the country are taught in English. Combined with low tuition fees the number of foreign students have risen rapidly, growing by more than half between 2005/06 and 2010/11. The majority of these students are from neighbouring Germany, followed by China.

Student housing in the Netherlands is shared among social housing corporations, the private student housing market, and the open market. Kences is an association of student housing companies, together housing more than 70,000 students, or 16% of those living independently. Taking into account the expected growth in the number of students by 2020, another 80,000 new places for student housing will need to be supplied to meet demand.

The Dutch government has been proactive about increasing the supply of student housing. In November 2011 a plan was implemented to realise 16,000 new rooms by 2016, focussing on the major cities. As a consequence, Amsterdam, the Netherlands' largest student market, is seeing significant new investment, which will aim to deliver the 10,000 student accommodation places required in the period 2010-2014.

By contrast, other university cities, such as Groningen, in the north of the country, only have student housing provision for international students: most students are expected to seek accommodation in the private sector. Utrecht, with a student population second only to Amsterdam, also has extremely limited student housing provision. Cities such as these may offer investment potential.

The Dutch market is gaining investor and developer interest, with a number of new developments and office conversions taking place.

Syntrus Achemea has close to 1,000 student residences in the country. UK based City Living has a project in each of the three largest cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, as well as Liege and soon, Eindhoven. It operates under the ‘Student Hotel’ brand and offers a high level of services and facilities.

The average rent for student accommodation is €100 per week, the highest rates in Utrecht, where the supply is most limited. Rents are typically pegged to inflation, ensuring upward rental growth even during recessionary periods, reinforcing the appeal of the sector.

Taken from
Spotlight: European Student Housing