The first years seem to beat a record in numbers this autumn. A high youth unemployment and unusual high number of high school graduates are the main reasons.
No new student apartments have been built
What is making the whole thing even worse is that last year was also a record year in the number of first years starting to study in Stockholm. They have either filled the student apartments or are still in the housing queue.
No new student apartment buildings have been built in Stockholm for several years. This makes the situation even worse for the new-comers.
According to Svenska Dagbladet, 52,200 are now in the student housing queue in Stockholm. This is an increase from around 44,000 last year and from around 25,000 in 2007. Naturally the waiting time has been longer during this period. Three years ago, there were three months waiting time for a room in a student dorm. Today the waiting time is 12-15 months for a dorm and longer for a flat with private kitchen.
The housing crisis may create alienation and bad results
The difficult housing situation in Stockholm and other big university cities according to Elisabeth Gehrke, vice chairman in Sweden's student's union.
- We see a danger that the housing crisis will create alienation. In the cities in which the situation is the worst, it is also more expensive with flats which are not normally for students (like in Stockholm*). This leads to a situation where students with a strong social background will make it easier because they will get economic help or find a flat through one of their contacts, says Elisabeth Gehrke to SvD.
Another effect of the housing crisis is potentially bad study results. It is not unlikely that students who have serious problems with their housing situation will feel psychological stress and perform worse. It is not uncommon in the classical student cities as Lund and Uppsala that two persons share one room according to SvD.