– Yes, here is my bed, I also have a cupboard that I can lock things in. That’s what Adele Thomassen says as she shows off her sleeping space at Sogn student town in Oslo. She shares the dormitory with three other girls. All four are waiting for a permanent place to live. – I applied early, I applied at the beginning of December last year. This week, Thomassen started his lecturer training at the University of Oslo. After eight months on the waiting list, she was told that she had been given student accommodation. Just under a week before the start of studies. She is one of the lucky ones. FINALLY: Here, to Kringsjå studenby, Adele will move. Photo: Audun Braastad / NTB – No reason to give up Too many people still don’t have a place to unpack their suitcases. Right now, 12,590 students are queuing to be allocated a student accommodation in Norway. This is shown by recent figures from the Norwegian Confederation of Trade and Industry. – We of course hope that it will be resolved, says manager Rita Hirsum Lystad. LONG QUEUES: Leader of the Confederation Council Rita Hirsum Lystad asks students without a roof over their heads to keep their spirits up. Photo: Daniel Hong Hansen She asks the students to continue looking for housing, but says that the pressure is high in the big study cities right now. – There is no reason to give up, because there is a private market out there. The private market is larger. While the students are looking for a place to live, more student housing is being built. In total, there are 4,500 student homes on the way in Norway. Lysta believes that the politicians must do more so that the queues will be shorter in the long term. The Swedish Partnership Council is working for the state to pay 40 per cent of the bill. – It is important to us that we build safe and affordable housing, and therefore the subsidy rate must rise to a level that enables us to build these student housing. SHARING: While she waits, Adele shares a room with three other girls in the converted reading room. Photo: news From reading room to dormitory The queue is the longest in Oslo, where almost 5,800 students are on the waiting list. In order to help students without a roof over their heads, the student associations have come up with temporary solutions. In Oslo and Bergen, reading rooms and canteens have been converted into dormitories. Housing director Henrik Graarud at the Students’ Association in Oslo says that Thomassen and 23 other students have slept at Sogn student town so far this week. GOOD OFFER: Housing director in SiO Henrik Graarud is happy that they can offer students without a roof over their heads a place to sleep. Photo: Petter Sandberg / SiO – We think it is a very good offer, and we also get a lot of good feedback from those who live there. Fortunately, it works out for the vast majority in the end, according to the director of housing. – It is also an idea to expand the search. Don’t necessarily just look at housing in the center of Oslo, but look a little outside. – Gets a good night’s sleep While Adele Thomassen is waiting for her student accommodation at Kringsjå to be ready, she sleeps in the dormitory at Sogn student town. Starting her studies in a dormitory was not what Adele Thomassen had envisioned. She was afraid that it would be noisy to sleep in the same room as strangers. – It is very quiet and peaceful here. Can sleep well at night. MORE: Adele will soon not have to share a bathroom with 17 other students. Photo: news The long waiting lists mean that many students have to rent on the private market. Thomassen considered the same. – But the standard is not always as high, at least in my opinion. It is also very expensive. Fortunately, things worked out for Thomassen in the end. In the meantime, she is happy that she has a place to sleep. – There are many students who are in the same situation as me, or an even worse situation. I am lucky to have been given housing. Published 15.08.2024, at 06.59
ttn-69
– I applied at the beginning of December – Greater Oslo
