The case in summary: Exchange student Jonathan Dellago from Italy starts the academic year in a dormitory after a month of looking for accommodation. Many students have not found accommodation and have to live in a dormitory, among other places in the staff canteen at Fantoft. Over 15,000 students queued for student housing at the beginning of August, and private landlords have experienced record queues for viewings. Some students went to great lengths financially to get housing, while others chose university accommodation over studies because of the difficult housing market. The offer of mid-term housing is essential in several student towns, and dormitories have also been set up in Oslo and Ås. Jonathan Dellago has found a dormitory to rent on Facebook, and is waiting for it to become available. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. 12 August marks the start of studies throughout the country. In the days before, even the occasional student comes through the doors at Fantoft with moving loads in trolley cases. The tiny student town in Bergen will house around 2,000 students next semester. And those who haven’t found their place – for the time being anyway. Many students around the country have not found a place to live when their studies start. In Bergen, the staff canteen at Fantoft has been converted into a dormitory this year as well. Among those who have thrown out their sleeping bag is the Italian Jonathan Dellago. – I hadn’t chosen this, but it’s going well, he says of the temporary accommodation. After a month, Dellago had still not got a hold of the housing market. Then there was a sleeping bag in the dormitory Photo: Eskil Byrkjeland / news This is the status in Norwegian cities Dellago is studying fine arts at the University of Vienna, but will be on exchange in Bergen this autumn. In the last month, he has been looking for a place to live in the western village, both through the student association and on the private market. – It was a struggle to write to people and hope for a reply, he says of the house hunt. And he is not the only one who has experienced it as a struggle. The offer of mid-term housing is essential in several student towns, confirms the student associations news has been in contact with the weekend before the start of studies: In Oslo, there is not a staff canteen, but a reading room that functions as a dormitory. On the Friday before the start of the semester, 20 people had reserved the 17 beds at various times. In Ås, they have had a dormitory with capacity for around 40 people for the past 15 years. It will also be put into use this year. In Stavanger, they are familiar with the dormitory solution from previous years, but the 27 who have expressed an interest will this year receive interim accommodation in rented double rooms. In Trondheim, students are offered cheaper accommodation in hostels or hotels until August. Similar offers are also available in Tromsø. The Student Association in Vestlandet expanded the dormitory this year and made the employees use their dormitory. Photo: Eskil Byrkjeland / news Many stories about domestic war The situation in the housing market for young people and students has dominated the headlines before the start of studies this year: – I have understood that there has been a problem with housing students in Norway, says Dellago. He himself was glad that he had the dormitory in the back of his mind while he looked for a place to live. – It was good to have a safety net while I looked for other things. I actually suspected that it was a dormitory from the beginning. Photo: Eskil Byrkjeland / news Dormitory out early The staff at the student association in Western Norway were well prepared for the move to the dormitory. Already early in July, they had rigged up a couple of twenty beds in the staff canteen, and expanded this year’s offer with two adjacent meeting rooms. – A total of 25 have expressed an interest in the dormitory, says hall and marketing manager Christina Eikeland in the Student Union in Western Norway. – Some have already found something else and moved out, while others haven’t moved in yet. The employees have taped brown paper on the glass walls to give the students some privacy in the dormitory Photo: Eskil Byrkjeland / Eskil Byrkjeland – Kjempeflaks If necessary, students without housing can live in the dormitory at Fantoft until August, says area manager at Fantoft, Tord Hatland. – In terms of experience, most of them have found something by then, either here with us or privately, he says. But Dellago does not intend to stay in a dormitory for that long. – I was very lucky and found someone on Facebook who wanted to sublet a dormitory while they were on exchange. As soon as it is available, I will move in there. Tord Hatland works to take care of the student residences – and the students, at Fantoft. Photo: Eskil Byrkjeland / news There are several people in the dormitory waiting for their apartment to be ready for moving in, says the art student. – Someone moves in, and someone moves out. Another person here has found a dormitory, but is waiting here for a month before he can move in. The fact that he has to share a room with others during a godfather week with several late evenings, he does not see very darkly. – It will probably go well. We are decent people. Published 11.08.2024, at 22.01
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Jonathan Dellago starts his studies in a dormitory at Sammen in Bergen – news Vestland
