The start of studies is fast approaching, and this week is the big move-in week for most new students. However, several of the larger study cities report a dormitory crisis. Ine Othilie Been is one of the students who received the keys to her student accommodation on Monday. – I’ve lived here in Trondheim for a year already, but now I’m changing dorms, she says. The Student Association in Trondheim (SiT) has created a new booking system for searching for dormitories. This has meant that SiT no longer has a queue system. She brings a lot of luggage into the empty apartment. Been has several friends who are about to start studying, and she thinks that there are better housing options in Trondheim. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news Book yourself The new system is based on them posting dormitories that are available on the website. You have to follow when the dormitory you want becomes available. Then it is the first-come, first-served principle that determines who gets housing. This way they avoid waiting lists and queues. Been will be moving into one of SiT’s dormitories, but finding accommodation was not as easy as she imagined. Tina Landfastøien is satisfied with the new system. SiT nevertheless wants to build more housing in the long term, and aims to cover 20 percent of housing for students in Trondheim. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news – It was a bit of work. I knew very early on that I was going to change dorms and move in with my boyfriend in a couple’s dorm, but they changed the system early this year so that you had to book accommodation yourself. It then became a bit of work to follow the website and wait for something to become available, because it was not easy. It took quite a long time, she says. SiT itself has the impression that it has worked well. – There are fewer inquiries from students. In previous years, many people have asked when they will receive a response to their application. Perhaps they have been waiting for an answer from us for half a year. Now you know right away. Will I get housing or not? It is a little more predictable now, says Tina Landfastøien. She is head of residential lettings in SiT. On their website, several homes are listed that will be available from 30 September. This is because students who get accommodation with them have two months’ notice. – If you want to book a property that is available a little further in time, but want to move in earlier, then you can contact the customer center here and ask. Then we investigate it. Here, the future students are given the keys to their student accommodation. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news Many students in queues in other parts of the country Although SiT does not have a queue system, several other student associations around the country report that they have long waiting lists for student accommodation. news has compiled an overview of the number of students on the waiting list at the student associations in the larger study cities. 6431 in Oslo 2500 in Bergen 1350 in Tromsø 695 in Stavanger 334 in Kristiansand and Grimstad – We are back at the level that was before the pandemic, says Gunn Kirsti Løkka, director of housing in the student association in Oslo (SiO). They are full now, but according to Løkka, the queue is still moving a little. – I would encourage students who start their house hunt to have ice in their stomachs, she says. Marita Monsen is communications manager at Sammen, which is the Student Union in Western Norway. She says that the numbers can be a bit misleading. – Many people get housing on the private market, without canceling their application with us, so it is in there, says Monsen and continues: – But there are a lot of students who are queuing and we are actually quite worried that is such a high number that stands without student accommodation. We know that the private market in Bergen is under quite a bit of pressure. There are high prices and a lot of money. Safety net for those who do not get housing SiT, together with Trondheim municipality, has long had a safety net for those students who do not get housing in time before the start of their studies. It’s called a “roof over the head”. They operate with a guarantee that people will be given a temporary place to live. They are open from 8 August to 1 September. – There is always someone who needs a roof over their head, and it is now in the first month that the need is there, says Ronny Geiger, who is the housing environment coordinator in SiT and is responsible for Roof over the head. Ronny Geiger says that it is necessary to have a little patience with the housing situation. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news For the time being, there is not that much demand with them, but Geiger expects greater demand in time. He asks the students to lower their shoulders. – Eventually, everyone will get a dormitory, we have never experienced that someone has not got one, he says.
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Many are on the waiting list for student accommodation in Norway. Trondheim has a new system that prevents queues – news Trøndelag
