– There is full action with us at the moment, says Elisabeth Faret, head of the Student Union in Stavanger (SIS). When the students got an answer a few days ago about where they entered, the already great demand for housing exploded. – Then there was chaos on the phone. There were quite a few stressed students and parents, says Faret. Several hundred students are now on a waiting list to live in student housing. – Many students call in and are distraught, but what do they say to them? – We tell them that it is ONS in Stavanger. ONS usually creates trouble with residents. Elisabeth Faret says many students work hard to make ends meet. There hasn’t been this much pressure since 2014, before the oil price fell: – The students are desperate for housing, she says. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news The new student residences on campus in Stavanger accommodate a number, but hundreds are still on waiting lists. There is such a shortage at most of the study centers in the country. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news An influx of wealthy people There is red-hot activity in the Norwegian oil industry at the moment and petroleum activity is at a record high. Oil – and the money – is flowing in. Offshore Northern Seas (ONS), or the oil fair, as it is better known as, takes place every autumn in Stavanger. Top business leaders from all over the world come here. During these four or five days, two-room apartments in Stavanger can be rented out for anything from NOK 10,000 to closer to NOK 50,000 on Airbnb. At Finn, find a flat that is available from and including the days after ONS is over – in other words, they are occupied until then. Faret says it is quite typical for the years when there is an oil fair that the private rental market is vacuumed. Mass will be around the start of studies. – We say: find a friend or someone you know with whom you can share a room, at least until August. Post ads. Maybe you can find someone who can house you, at least for a month, says Faret. But after the mass is over, times quickly become easier for the students. – From September onwards things will be fine, especially because ONS is over, she says. The oil fair, or ONS, is known for pushing prices up significantly in the rental market in Stavanger during the week it is on. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news Must have a plan b Jens Martin Bendiksen is among those on the waiting list for a place in student accommodation at the university in the oil city. He is scheduled to study pedagogy in a few weeks – as long as he finds a place to live. – I have always had good experiences with the Student Association. If you come in there, you are on safe terms. Before I finished my master’s degree in Oslo, I submitted an application to them in Stavanger. Jens Martin Bendiksen says it is expensive to rent in Stavanger, but since he has lived in Oslo until now, most things are more reasonable. Photo: Privat But as Bendiksen is not a first-year student, he is a bit behind in the queue to get student accommodation. With Dimed, he is now on the lookout for the private housing market as well. He understands why private landlords might want to keep their apartments after the oil fair – there is something to gain from that. – It is completely understandable that they do that, says Bendiksen. He nevertheless has good faith that he will be able to move to Stavanger and continue his studies. – It is expensive, but it looks like we might find a solution to it. We can only cross our fingers and hope. The Student Association in Stavanger has previously said that they want over 12,000 student housing on campus by 2025. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news – Welcome a student Elisabeth Faret is not sure how to handle the many students who will soon come to the city. She says that in previous years they have set up camp beds in gymnasiums to give everyone a place to sleep, but that this is the last resort. – If they have a room, I recommend that they post it and tell the university that they have it. Accept a student, it will only be for a few weeks, says Faret. – Show care for our students. We need them in Stavanger, we need everyone we can get, says Elisabeth Faret. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Communications director at ONS, Inger Johanne Stenberg, says that the oil fair – or the energy fair as she prefers to call it – sees less activity when it comes to housing than before. – We know there is always great interest in renting out housing through ONS, but we have noticed a decline here. Among other things because there is a better choice of hotels now than before. We also know that many of those who rent out through ONS are private individuals who are staying in the cabin or elsewhere that particular week and who initially would not have rented out to students, says Stenberg, who hopes that many students will visit ONS.
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The oil fair in Stavanger creates trouble for students who want to rent a place to live – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
