After a number of turbulent Covid years – including the enormous shortage of rooms in 2021 – it would appear that the situation is ‘normal’ again, says Maurice Evers, head of Maastricht Housing. “That is to say, there will be some tight situation in September, because not all graduates will have vacated their rooms yet. So, especially new students who started their search at the last minute – and who, despite the many warnings still arrive in Maastricht ‘roomless’ – will encounter problems.”
Before the pandemic, this usually sorted itself by October. Evers is expecting the same this year. “Of course, we can always be taken by surprise. But at the moment, there are few people asking us to help find them a place. Which is a good sign.”
Stroke of luck
This means that the situation is more favourable than was feared before the summer. Delays in construction of the new student complex Muse – 506 studios on the site of the former post office on the Duboisdomein – were a considerable letdown, says Evers. “The completion was planned for the beginning of September, but due to delays in the delivery of building materials, this will not happen.” An acute problem, as UM is assuming that it needs about 450 new units every year to prevent a shortage of accommodation.
Such shortages now seem to have been averted, because there was also some unexpected luck. One hundred and twelve student homes appeared on the Parkweg, which were not expected to have been finished until next year. The ‘container homes’ on the Sorbonnelaan also help: partly due to the late completion last year, there were still some hundred vacant studios of the total of 850. “Both locations are now completely full.”
Heerlen
Furthermore, Evers sees that ‘the region’ appears to be playing an increasingly important role. Last year, Sittard provided relief with about 220 new student homes, this time it’s Heerlen’s turn. There are still dozens of rooms available there in The Grand Student Hall. In addition, about 350 studios will be created in a new student complex in the coming years. The first 141 of those will already be completed by next month. “Although we are also focusing on students in both Aachen and Heerlen, the majority has already been rented out to UM students,” says Lodewijk van Grootel from letter Live & Be. “So, they certainly manage to find their way to Heerlen.”
That is a positive thing, Evers reckons. “We will also continue to need those cities in the future to house all UM students. At the same time, it is important to find travel solutions, possibly even at a provincial level. The travel time is not bad, but for many students the high travelling expenses are a thorn in their sides.”
Apart Hotel
The last bit of luck: until the end of the year, about 150 students can be housed at the Apart Hotel in Randwyck. This location was owned by the Maastricht School of Management before MSM was taken over by UM last year. “The hotel, however, does not fit in with our portfolio, so it will be sold,” says Evers. “The new owner is fortunately prepared to rent out the student rooms for another few months.”
After that, there will be space, at any rate, for these students at the delayed Muse, of which the 506 homes are now expected to become available in October and November. “For those, 350 had expressed an interest, but most likely a large number of them will have found something else,” says Evers. “The Apart Hotel is within walking distance, so they can almost move on foot.”