Porto: More Student Housing Needed!

24 September 2017

The Academic Federation of Porto (FAP) warned today of the need to create programs, alternatives and more university residences to help students who do not have the financial wherewithal to compete with rental prices that are being fuelled by an influx of tourists.

FAP and the individual student associations “are receiving worrisome reports” said Ana Maria Luísa, president of the Academic Federation of Porto, to the news agency Lusa.  She also said that she is aware of students who are “facing difficulties finding housing” and who feel that “prices are higher for the same types of accommodation.”

Less than €300/room/month … is impossible

Prices for student rooms in Porto are higher than in the past, with rents above 300 euros, and pressure from tourism is the main culprit, principally hurting the neediest students, the executive contends.

“We do not have data on average prices because it depends on what type of accommodation we are talking about – single room, studios or one-bedrooms – with or without added expenses. However, we believe we are talking about values sometimes well above 250 or 300 euros per month per student. ”

To cope with the increasing “pressure on housing” it is “necessary to create programs and alternatives directed at students to prevent the situation from becoming unsustainable”, warns the president of the FAP, warning that, in the long run “the social services arms of institutions of higher education will have to increase the number of residences that they provide.”

University of Porto: 30,000 students

“If we want students to continue their studies through higher education we also need to ensure that they have the conditions to stay. The demand for housing is too constrained by the lack of supply and, as always, the most disadvantaged students are the first to be harmed,” she says.

The University of Porto (U. Porto), which has about 30,000 students, currently can accommodate around 4% of the total in student residences, where students pay around 70 euros per month.

Data provided by the U. Porto’s public relations office indicates that the institution has “nine university residences,” with a capacity to accommodate 1,192 students, and has only managed to respond to some of the students with complicated social conditions.

“Typically, an undergraduate student who has the right of residence is a social action grant holder, paying a monthly fee of 73.73 euros. This amount is included in the monthly scholarship that is awarded to the student for the services of the ministry, “explained the U. Porto source.

University is working to increase housing, but resources are scarce …

The U. Porto is executing works on the Alberto Amaral residence that will create another 112 for university students from September 2018, which means an increase of about 10% in the number of beds for students who want to live in university residences, the same source of U. Porto public relations told Lusa. The Alberto Amaral residence, on Rua D. Pedro V, currently the capacity for 220 beds.

“The project is still receiving bids for the construction works,” and if there are no unforeseen events during the process, “construction is expected to start later this year,” U. Porto’s source told Lusa.

The contract is part of an investment plan of 45 million euros for upgrading assets belonging to the U. Porto, which was announced by the rector on March 23rd of this year.

In December 2016, the municipal company Sociedade de Reabilitação Urbana (SRU) Porto Vivo, announced that it was launching a competition to build and operate a residence for 120 students in Sé, in the historic centre of Porto.

Original Story: Lusa / Diário Imobiliário

Translation: Richard Turner