Inexpensive rooms from student unions ensure that many students survive in the financially lean years. But the energy crisis and inflation do not stop at the doors of the dormitories.
Stuttgart/Mannheim (dpa/lsw) – Not easy times for students: After the corona pandemic, the energy crisis and inflation came, and now the places in the dormitories in the southwest are becoming more expensive. Many student unions are increasing room rents at the turn of the year, according to a survey by the German Press Agency.
“We cannot avoid adjusting the ancillary costs included in our rents as of January 1, 2023,” said the Stuttgart student union, for example. The increases for new contracts amount to an average of 13 percent, existing tenants are spared. The situation in Mannheim is similar. Rents in new contracts have increased by five to ten percent since this winter semester. According to the Studierendenwerk, around 800 people move into the dormitories there each semester.
In other cities such as Freiburg, Heidelberg and Karlsruhe, on the other hand, the rent increases reach all students. On average they are around ten percent. A rent increase for all current contracts “there has never been in this form,” according to Karlsruhe. So far there have only been small increases of five to ten euros for new contracts. In the past five years, the average rental price has risen by just ten euros.
In Freiburg, the rent increases affect almost 6,000 students. You have to pay 25 euros more from the New Year. The reason: Compared to 2021, the electricity and heating costs for a place to live will double in the coming year. But not only that, but general price increases for services, goods or lease payments are also affecting the student unions, according to the information.
In Heidelberg, energy costs will be 25 to 40 percent higher in 2023. A spokesman said that the student union is now forced to increase its rents as well. The amount and the exact time of the new rent is still under discussion, but the start of the increases is planned for spring.
Tübingen swims against the mainstream: “We made a conscious decision not to increase the rent,” said a spokesman for the student union there. However, we continue to monitor the situation.
The student unions surveyed did not register any reactions from the students. The spokeswoman for the plant in Freiburg suspected that this could be due to the fact that the rents for dormitories are much cheaper than on the rest of the market, despite the increases. In addition, students in dormitories do not have to be afraid of additional payments, as the dpa survey showed. As a rule, according to the answers, all costs are covered with your rent including heating.
