Difficult Choice for Students in Coimbra: Rent or School

We often talk about the housing crisis we are experiencing throughout Portugal, especially here in Lisbon. We all feel in our bones how difficult life has become, as finding a house and rents have increased. But unfortunately, young people are among those who pay the heaviest price for this crisis. A research I came across recently clearly revealed how annoying the situation has become in Coimbra, the country's most established student city. One quarter of the young people who come to the city with the dream of university are considering dropping out of school just because of the increasing costs.

The Battle for Just One Room

Let's remember our student years; It is always difficult to balance the budget by the end of the month. But according to a survey of more than a thousand students conducted by the Academic Association of Coimbra (AAC) in August, the work has gone far beyond balancing the budget. The average room rent in the city has increased to 312 Euros. In fact, two-thirds of students pay 300 Euros or more for just one room. Add in food, transportation and course materials, and it's not hard to understand why 25 percent of students are considering suspending their enrollment or dropping out of school altogether. More than half of the students had to change their school or city preferences just because of these prices.

Life Without Contracts and Security

The most dangerous aspect of the matter is how these young people are sheltered. Approximately 32 percent of those surveyed do not even have a formal rental agreement. AAC President José Machado puts his finger on exactly this wound. Students who are careless and try to stay in a room with rent paid in cash are left at the mercy of their landlords; They become completely vulnerable to abuse and the danger of being suddenly kicked out. While the majority of students spend up to 70 percent of their monthly budgets only on accommodation, it is a great contrast that rent support programs do not cover these young people who remain without bills or contracts.

Luxury Dormitories and Foreign Student Dead End

The 50 percent increase in accommodation costs in Coimbra in the last four years is not a situation that can only be explained by inflation. While, on the one hand, efforts to increase the number of state-supported dormitory beds are progressing at a snail's pace, on the other hand, we see that private dormitories dominate the market. Even managers of private university dormitories openly admit that the rental market is unsustainable for Portuguese students. The wheels of the system are designed entirely to attract foreign students with much higher budgets, and this increased capacity does not reduce the prices in the slightest.

Practical suggestions such as activating the Student Accommodation Observatory, establishing a publicly approved accommodation platform or standard rental agreements are now on the table. However, as Machado said, if there is no urgent state intervention in the short term, a historical university city like Coimbra will turn into an unattainable luxury for the youth of its country.

Source: Natasha Donn (Portuguese Resident Newspaper) / Lusa / SIC Notícias

Image Source: Paulo Novais / LUSA (University of Coimbra)