An estimated 700 international students are currently waiting for housing. However, the university housing guarantee has now been postponed for at least two years, and even the temporary solutions are expected to be put off longer than anticipated.
Since last year, nine universities in Sweden have received more open abilities to rent out rooms and apartments to all students, and not just internationals as before. Lund University’s vice-chancellor Per Eriksson is aiming to almost double the total number of living spaces, provided by the university’s student dormitories, which today amount to 1100.
– Either this will be solved with currently available living spaces or with further constrution, says Susanna Hansson, student coordinator with the City of Lund and Lund University.
Per Eriksson, how are the thousand new living spaces coming along?
– We are in dialogue with Lunds nation, Helsingkrona nation, AF Bostäder, and private entrepeneurs on construction of several hundred residences each, explains Per Eriksson, vice-chancellor of Lund University.
Yet, a housing guarantee through 2013, which Per Eriksson aimed for a year ago, now appears to be postponed until 2015 or 2016. The reason for this is that it takes time to get authorization plan, and finally build, according to Per Eriksson.
– What worries me most is mostly the concern regarding temporary solutions.
Temporary solutions difficult to get underway
As an emergency response to the urgent housing shortage, Per Eriksson has called for assemble modules, “quite nice but simple” living spaces, which will stay for five to ten years.
– Unfortunately, these goals have not been reached because it does not work economically over a longer period of time, and it is difficult to find someone willing to build them. But we should still push for this. I want to see some of these modules by next fall.
What kind of a push?
– We will have to add a separate resource in order to get these modules set up. A person who is using a significant portion of their time, at least part-time, to see too it that these modules get finished.
There are currently a few gray, wooden buildings at Ideon on land that is owned by Akademiska hus, and one goal is to have at least 50-100 module living spaces there instead by next fall.
– I may have underestimated the difficulties with these modules. We probably should have put more time into this issue than before, says Per Eriksson.
Text: Cinna Gärdenfors
Translation: An Holmqvist
