Fiers states in her letter that the Brainport knowledge institutes (Eindhoven and surroundings) are ambitious to rank among the world’s top institutes. This would result in attracting many extra (international) students and would thereby substantially increase the demand for good-quality and affordable student dwellings in Eindhoven.
Educational institutes (including TU/e), the municipality of Eindhoven, Eindhoven housing corporations and Stichting Brainport have joined forces in the covenant ‘Housing specification of students of educational institutes and international guests’.
The letter says that local parties are having to contend with financial, statutory and spatial bottlenecks in their efforts to realize proper housing. Restraining factors include the limited number of urban central locations with high land prices, the inability to obtain rent surcharge for rooms, and legislation and regulations regarding building and spatial planning. Allegedly it is financially virtually unfeasible to transform vacant (office) buildings into affordable student housing.
Fiers proposes to the Minister to set up a Student Housing Experiments Steering Committee. The bodies involved would like the bottlenecks to be transformed into stimulating measures and to start a discussion about this matter in the steering committee. (JvG) |