The Pnrr allocates about one billion euros (960 million) for student housing, assigned to the Ministry of University and Research with the aim of increasing the number of beds, providing for a reform aimed at encouraging the involvement of private capital. To bring the offer of university accommodation to the best European standards (coverage rate equal to at least 20% of non-resident students) it would be necessary to increase the current allocation of about 100 thousand beds. This number, already significant, should be revised upwards in consideration of the expected growth of non-resident students enrolled in the country’s universities in the coming years. This is what is highlighted by an analysis by CDP, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, entitled “Student housing: what future between public and private?”.
Strategic dossier
The document studies the need for student accommodation in Italian university cities, focusing in particular on the potential demand for beds, the private rental market and the dynamics of the off-site student population. The theme of the improvement of housing for university students is functional to the development of qualified human capital and to the overcoming of social and economic inequalities.
Where we are
In a context in which the stock of enrolled students remained substantially unchanged, between 2015 and 2019, the number of non-resident students grew steadily, from 784,000 to over 830,000. The major university cities of the North such as Milan, Turin and Bologna were the driving force, but also cities that host smaller centers, such as Ferrara or Modena. Despite the Covid pandemic, the trend has remained the same: in the academic year 2020/2021, in fact, out of over 34,000 (34,778) new students enrolled in Milan, 22,000 (22,668) were out of office (over 65%). Even more emblematic are the cases of Pisa and Ferrara, where off-site workers represent about 80% of new registrations. On the other hand, in Italy there is a structural shortage of beds: the overall offer of beds for out-of-seat students amounts to approximately 62 thousand units, of which over 90% in public or affiliated structures (this is the so-called “institutional offer” ). The current availability of student accommodation therefore covers less than 8% of out-of-home offices.
Comparison with France, Germany and Spain
It is a value – notes the Cdp report – «clearly lower than that recorded in France (23%), Germany (14%) and Spain (11%). France, for example, boasts around 365,000 beds in university student residences. This is a level 6 times higher than that of Italy, compared to a university population only 0.4 times larger. In Spain, compared to a student body similar to the Italian one, there are almost 50% more beds (91 thousand).
Urgent university accommodation in Milan, Turin. Rome and Bologna
The need is particularly urgent in large metropolitan areas (Milan, Turin, Rome, Bologna) and in the university cities of the Center-North. The measures envisaged by the NRP, according to CDP analysts, respond to two circumstances: the increase in out-of-office students recorded in recent years and the structural shortage of housing in university residences. Analyzed on the basis of three key factors – potential demand for beds, the private rental market and dynamics of the student population outside the home – the need for student accommodation is particularly urgent in the university cities of the Center-North and, in particular, in large metropolitan areas. : the gap estimated in Milan is about 16 thousand beds, just under 7 thousand in Turin, Bologna and Rome respectively.