Sven Gatz, Finance and Budget Minister for the Region of Brussels, has confirmed that only 40 of Belgium's most costly student residences are still available.
On Wednesday, Gatz stated that 381 rooms were available to students on 1 September. Two weeks later, 182 remained. Now there are just 40 still available, according to the Mykot.be database which provides information on a total of 3,500 student flats.
Gatz stressed that the website focuses on apartments in the higher price range so does not capture the full scale of student accommodation shortages. However, the lack of affordable rooms which meant that 1,700 VUB students failed to find a flat in August will likely be made worse as more affluent students look more widely for housing.
Furthermore, because students are in a rush to find an apartment, property owners may raise prices to profit from the rise in demand. Student accommodation is already 10% more expensive than last year.
