Similar to recent years, the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year is being marked by a severe housing crisis, with accommodation costs reaching unsustainable prices, according to a statement sent to Lusa.
According to FAP (Federation of Academic Associations of Porto), citing the Student Housing Observatory, “a room in Porto costs an average of 387 euros,” which means that finding accommodation to study is the “biggest challenge for the 24,000 displaced students in Porto after learning if they were admitted to Higher Education.”
The cost per square meter for student rooms in Porto is around 32 euros, with an average area of about 12 square meters.
FAP President Francisco Fernandes recalls that the lack of beds should not be resolved “from one month to the next,” as there has been a National Plan for Higher Education Accommodation (PNAES) since 2018 that should be followed.
“The implementation of this plan should be completed by 2026, but of the 18,000 beds planned, only a thousand have been finalized,” revealed Francisco Fernandes, lamenting that the shortage of accommodation leads many students to either give up on their chosen college or “make daily trips of several hours because they cannot afford a room in Porto.”
The FAP president states that the measures approved in May by the Council of Ministers for student accommodation do not guarantee accommodation for all displaced students, “as only a structural increase in the supply of beds will decrease demand pressure and stabilize prices.”
To combat this housing crisis, FAP has appealed to Higher Education Institutions to exhaust the seven million euro funding line provided by the Government in Axis 2 of the Youth Measures, increasing the supply of beds in partnership with public, private, and social sector entities.
“This appeal comes as a last attempt to relieve pressure on displaced students, which could ensure fairer and more balanced access to Higher Education,” he stated.
To denounce the student housing crisis, FAP has placed billboards near the Asprela University Campus and the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, with messages such as “With student rooms at 500 euros, all we have left is to live under the bridge” and “If this billboard were a room, it would cost 770 euros per month.”
