Rovaniemi’s 170 new student homes will not meet demand

Rovaniemi’s 170 new affordable student homes, due to be completed next year, will not be enough to meet demand, but they are a good start, the rector of the University of Lapland told Yle.

Rector Antti Syväjärvi raised the city’s student housing shortage in his speech at the university’s academic year opening ceremony on Monday.

More than 600 higher education students are currently waiting for accommodation through Domus Arctica, a student housing foundation, while dozens are staying in emergency accommodation arranged by the University of Lapland Student Union.

“An affordable home is one of the basic conditions for a good life,” Syväjärvi said. He added that students were not looking for luxury, but for safe, good-quality basic housing that forms an important part of the student experience.

The new apartments will be built in Rantavitikka, next to the University of Lapland and the university of applied sciences. “They will not be enough, but it is a good start,” Syväjärvi said.

More apartment buildings for students are also being planned in Rantavitikka and are expected to be completed by the end of the decade. Syväjärvi said he would like the district to develop into Rovaniemi’s “Silicon Valley” and a dedicated area for higher education students.

The university is working closely with the city and student organisations on the issue. Syväjärvi said the groups had joined forces two and a half years ago and meet regularly to prepare measures.

Syväjärvi also appealed to tourists to stay mainly in hotels or resorts, and to landlords to rent homes to students. He said short-term rentals to tourists were one factor contributing to Rovaniemi’s housing shortage.

Rovaniemi has about 11,000 higher education students and a population of approximately 65,000.