Student Housing Crisis: BAföG Can't Cover Rent in Baden-Württemberg
Students in Baden-Württemberg face a grim housing reality, with the monthly housing cost allowance of 380 euros under BAföG insufficient to cover the warm rent of a 30-square-meter apartment in any city investigated. Rents are soaring, outpacing inflation, and in some cities, a shared room costs more than a small apartment.
Stuttgart and Freiburg top the list of expensive cities, with rent averaging around 19 euros per square meter. However, it's in Konstanz and Hamburg that students face a peculiar challenge: here, a shared room costs more than a 30-square-meter apartment, though exact figures are not available.
Nationally, rents have risen by an average of 4.6 percent annually over the past three years. In Baden-Württemberg, students have felt this pinch acutely, with Freiburg and Konstanz seeing rent increases of over 6 percent per year. While Stuttgart, Tübingen, and Ulm have shown relatively lower increases, the overall trend is upward.
With rents climbing faster than inflation and BAföG allowances stagnant, students' purchasing power is dwindling. IW expert Michael Voigtländer advocates for bolstering BAföG support to help more young people navigate this tense housing market.
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