- Federal Statistical Office: Students on the private housing market spend 54% of their income on rent.
- Nearly two-thirds of student households are overburdened by housing costs.
- The German National Association for Student Affairs (DSW) warns that pressure from rising rental costs continues to increase.
- DSW Chairman Matthias Anbuhl: “The fact that the BAföG housing allowance will not be increased until next year is painful for the current generation of students.”
- Anbuhl: “In the medium and long term, the federal and state programme Junges Wohnen (‘Young Housing’) has the potential to become a game changer.”
Berlin, 15 July 2026. Financial pressure on students seeking accommodation on the private housing market continues to grow. According to new figures published today by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), students now spend 54% of their income on rent, while nearly two-thirds of student households are considered overburdened by housing costs.
The German National Association for Student Affairs (DSW) has expressed serious concern. DSW Chairman Matthias Anbuhl said that, in light of these figures, it is particularly painful for the current generation of students that the Federal Government has postponed the planned increase in the BAföG housing allowance from the 2026/27 winter semester to the 2027 summer semester.
Additional findings from the Federal Statistical Office show that half of all students living in their own household have less than €963 per month at their disposal, and that 45% of their income comes from paid employment.
Matthias Anbuhl commented:
“These figures are alarming. The financial pressure on students in the private rental market continues to grow. In the worst case, we risk a new form of social selection based on housing costs: it will no longer be academic ability or freedom of choice that determines where students can study, but whether they can afford a room in a shared flat in a particular university city.
Although last week's agreement by the Federal Government on BAföG has finally brought clarity after months of uncertainty, it is painful for the current generation of students that the increase in the BAföG housing allowance has been postponed until the summer semester of 2027 instead of taking effect this autumn as originally planned. It cannot be right that students receiving BAföG support must continue to rely on a housing allowance of only €380, leaving them with little chance of finding an affordable room in a shared flat in almost any university city in Germany.
The federal and state programme Junges Wohnen (“Young Housing”), launched in 2023 to create more affordable housing for students and apprentices, has the potential to become a game changer—provided that all federal states actively support and invest in it.
With adequate funding from the federal states, the Studierendenwerke (student services organisations) can use these resources to build new affordable student housing or renovate existing residences. States such as Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and, most recently, Lower Saxony are already setting positive examples.
As promised in the Federal Government’s coalition agreement, the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building intends to double the federal share of funding for the programme next year—from €500 million to €1 billion annually. This is a welcome step. However, we are facing a medium- to long-term challenge, not a short sprint. It will take at least a decade of sustained construction and renovation to make up for decades of underinvestment.
Municipalities—and university cities in particular—must also play their part. Through land policies that prioritise the public good, they need to ensure that the Studierendenwerke have access to affordable sites close to universities so they can build student residences with socially affordable rents.”