Over a hundred new homes for UvA members in the works
At the Duivendrechtsekade in Amsterdam East, 102 new homes for UvA students and PhD candidates are to be built. The Executive Board has decided this in an agreement with the landlord, Hub Studios. Construction is expected to begin at the end of next year.
The 102 furnished, self-contained studios will be reserved by the UvA for international students and PhD candidates, with the two groups divided evenly across the building. Half of the units will therefore go to students, and the other half to PhD candidates. The studios are expected to be ready for occupation at the start of the 2028/29 academic year.
According to an UvA spokesperson, the university has chosen to give priority to internationals for these homes because it is “practically impossible for them to find affordable accommodation in the city through the regular rental market. Aside from the severe housing shortage, they have, after all, not been able to build up housing tenure from abroad, and they are often unfamiliar with the Amsterdam housing market.”
Social housing
The majority of the studios (94 units) will fall under social housing, while the remaining eight apartments will be classed as mid-market rentals. The exact rental prices for both types of units have not yet been determined and will depend, among other things, on the size of the apartments. Because Hub Studio’s is reserving the units for UvA members, it has been agreed in return that the university will compensate any loss of rent or vacancy costs, although, according to an UvA spokesperson, “it is rare that there is no demand or no immediate follow-up to a rental period.”
As for allocation: international students who register with the UvA Housing Service can be selected for a unit through a lottery. PhD candidates, however, can apply for housing directly via their faculty, meaning no lottery is involved.
This is not the first time the UvA has collaborated with Hub Studio’s. In 2026, the rental provider will also deliver a complex on Hoogte Kadijk, where units will be taken for UvA researchers. This concerns 79 social housing units and nine mid-market apartments.
