SA Affordable Housing January / February 2017 // Issue: 62 | Page 21

FEATURES

Inexpensive student

accommodation - the challenge
As students flock to the cities to further their education, the
problem of housing them grows ever more pressing. Is there an
option to build these more affordably and what are the challenges?
By Ilana Koegelenberg

Campus Key, Cape Town. Claytile supplied 1.3 million maxi bricks to the Main Road campus, and just under a million maxi bricks to
the Dane Street Campus. Image: Claytile

E

ach January, around 450 000 students migrate to the
major cities of South Africa to attend tertiary
education institutions. Although some will be able to
stay at home, most need a place to live and the demand for
accommodation is intense.
“We desperately need more affordable student
accommodation,” says John Schooling, managing director

of STAG African, student accommodation group. While the
Department of Higher Education puts the deficit at
200 000, the reality is that we will be short 600 000 beds
for students in this country in 2017. The number of
students accepted into universities has skyrocketed in the
past two decades, but campus facilities have not been
expanded or upgraded to cater for these higher numbers.

AFFORDABLE
SA HOUSING

JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2017

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