Promises drop in rent prices
The Association for Student Life (SiO) guarantees that it’ll lower the rent on Pilestredet Park apartments by a thousand kroner each – if the student housing project gets financial aid from the government.
På norskThe guarantee is issued by Silje Winther, leader of the general board of SiO. Since the time limit for applying for government aid to a student housing project usually expires at the moment the first student moves in, after November 20th, applying for aid will be useless.
- With this proposal, we want to show what government aid actually means to the price of a student apartment, and we will go through with this if we are granted the necessary funds. In that case, the price for the cheapest unit will be 2885 kroner, not including electricity, Winther says.
She disagrees with the notion that Pilestredet Park apartment border on the luxurious, and points out that the standard of the Kringsjå student housing project received similar reviews at the time it was built, in the seventies.
- Those student houses were considered pretty swank, of very high standard, from a building point of view. Now, however, the houses are run-down, Winther says.
Winther believes Pilestredet Park’s standard will ensure that the apartments stay popular for several years to come.
Benjamin Jonsrud, leader of the left-wing political student party Venstrealliansen, doesn’t feel this is sufficient to justify the new student apartments at Pilestredet Park.
- In the seventies, the Norwegian living standard was pretty different from what it is now. One might ask whether a further increase in student housing standards will be morally responsible, Jonsrud says.
Jonsrud doubts that Winther’s proposal will cause national politicians to change their policy in the impending national budget.
- The message sent by supporting this type of project will be so unfortunate that the government are unlikely to go for it. In supporting it, the government will be accepting a standard of student housing that is unnecessarily luxurious, Jonsrud says.
Julie Lødrup, head of the Social Democrats student party, feels the housing project has been a gamble from the start, but is pleased that SiO takes another crack at gaining financial aid.
According to Anne Sofie Holter, informations advisor in the Ministry of Research and Education, the goverment does not want to make a comment on this issue until the next national budget is presented for the Storting.
