By Leonidas Kaps
The shortage of student housing in Aarhus has made it increasingly difficult for students to find affordable accommodation. The student house BaseCamp is trying to tackle this issue by offering student housing close to the university in Aarhus. The concept seems to work out since they keep expanding their Dorm and planning on opening their new building in January.
BaseCamp was founded in response to Europe’s lack of student housing with a focus on design. Founded by Armon Bar-Tur, the idea focuses on the facilities and the interior design while combining American community living with European aesthetics. The first location, opened in 2016 and is housed in a historic building in Copenhagen. The BaseCamp Group has been bought by the Belgian housing company „Xior Student Housing“. The transaction, which was completed in March 2023, further expands Xior’s presence in the European student housing market which already has properties in Portugal Spain and Netherlands.
Demand is high and supply is low
Aarhus is a popular student city, and there is a lot of demand for housing from students and young people. However, there is not enough supply of affordable housing to meet this demand. This has led to a competitive housing market, with prices for both apartments and rooms in shared apartments rising sharply in recent years. Most apartments in Aarhus are unfurnished, which can add to the cost of moving in and furnishing a new home. This problem is Basecamp trying to solve. Their rooms are fully furnished and come with an equipped kitchen.
We offer a lot of these common areas, where the students can be together, connect and be a part of a community. It is very important for basecamp, that it’s not just moving into a room and staying there for a period of time and then going home. It is very important to us that people connect with each other, get out of their rooms and spend some time together,” states Linett Guerrout, residence manager at BaseCamp Aarhus.
High prices and critique
Basecamp student housing is among the most expensive in Aarhus. The cheapest rent for a single room with shared kitchen starts at 5,700 DKK per month and can go up to 9,800 DKK per month. This is almost double the price than the average rent for student housing in Aarhus. In addition to the high rent, Basecamp also charges for energy costs, which are not included in the base rent. Due to the construction complaints about the living situation are rising. Sophie, a international student staying at basecamp complains: „When I came l they said that my room wasn’t ready. And so they put me into this smaller room on a lower floor and it’s facing the side of the construction. (…) Every morning at 6:00 AM, especially in August and September we were waking up to the construction noise and they’re big cranes that would be blocking the entryway of base camp.“ Later she adds: „It just kind of feels like a bit of a money grab like. I think they were running out of money and so they just moved us in, even though it wasn’t completely constructed yet.“
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Fotos: Leonidas Kaps
