Student residences, whether private or public, subsidised or free, play an essential role in students' daily lives, their quality of life and, ultimately, their success at school or university.
Depending on the area, they accommodate between 5 and 30% of students, which is often not enough. Their development is all the more necessary as the stock of rented accommodation in many university towns is shrinking, partly because of the trend towards short-term tourist rentals, and partly because of the Climate and Resilience Act, which introduced a rent freeze for the most energy-inefficient properties, leading many landlords to withdraw them from the market.
The image of student residences has deteriorated in recent years among many local councillors and local authority departments, who find them less desirable than family accommodation or new forms of housing. As a result, new supply has tended to stagnate, contributing to the student housing crisis.
Lastly, most student residence accommodation is booked from a distance, based solely on price and location, which can sometimes lead to unpleasant surprises when it comes to the quality of the buildings, equipment, furniture and services advertised, as well as safety, insulation, etc.
For these 4 reasons, the Association des Villes Universitaires de France has decided to develop a "quality and transparency" label to distinguish, in the eyes of students and their families, the residences that make the most effort to improve the quality of accommodation and social life, and make them more attractive to local decision-makers.
