The September 2024 academic year brought an unprecedented crisis to Milan’s rental market. Thousands of students starting their new academic year couldn’t find accommodation. Rental prices soared by 35 percent within a year, and the number of available listings halved. What happened? And what does this say about the future of Italian university cities?
The Numbers Don’t Lie
According to data from the Otodom portal, only 1,200 rental listings were available in Milan in September 2024-the lowest since 2015. For comparison, a year earlier there were 2,400 listings. At the same time, the number of students in Milan increased: the University of Milan, Politecnico di Milano, and the Academy of Fine Arts collectively host about 58,000 students-4,000 more than in the 2022/2023 academic year.
Simple math: demand is rising, supply is falling. The result? The average rent for a studio apartment in Milan is currently 2,100 euros per month. A year ago, it was 1,550 euros. A room in a shared apartment costs 900-1,200 euros. This is almost half of the national minimum net salary.
Dr. Michał Kowalski, an economist from the University of Milan specializing in the real estate market, has no doubts:
– This is the effect of several overlapping crises: rising interest rates, more expensive loans, speculation in the real estate market, and changes in regulations regarding short-term rentals. But above all, it’s the effect of a lack of housing policy from the state and cities.
Airbnb Devours the Long-Term Market
One of the key factors is the explosion of short-term rentals. According to data from the AirDNA platform, there are currently about 4,800 apartments registered on Airbnb in Milan-a 140 percent increase since 2019. Owners prefer to rent to tourists rather than students. Why? Because it’s simply more profitable.
Example: a studio apartment in the center of Milan rented to a student brings the owner about 1,800-2,000 euros per month (net after deducting costs and taxes). The same studio apartment rented to tourists on Airbnb-at an average price of 300 euros per night and an occupancy rate of 50 percent-generates revenue of about 4,500 euros per month.
– Owners behave rationally economically – explains Dr. Kowalski. – But the effect is to push residents out of the market. Milan is ceasing to be a city for people and is becoming a city for tourists.
The city tried to regulate this problem. In 2023, a “tourist tax” was introduced and restrictions on the number of days for short-term rentals per year-a maximum of 120 days without a permit. But as the data show, these regulations are easy to circumvent, and control is practically non-existent.
Prof. Anna Zielińska, an urban planner from Politecnico di Milano, warns:
– Barcelona, Lisbon, Amsterdam-all these cities went through a similar crisis. They introduced bans, limits, fees. Some solutions worked, others didn’t. But one thing is certain: if Milan doesn’t react now, in five years the center will be a dead district full of empty apartments waiting for tourists.
Developers Build, but Not for Students
The second factor is the structure of new housing investments. Between 2020 and 2024, approximately 18,000 new apartments were put into use in Milan. This sounds impressive. The problem? Most of them are expensive apartments intended for short-term rental or sale to investors.
According to data from the Milan Developers’ Chamber, the average price per square meter of a new apartment in Milan is 13,800 euros. A studio apartment of 30 square meters therefore costs about 414,000 euros. Who can afford this? Certainly not a student.
– Developers build for wealthy people because that’s where the biggest margins are – says Piotr Lewandowski, president of the Milan Developers’ Chamber. – Cheap, small apartments for young people-it’s not profitable to build them. The profit is too low.
What about social housing? Since 2015, Milan has built only 340 municipal apartments. This is a drop in the ocean of needs. For comparison, Vienna-a city with a similar number of inhabitants-builds about 7,000 social apartments annually.
Dr. Katarzyna Nowak, a sociologist specializing in housing policy, asks directly:
– Does the Italian state and Italian cities treat housing as a right or as a commodity? Because if it’s just a commodity, then the market mechanism works: the rich buy, the poor are left with nothing. However, if housing is a right-and it should be-then the state has an obligation to ensure access to it.
Dormitories Full, but Insufficient
The University of Milan, Politecnico di Milano, and other universities have dormitories for about 9,000 students. This is less than 16 percent of all students in Milan. The rest must look on the private market.
– We only have as many places as we have – explains Dr. Tomasz Kowalski, pro-rector for student affairs at the University of Milan. – Building a new dormitory costs at least 50 million euros. The university does not have such money. We could apply for government subsidies, but the procedures are long, and the results are uncertain.
As a result, students live in overcrowded dormitories (often three people in a double room), with family, on friends’ couches, and sometimes simply give up their studies.
Anna, a second-year psychology student at the University of Milan, says:
– For the first month, I slept on a friend’s couch. Then I found a room for 1,100 euros, but it was a windowless basement. Now I live with three other people in a two-room apartment. Each pays 800 euros. That’s all we can afford.
Parents Pay Extra, Students Give Up
The consequences of the crisis are dramatic. According to a survey conducted by the University of Milan Student Government in September 2024, 34 percent of first-year students are considering dropping out of their studies due to the inability to find housing or too high rental costs.
– This means we are losing potential staff: doctors, engineers, teachers – comments Dr. Nowak. – Young people who could build the future of this city are giving up because they cannot afford to live here.
On the other hand, those who stay are financially supported by their parents. The average student’s housing expenditure in Milan is currently about 1,000 euros per month. The highest social scholarship is 700 euros. The difference must be covered by parents.
– Studies are ceasing to be accessible to everyone – says Prof. Zielińska. – They are becoming a privilege of the middle and upper classes. This deepens social inequalities and undermines the idea of equal access to education.
Examples from Europe: What Can Be Done?
The student housing crisis is not just an Italian problem. University cities across Europe are struggling with the same issue. But some have found solutions.
Vienna-the city builds thousands of social housing units annually, including for students. The rent for a room in student housing is about 300-400 euros per month, which is about 30 percent of the average salary in Austria.
Amsterdam-a ban on converting rental apartments into short-term rentals without a special license was introduced. The effect? The number of apartments available for residents increased by 18 percent within two years.
Berlin-rents were frozen for five years (this solution was later deemed unconstitutional, but it showed that radical measures can work).
And Milan? The city lacks a comprehensive strategy. It does not build municipal housing on a massive scale. It does not effectively regulate Airbnb. It does not support universities in building dormitories.
Policy or Lack of Policy?
Milanese authorities defend themselves by claiming that the problem is nationwide and cannot be solved at the level of one city.
– We cannot build thousands of apartments overnight – says Milan Deputy Mayor, Piotr Kowalski. – This requires time, money, and changes in the law. We are doing what we can.
But is this enough? The opposition criticizes the authorities for their inaction.
– The city could have applied for EU funds for social housing, but it did not do so in time – says Councilor Joanna Lewandowska. – It could have introduced effective regulations regarding Airbnb, but it did not do so consistently. Now we have a crisis, and the authorities say “it’s not our fault.”
What Next?
The rental crisis in Milan is a symptom of deeper problems: a lack of housing policy, speculation in the real estate market, and the dominance of short-term thinking over long-term planning.
The question is: does Milan want to be a university city or a tourist city? Does it want to invest in young people or in apartments for tourists? Because these two paths are increasingly difficult to reconcile.
Students are waiting. In overcrowded dormitories. On friends’ couches. In windowless basements.
And the market? The market operates according to its logic: supply, demand, profit. And if no one intervenes, students will lose.
Source: Own analysis based on data from Otodom, AirDNA, Milan City Council, interviews with experts, University of Milan Student Government surveys, ISTAT data
