Aspects of student housing satisfaction: a quantitative study

The aim of this article is to attain a better understanding of which aspects influence students’ housing satisfaction in Trondheim, Norway. Due to rising student numbers in the last decade in Norway, there is a distinct need for new student housing. It has been stated previously that students prefer specific, often central locations in university cities and that they have become more demanding when it comes to the standard of accommodation. Questions related to how and where to accommodate students have become an issue in both public and professional discussions. This study adds to the knowledge on different aspects that influence student housing satisfaction and thus offers background information for further discussion on the student housing situation in medium-sized university cities. Data were collected through a quantitative survey, which emphasized the following five aspects: (1) Type of tenancy/ownership, (2) The impact of demographic variables, (3) Housing location, (4) Different housing characteristics, and (5) Individual facilities (kitchen/bathroom). The survey data indicate that the most important variables for student residential satisfaction were, first, the type of tenancy/ownership; second, the quality of different housing characteristics; and third, the location. In this study, individual facilities and demographic variables did not have a significant effect on housing satisfaction.