The number of admissions to this autumn's university educations has increased by almost 10 percent, compared with the autumn of last year, according to the University and College Council.

- The university has been expanded with new places, but no more housing is being built. It is reasonable that it takes longer to build homes, but it feels like they have not thought about these people actually living somewhere, says Linn Svärd, vice president of Sweden's united student unions, SFS.

Fewer people want to rent out

Housing shortage among students is a problem in several of the country's larger student towns, including Lund.

- We feel a great deal of concern about what the housing situation will look like in the future. Especially for the new students who plan to move to Lund this autumn. Normally it is a stressful situation and now we know that the university takes in more students. We do not feel safe and secure that there will be housing for all students this autumn, but it is difficult to know how big the problem will be, says Ella Sjöbeck, vice president of Lund University Student Unions.

Uppsala's student union is also worried that the housing shortage will worsen this autumn. The demand for student housing in the city is great and for many students the solution can usually be to live as a resident. But during the corona pandemic, fewer people are willing to rent rooms because of the risk of infection.

- If that security also disappears for the students, it is a very serious situation. I absolutely believe that there is a great deal of uncertainty about what applies to the new students, says Jacob Färnert, chairman of the Uppsala Student Union.

"Built a lot of homes"

Even in Umeå, the housing situation can be affected by an increased number of students.

- We went towards what we thought were better times. In Umeå, a lot of housing has been built, to some extent also a lot of student housing, in recent years. But now that there are more students, it is a bit uncertain if there will be any improvement. We will see this autumn whether the number of homes built is sufficient to meet this peak that is likely to come, says Anton Öhrlund, chairman of the Umeå Student Union.