Bunnies without a lawn: why students don't have enough places in dormitories
In a number of large universities, students complain about the lack of places in dormitories: only 200 people were allegedly accommodated in one of the UrFU institutes, while more than 1,800 students are said to be left without a room in FEFU. The shortage of places varies depending on the university and ranges from 25 to 80%, according to the data of the All-Russian Student Union. How to get a room in a dormitory and what to do if you don't get a place to live is in the Izvestia article.
Which universities have problems with dormitories
The problems at Yekaterinburg universities were reported by local media. One of the most striking examples is the lack of places at Ural Federal University. The first-year students reported that about 1,200 people had enrolled at the Institute of Radioelectronics and Information Technology (IRIT-RTF), part of UrFU, of whom only 200 were allegedly settled, and another 600 remained on the street. Among the lucky ones who received housing are "foreigners, beneficiaries and a few students with high USE scores." The rest were advised to look for a room on their own or contact the university's paid settlement service.
The UrFU told Izvestia that the settlement campaign will last until November 1.
"All possible measures are being taken to assist students in solving housing problems," the university said.
The cost of living in the UrFU dormitory ranges from 1,000 to 3,500 rubles per month, with an average rental price of 20-25 thousand rubles for a studio apartment in Yekaterinburg. A two-room apartment will cost 30-35 thousand rubles.
Other universities in the city have similar problems: according to media reports, there were about 400 students in the dormitory queue at the Mining University, 1,200 first—year students at the law university, etc.
Difficulties are also known in other regions of the country. FEFU promises to accommodate 88% of nonresident students, but about 1,840 more people are said to be left without a place. The media reports on the dissatisfaction of FEFU students with the fact that, against the background of a shortage of housing, the number of applicants has been growing for the second year in a row.
FEFU confirms that 88% of nonresident students will actually receive places in hotel buildings and dormitories, which is 13.5 thousand students. When allocating places, the university takes into account the academic achievements of applicants, achievements in science, sports, creativity and social work. At the same time, it is emphasized that the university will provide places for 100% of nonresident first-year students who declared such a need when applying, as well as students of preferential categories.
What is the shortage of places all over Russia
FEFU has entered the campus construction program within the framework of the national project "Youth and Children", the second stage of housing for 4 thousand people is being built.
This national project involves the construction of a network of modern campuses: by 2030, there should be 25 of them, and by 2036, 40 across the country. According to the Ministry of Education and Science, 25 new campuses should provide accommodation for more than 78,000 university students and staff in 22 regions of the country. In addition, about 800 student dormitories are going to be overhauled in the next six years on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation. The total amount of funds for the creation of all campuses is 723 billion rubles, of which 344 billion are federal.
The Ministry of Education and Science told Izvestia that as of today, organizations subordinate to the Ministry have 1,768 dormitory buildings housing 510.1 thousand people, including 481 thousand students.
In 2024, four student dormitories for 2018 places were opened — in Stavropol, Astrakhan, St. Petersburg and Kemerovo. The campuses of Bauman Moscow State Technical University with 2,300 seats, NSU with 690 seats (created at the expense of a benefactor) and two hotel buildings in Chelyabinsk with 336 seats have also been fully commissioned.
In 2025, only one dormitory with 1,328 beds was put into operation — in the Krasnoyarsk Siberian Federal University. By the end of the year, more than 2.1 thousand places will be opened at Bauman Moscow State Technical University after reconstruction, 820 places at Ulyanovsk State University, 2.5 thousand places in Kaliningrad and 1.5 thousand places in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
However, problems remain. In Moscow, as reported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation in February 2025, the shortage in dormitories for students reaches 25-30 thousand places. The ministry called the solution not only the construction of a new and renovation of the existing foundation, but also the creation of hotel-type dormitories following the example of Chelyabinsk. A month of accommodation for a student in them costs 8-8.5 thousand rubles, all the places were dismantled in one day.
Boris Ilyukhin, a senior researcher at the Center for Economics of Continuing Education at the Presidential Academy, does not consider the situation with dormitories to be critical — in recent years, the number of places has been increasing and conditions have been improving. Back in the early 90s, 5-6 people lived in rooms, and now there are no more than 2-3.
And the acting rector of Michurinsk State Agrarian University, the expert of the Popular Front. Analytica Ekaterina Ivanova notes that the problem is local in nature and is concentrated in leading federal universities and universities in cities with millions of students, which attract the largest number of applicants for both budgetary and contractual forms of education.
Oleg Tsapko, Chairman of the All—Russian Student Union and Deputy Chairman of the Youth Council under the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, notes that in some universities the shortage of places can be 25-30%, and in others - up to 80%, but there are universities where all students are provided with housing.
— We are talking about state-funded students. As a rule, payers are immediately informed that they will not be able to stay in a hostel at all," the source told Izvestia.
According to the HSE, the number of students provided with a dormitory decreased from 86.7% in 2015 to 82.1% in 2022. The situation is better in vocational education institutions, but since 2019 there has been a small decrease of 1 percentage point, to 90.9%.
Alexander Shakhov, Senior Lecturer at the Department of State and Municipal Management at the State University of Management, explains these data with an annual increase in the number of students.
How to solve the problem of lack of space in the hostel
39 of the law "On Education" states that residential premises in dormitories are provided to those in need of full-time education. But the category of "needs" is determined in accordance with the local regulations of the educational institution, says Alexander Shakhov.
— For example, at Lomonosov Moscow State University, a place is provided if the student's permanent registration is located outside the fifth zone of the Moscow Railway, at MAI — at a distance of 40-60 km from the MKAD. Living quarters in dormitories for beneficiaries (orphans, disabled people of groups I and II, children of Chernobyl and children of contract military personnel) are provided as a matter of priority," the expert explains.
Theoretically, a student can challenge in court the refusal of an educational institution to provide housing, but if the fund is exhausted, then it will not be possible to satisfy the requirements. The only option is an independent search for housing "with continued active communication with the admissions committee." As places become available, students can move into a dormitory, Alexander Shakhov is sure.
The head of "Cyan. Analytics" Alexey Popov notes that in the last decade, more and more students themselves choose to rent housing rather than dormitories. At the same time, the demand for rent has been growing since the end of June and earlier, and by the end of August there are practically no options at reasonable prices.
— Often, even paying for a few "extra" weeks of accommodation before the start of the school year turned out to be more profitable than overpaying every month for a more expensive option, — said Alexey Popov.
Rental rates for July-September in 2021, 2023 and 2024 in million-plus cities increased by 21, 22 and 18%, respectively. In no other month of the year does rent rise in price so noticeably. The reason here, however, is not only the activity of students, but also at the beginning of a new business season, when many people change jobs and places of residence.
In this sense, the solution of the housing issue for a nonresident applicant is one of the most important factors when choosing an educational institution. However, there may be nuances here, says Oleg Tsapko.
— Some universities demonstrate unfair competition. So, two years ago there was a scandal at Altai State University in Barnaul, where first-year students were promised guaranteed accommodation — but at what cost! In violation of current legislation, dormitory accommodation contracts were concluded not for the entire period of study, but for 10-12 months. The students of the remaining courses were simply evicted to the street. The prosecutor's office has submitted a submission to the rector on this matter," the expert reminded.
Other universities in Barnaul could not make such promises to first-year students, which affected their competitive opportunities for students, the expert believes.
— After contacting the Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova, it turned out that every fifth university in the country used this illegal practice in various formats. The Russian Ministry of Education and Science has ensured that standards are brought into line with the law, but periodically situations in individual universities and colleges are still revealed," Oleg Tsapko said.
Andrey Korol, head of the Association of Student Dormitory Activists at the All-Russian Student Union, notes that most universities honestly report whether to expect a place in a dormitory, and some help those who did not get housing.
— For example, several years ago, the Higher School of Economics provided monthly financial assistance to students in need of housing who did not receive a place in a dormitory. The students joined 2-3 people and rented an apartment together. There are many examples across the country when universities negotiate with neighboring educational institutions that have free places, and officially rent rooms or even entire buildings," said Andrei Korol.
At ITMO, students can rent accommodation in hotels and apartment hotels. In some cases, the university also helps with paying for part of the cost of renting a home, said Timofey Voronin, Deputy Director for Technology Transfer at the NTI Competence Center for Big Data Storage and Analysis Technologies at Lomonosov Moscow State University. HSE also has preferential conditions for accommodation in a number of residential complexes and hotels.
However, even with this help, rented apartments and hotels turn out to be much more expensive than dormitories.
— I assume that over time there will be enough modern campuses in Russia, but this is not a quick process. In reality, for the time being, separate dormitories will continue to be operated along with them, often located in different areas of the city," Timofey Voronin is sure.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
