The housing crisis collapses the UIB residence: "We have more than 300 students on the waiting list"

PalmaThe UIB student residence is increasingly overwhelmed. “There are more than 300 people on the waiting list. The pressure is getting worse every time. Housing is very complicated,” admits the Vice-Rector for Innovation and Digital Transformation at the UIB, Loren Carrasco. The residence has 101 places and practically all of them are occupied each academic year by students who already live there. This year, 85 students have renewed their place. The pressure on the facility has intensified in recent years: in the 2022-23 academic year there were 185 students on the waiting list, a figure that increased to 215 at the beginning of the 2024-25 academic year and now exceeds 300 people.

The increase in demand coincides with the impossibility of finding affordable housing in Palma. The UIB already warned in 2024 that the increase in rental prices, for both apartments and rooms, was one of the main causes for the rise in applications for a place at the residence. Besides this, unlike other university cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, or Salamanca, in Mallorca there is no deep-rooted tradition of renting apartments to students, and even less so at a time when one can list an apartment for 2,200 euros and knows that they will find someone to pay it.

The university gives priority to students coming from the other islands. According to Carrasco, the new residents for this academic year are from Menorca and Ibiza. There are still some Mallorcan residents, but, as she explains: they are students who entered the residence years ago. Furthermore, almost all the students who have managed to get in this year have an accommodation scholarship, says the vice-rector. The situation is also conditioned by the increase in the number of international students at the UIB. Carrasco points out that this student body "has skyrocketed" and that approximately 30% of doctoral students are from abroad. These students, however, cannot opt for places in the residence, which are reserved for undergraduate students and primarily for those from the Balearic Islands.

The former housing exchange

Some time ago, the UIB had a housing exchange to help students find accommodation outside the residence. According to Carrasco, however, this alternative has stopped working. "It has died out due to a lack of supply," she explains. According to the vice-rector, this is due to the fact that owners now "are looking for another type of resident and can be more selective." The UIB has been calling for years for a second residence that would allow for an increase in accommodation options for students. The initial project was linked during the time of the left-wing Pact to the old prison in Palma, and with the PP it was incorporated into the future District of the Arts, but the location has changed. "The latest news is that it has changed location, that it is not attached to the Conservatory, but rather to a nearby plot. But we have no further news. I know it is underway," points out Carrasco.

Now, the project for the new residence is being processed independently of the future District of the Arts. This complex, which will bring together the Higher Conservatory, the ESADIB and the School of Design, is scheduled to begin construction during the first quarter of 2027. Meanwhile, the current residence remains without the capacity to absorb the demand and many students are desperately looking for a roof over their heads. "The demand is increasing gradually," summarizes Carrasco. And she concludes: "It is a problem that worries us."