Dormitory construction stopped in Garching: 1000 students are desperately waiting!

Dormitory construction stopped in Garching: 1000 students are desperately waiting!

In Garching, where the largest location of the Technical University of Munich is located, the situation for students is getting worse. With around 20,000 students and limited living space, finding a roof over your head is becoming increasingly challenging. The acute shortage of places to live is clearly reflected in the waiting list for the two existing dormitories in Garching, which includes almost 1,000 interested parties. Particularly affected are the residential complexes on Enzianstrasse with 112 residential spaces and on Jochbergweg with 110 spaces, which do not even manage to meet demand. Mercury reports that the situation is becoming even more critical as the “Garching Research Centers” project has been stopped for the time being due to a lack of funding.

The original plan was to build three new student apartment buildings with a total of up to 195 places to live, just 500 meters from the Garching Research Center subway stop. The construction project, whose buildings were to be built from solid wood, brick and insulating concrete, is now on the brink. Although the Free State has limited funding, it is prioritizing the renovation of existing dormitories in other cities such as Freising and Munich-Großhadern. The long-term continuation of the plans will depend on securing financing, while the Garching town hall is well aware of the housing market shortage and is already looking for solutions.

New housing offering is being planned

The situation is prompting private investors to take action: Reiss and Co. and THG Wohnen GmbH are planning to build a new residential building for around 380 students. A four-story building with a floor area of ​​around 12,300 square meters is planned in the communication zone, a new district in Garching. Over 30 hectares of living space, green spaces and even a new primary school will be created, explains South Germans.

The new apartments will be fully furnished and have study rooms, a fast internet connection, a fitness studio and a landscaped roof terrace. The investment amount for the project amounts to almost 100 million euros. Construction is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026, with move-in expected at the end of 2027. Rental prices are not yet known, but an offer in the upper price segment is expected: previous rents in existing dormitories are between 685 euros plus electricity for single apartments and 320 to 360 euros in the Munich Student Union Garching, with waiting times of at least four semesters.

Critical situation for students

The housing situation in Germany is generally tense. A report from daily news shows that students in many cities, especially in large university cities, suffer from high rent prices. On average, the rent for dormitories rose by 6.2%. Student unions can only provide 196,000 dormitory places - that's only enough for around 10% of students. This means that many young scientists from Garching have to commute to neighboring cities.

In order to overcome the pressing challenges, the chairman of the board of the German Student Union is calling for quick measures to build new apartments. In April 2023, the federal government launched a 500 million euro program to create additional dormitory places, but these measures are unlikely to help students who are currently looking for accommodation. The creation of affordable living space remains one of the most urgent tasks for the future in Garching and beyond.