Students hitting the road as accommodation dries up

Alex de Vos
An accommodation shortage is forcing university students to commute to Geelong, according to student representatives.
Deakin University Student Association president Cayla Edwards said students were travelling to and from Melbourne, Ballarat and as far as Bendigo.
Ms Edwards blamed a combination of a rise in demand for Geelong courses and a lack of rental opportunities for students.
“The demand for Deakin degrees in Geelong has grown significantly,” Ms Edwards said.
“We’ve got more students studying in Geelong than ever before and those students need somewhere to live.”
Ms Edwards urged owners of vacant, “reasonably priced, clean and accessible” houses to contact Deakin.
“Landlords can post rooms and entire houses on our website,” she said.
“It’s always hard to get good quality student accommodation and this year it’s even harder – we’ve had a lot of enquiries.”
Real Estate Institute of Victoria Geelong division board chairman Daniel Lamanna blamed a general housing shortage for unsatisfied rental demand.
“The demand for rentals is very high at the moment,” Mr Lamanna said.
“Deakin is becoming a major university and there is an increased demand for student accommodation.”
“The government is trying to introduce incentives for developers to build more houses, which will hopefully ease the rental shortage.
“But the shortage is definitely not a Geelong issue and it’s been around for some time.”