HSE and DOM.RF Sign a Student Housing Agreement
HSE University is renting a 27-storey block of a new apartment complex, Level Amurskaya, located in the Golyanovo District of Moscow. Only university students will be accommodated in the building, and they will have their choice of renting a single studio or a shared apartment. This agreement is another step towards HSE's transition to a service model for accommodating nonresident and foreign students as part of the University Development Program until 2030.
On Thursday, April 29, HSE Rector Yaroslav Kuzminov and DOM.RF CEO Vitaly Mutko signed a cooperation agreement. Improving housing conditions is one of the utmost priorities of the Russian government in general and DOM.RF in particular, said Vitaly Mutko. The state-owned company is working to achieve this task, by actively developing the civilized rental market and more.
Vitaly Mutko noted that DOM.RF is also in step with the instructions of the President of Russia on the need to provide students of federal universities with high-quality living conditions. ‘In this regard, we started a dialogue with the HSE, comparing the needs of the university with the capabilities of the development. Today’s agreement is the result of our collaboration,’ he said. With the help of the launched project, it is possible and important to develop standards, as well as a model for student housing at large universities, which will become the starting point for creating systemic conditions for improving the quality of student living throughout the country.
‘Today we are starting a large project with DOM.RF, and with this we are now formalizing our relationship,’ said Yaroslav Kuzminov. ‘We believe that this project will be of great importance, and not only for HSE University.’
As part of the agreement, HSE and DOM.RF agreed that the University would lease a block of the newly built Level Amurskaya residential complex. The 27-storey block offers several types of housing: studios, one-room apartments, two-room apartments, and three-room apartments for single or shared accommodation.
All rooms are modernly finished, all apartments are equipped with new furniture, household appliances, and Internet access. In the complex, HSE students will be able to rent rooms in shared apartments for 13,000 – 20,000 roubles a month and studios for 29,000 roubles a month or less. The complex will soon feature an amphitheater with a public garden and areas for quiet recreation, a landscaped courtyard-park, and an athletic area. In addition, Level Amurskaya residential complex already has its own infrastructure, and the territory of the complex is under 24-hour video surveillance. It is located about 45 – 50 minutes away from HSE by transport.
Starting in 2021, Yaroslav Kuzminov said, HSE is implementing a new development programme up to 2030, which stipulates the transition to a service model for nonresident and international student housing. This model is standard for world universities. It allows each student, based on their preferences and financial capabilities, to choose an accommodation option that is best for them. The university in such a system provides a variety of information and organizational services that help students to find housing and also undertakes obligations for subsidized accommodation in dormitories of some preferential categories of students.
Who can qualify for guaranteed accommodation in the HSE dormitories in 2021:
international students on full-tuition scholarships (Russian government scholarships aka ‘quotas’);
international students on short-term academic mobility programmes.
‘Of HSE’s 48,000 students, a significant portion live in dormitories. Yet we have noticed that many express a demand for more comfortable living conditions,’ said Yaroslav Kuzminov. Many students get part-time jobs during their third or fourth year of study. At the Master’s level, students who have part-time jobs or internships are not the exception but the rule. Many students find roommates on their own and rent apartments for two, three, four people, because it is more convenient for them. And they are able to pay for these services since they have their own sources of income. The University is ready to offer them its assistance in securing housing.
In addition to DOM.RF, HSE has signed several agreements with other real estate agencies. This has made it possible to develop an array of proposals for student rental options in various price categories — promo, standard, comfort, and business. The lowest price category will start at 10,000 roubles a month. The University is currently working to resolve issues with providing migration registration, verifying contractors, and ensuring that properties comply with comfort standards.
If students for any reason do not want to use HSE’s housing services and prefer to rent on their own, they may still receive legal advice and assistance in negotiations with property owners from HSE. In addition, students may stay in a dormitory from September to October at a subsidized rate until they find a property to rent.