Finding affordable housing is one of the most pressing issues affecting students today, and the demand for student housing has never been greater. In response to this, Nova University in Lisbon, Portugal, has launched the innovative project Rede ¼ (in English, “Room Network” as the word for room and ¼ is the same in Portuguese), designed to match students with private homeowners willing to sublet a room through an online platform and a dedicated project team. This platform benefits both students and those with additional living space, creating a mutually supportive environment while addressing the urgent need for student accommodation.
A growing need for affordable student housing
Lisbon, like many European cities, has witnessed a significant rise in property prices and rental costs in recent years, particularly impacting university students. A large percentage of students are struggling to secure affordable accommodation, which in turn leads to higher dropout rates and increased stress. It is estimated that 11% of students at Portuguese universities drop out after their first year due to financial difficulties, often caused by an inability to find affordable housing.
A platform for connecting students and landlords
The Rede ¼ online platform and project team including project managers, administrative and legal advisers, psychologists, and social mediators, works by connecting students with property owners who have available rooms for rent. The concept is straightforward: both landlords and students register on the website and are matched based on their preferences.
The only demand is that the rent must be affordable, meaning maximum 20% below the median rent in each area. Keeping the rent at this affordable level also has additional taxational benefits for landlords hence presenting a financial incentive for renting out rooms.
Building trust and understanding
While the concept of subletting rooms is not new, Rede ¼ is working to modernise and digitalise this tradition. One of the main challenges the project has discovered is building trust among both students and homeowners.
“We need to establish trust for the people – both for students and for landlords, who need to feel comfortable welcoming a student into their home. To achieve this, we have a team that provides ongoing support, including social mediators and psychologists,” says João Seixas, Pro-Rector and University Professor at Nova University of Lisbon.
Despite this challenge, Rede ¼ has already shown promising results in its first few months. Launched in November 2024 with the team and a prototype platform, the project has registered nearly 200 families, with 30 successful matches already made since this February. Although these figures are still modest – mainly because the students have found, better or worse, their accommodation in the beginning of the academic year – the team is optimistic about the future, particularly with a targeted communication campaign set for April and May 2025 to attract more landlords ahead of the new academic year starting in September 2025.
A model for the future
Looking ahead, the goal is for the platform to become a key resource for students who cannot find housing both in the market as well as in the university’s public residences. The long-term vision for Rede ¼ is to expand to other universities across Portugal.
“Even though Portugal has national tax incentives for property owners who rent out rooms at affordable prices, this way of connecting students and private landlords, could be replicated in other European cities. Welcoming students into homes is something that has been done since the Middle Ages, so why shouldn’t it work today?” asks João Seixas.
By reimagining how student accommodation works in a city like Lisbon, the Rede ¼ project is paving the way for more collaborative, community-focused housing solutions. It is a project that addresses the challenges of today while offering a glimpse into a more sustainable, connected future for students, homeowners, and the broader community.
More information
Written by Jonas Calander, IUOI.
Reviewed by João Seixas, Pro-Rector and University Professor at Nova University of Lisbon.