Why Does Occupancy in Private Dormitories Reach 100%? — A Supply and Demand Analysis
Savills 2025: ~100% PBSA occupancy vs <72% in university halls. 1% of Polish students have access to PBSA. The structural shortage explained.
One metric makes the biggest impression on investors when they first encounter the PBSA market: occupancy of up to 100% during the academic year. Not 85%, not 92% — one hundred percent.
For someone with experience in apartment letting — where gaps between tenants are the norm — this sounds too good to be true. But the Savills data for 2025 confirm this figure. And it does not stem from marketing exaggeration, but from the fundamental structure of the market.
In this article we break the metric down into its component parts.
Where does demand for private dormitories come from?
To understand why occupancy is so high, you have to look at the figures describing the market from the perspective of supply and demand.
Demand
- Poland has 1.28 million students (GUS data, 2024/2025 academic year)
- It is the fifth-largest student market in the EU (Savills 2025)
- The number of students is rising steadily — in 2024/25, +2.8% YoY
- International students: 108,600 (8.6% of the total, GUS)
Supply
According to the Savills report "Rynek PBSA w Polsce 2025" (The PBSA Market in Poland 2025):
- Public dormitories offer a total of about 115,000 beds — for over a million students
- Modern private dormitories (PBSA) have a combined 13,195 beds across 33 properties
- This means that just ~1% of Polish students can live in a modern private dormitory
Conclusion: demand structurally and chronically outstrips supply. There are no seasonal fluctuations — every year hundreds of thousands of students look for accommodation and cannot find it in a university hall.
Why do students choose PBSA — not private renting?
You might think the shortage of dormitory places is offset by the apartment rental market. It is, but with significant friction:
1. Price. According to the Otodom Analytics report for February 2026, the average apartment rent in Warsaw is PLN 4,807/month, in Kraków PLN 3,148, and in Wrocław PLN 3,115. On top of this come utilities, deposit, internet. PBSA all-in starts from PLN 1,800/month (Student Depot Warsaw Suwak).
2. A barrier for foreigners. International students (108,600 in Poland) have harder access to private renting — a language barrier, no Polish bank account, distrust from landlords. PBSA operators handle online booking in English, with an electronic contract.
3. Bill surprises. Private renting in Poland usually settles utilities separately. PBSA = a single fixed all-in fee.
4. Community and safety. 24/7 security, fellow-student neighbours, events, a gym, study zones — an offering that private renting simply does not have.
Comparison of occupancy by property type
| Property type | Occupancy | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Modern PBSA | ~100% during the academic year | Savills 2025 |
| University halls | <72% | Savills 2025 |
| Buy-to-let apartment | Variable, 85-95% average annually | NBP, own market data |
Why do university halls have lower occupancy? Low standard (many properties from the 1970s-80s, few modernised), shared bathrooms, restricted to students, weak shared infrastructure. Students choose them only when there is no alternative.
What does 100% occupancy mean for an investor?
For a real-estate investor, occupancy is a variable that directly affects revenue. Let us compare three scenarios (simplified):
Scenario A — buy-to-let apartment:
- 12 months × 80% occupancy (gaps between tenants) = 9.6 months of revenue
- Rent PLN 2,500 × 9.6 = PLN 24,000/year
Scenario B — university hall:
- 10 months of the academic year × 72% = 7.2 months of revenue
- Rate PLN 800 × 7.2 = PLN 5,760/year (low rate, but low occupancy)
Scenario C — PBSA:
- 10 months of the academic year × ~100% + 2 summer months (tourists/summer courses) × 70% = ~11.4 months of revenue
- Rate PLN 2,000 × 11.4 = PLN 22,800/year
The figures are illustrative, but they show the mechanics: a steadily high occupancy in PBSA + a comparable rent rate = predictability and lower risk.
Is 100% occupancy sustainable?
This is the question every diligent investor should ask. The answer is conditional — but the fundamentals are strong.
Factors sustaining demand:
- GUS forecast: the number of students rises to ~1.4 million by 2030
- A growing number of international students (8.6% in 2024 vs ~6% in 2018)
- Rising private rental costs (Otodom: Warsaw PLN 4,807/month, February 2026)
- Insufficient expansion of university halls (no increased budget from MEiN)
Risk factors:
- Expansion of the PBSA market — Savills indicates that by 2028 +9,000 new beds may enter the market (= nearly doubling the current supply of 13,195)
- A shift in student preferences (the pandemic showed that hybrid education is possible)
- Regulation (political risk — Poland could introduce rent controls, although there are currently no such proposals)
Mitigating: even doubling the supply will not satisfy demand. From 1% access to PBSA to ~2% = still a structural shortage vs 15-20% in Western Europe.
Poland vs Europe — housing preferences
Savills 2025 points to important nuances:
- 40% of Polish students live with their parents vs 34% in Europe
- 9% live in dormitories vs 15% in Europe
Implication: the PBSA market in Poland has lower structural demand than in Western Europe — more students choose to commute from the family home. But the rising trend shows convergence — particularly among international students and mobile Polish students (Warsaw, Kraków).
For the investor: the market is not at a saturation stage, but it still has to be discovered by the majority of Polish students.
Summary
Occupancy of up to 100% in PBSA is neither an anomaly nor marketing exaggeration. It is the mathematical consequence of:
- 1.28 million students in Poland
- 13,195 beds in PBSA (1% access)
- 10% access to any dormitory (public + private)
- International students (108,600) with a high propensity for PBSA
- The lack of an alternative in the form of a competitive apartment rental market (Warsaw PLN 4,807 on average)
The situation may change over the next 5-10 years — with a pipeline of +9,000 beds by 2028 and rising investment capital (EUR 200 million forecast for 2025, EUR 310 million cumulatively to 2024). But the structural shortage is deep enough that even a significant expansion of supply will not satisfy demand within any foreseeable horizon.
Sources
- Savills Polska — Rynek PBSA w Polsce 2025 (The PBSA Market in Poland 2025)
- GUS — Szkolnictwo wyższe w roku akademickim 2024/2025 (Higher Education in the 2024/2025 Academic Year)
- Otodom Analytics — rental market report, February 2026
Full citations in data/sources.md.
