About 25 percent of the University of Tartu's students live in Tartu Student Village housing, but university dormitories are no longer the first choice for many students who are increasingly turning to the private rental market, said Karen Tuul, accommodation manager at Tartu Student Village.

The decline in the number of international students at the University of Tartu may also be a key reason demand for dormitory housing has fallen, Tuul said.

"At the moment, we even have some double rooms sitting vacant," she added.

Tuul said that by now, most University of Tartu students who wanted a dormitory room have secured one. Single rooms and apartment-style one- and two-room units remain the most popular options and have the longest waiting lists. University of Tartu students receive priority for housing at Tartu Student Village, though students from other higher education institutions are also on the waiting list.

Ene Linnok, chief administrative specialist at Tartu Health Care College, said the number of dormitory applications submitted this year is about 25 percent lower than last year. Even so, there is still a waiting list for available rooms.

"The college continuously monitors dormitory occupancy and rooms that become available are offered to applicants on the waiting list when necessary. Dormitory places are allocated according to the established procedure and a single waiting list, ensuring equal treatment for all applicants," Linnok said.

According to Roland Aik Kask, manager of the Rohemu Campus dormitory at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, more housing applications have been submitted this year than last year. The dormitory has about 900 places, around 70 percent of which are occupied by Estonian University of Life Sciences students.

"We've made many improvements in recent years. We renovated the facilities and made them more functional and we also updated the contract terms so that cooperation between residents and management runs even more smoothly," Kask said.

Tartu Student Village operates eight apartment units across the city. Rates vary, with the least expensive rooms costing about €85 a month and studio apartments costing up to €475. Monthly rent at the Tartu Health Care College dormitory depends on the room type and occupancy arrangement and ranges from €53 to €165. At Rohemu Campus, monthly accommodation fees range from €165 to €600, depending on the type of accommodation and the contract.

Tartu Student Village has a total of 2,681 places across its eight dormitories. Rohemu Campus has about 900 places, while Tartu Health Care College offers nearly 300 accommodation places.

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