Student accommodation
Student residence
Student residence is the generic name for any building that houses students for the academic year with services included: a colegio mayor, a university residence or a private building run by an operator. In Spain it is a label of use and of marketing, not a legal figure of its own.
Also known asstudent accommodation · student housing · halls
What it is, exactly
In Spain the expression has no legal definition: it is used alike by a colegio mayor (a Spanish hall of residence with a formative programme), by an affiliated university residence and by a private building that the investment market calls PBSA. What decides which rules reach it is not the name but two questions: whether it has a link with a university, and what contract it signs with whoever lives there.
| If the residence is… | Ley 3/2022 on community life | GDPR |
|---|---|---|
| A colegio mayor | Yes, through its integration into the university | Yes |
| Affiliated to a university | Yes, through affiliation | Yes |
| Private, with no university link | No | Yes |
On the contract, the Spanish Urban Leases Act leaves out of its scope the use of university housing that the owning or responsible university expressly designates as such and allocates to its enrolled students (art. 5.d). That exclusion needs a university behind it; for everything else, the fit is worked out under residential lease or lease for other use. Compared with a coliving, a residence lives by the academic calendar, usually has a dining hall and deals with families.
Sources
Related terms
- Residencia universitaria (university residence)A residencia universitaria is a Spanish university residence: a centre that provides accommodation and services to university students —room, meals, cleaning— without being a university institution. It may belong to the university, be affiliated to it or be private and independent, and any owner may run it.
- PBSAPBSA (purpose-built student accommodation) is a student residence built or refurbished for that use and run by a private operator, with rooms or studios, shared areas and services. The term comes from the British market, and in Spain it is used mainly by investors and operators.
- ColivingA coliving is a building of private rooms or studios with a shared kitchen, lounge and work areas, run by an operator with services included and a community life. It is aimed mainly at young professionals and stays of several months. In Spain it has no national law of its own.