FERRARA – A number of Erasmus scholarship students from Spain, who started an international exchange at university in the prosperous Emilian city of Ferrara, are being forced to live on the street, due to the lack of apartments for rent, L'Avvenire newspaper reported on Wednesday.

 Many Spanish students in the recent days were forced to sleep under bridges, arcades or at the railway station in Ferrara due to the inability to find accommodation, L'Avvenire, the daily organ of the Catholic Church in Italy, said. They believe they are “victims of discrimination,” according to 21 year-old Javier from Seville.

 Some of them, such as Adriana Garcia, say they are being cheated by local landlords or fraudster estate agents, with rents paid in advance for apartments to which they have never seen the keys. Others desperately accepted to rent just a sofa for 600 euros per month. Regarding to this difficult situation many of Spanish homeless students decided to file a complaint with court against the offer of the University of Ferrara.

 “In Rai we have been told that the problems are due to the fact that the University of Ferrara has offered 3,000 more places than expected, which is why there are so many students on the street. The city of 100,000 inhabitants has no capacity for so many people,” explained Spanish student from Compultense University of Madrid, Vicky Palacio, interviewed by national television.

 21 year-old Vicky Palacio obtained a scholarship for fourth year of International Law in Ferrara. After an unsuccessful apartment search since April, she has been staying with eight other students in one Airbnb room for rent, which they will have to leave in the next few hours.

 The government body responsible for Erasmus program, led in Spain by the Minister of Education, Joan Subirats, indicates that they do not have housing competence. “It is the host University that have to provide help to young people in their search of residence, before they arrive at their destination,” Efe news agency reported.

 The University of Ferrara commented on the situation of exchange students saying that there is a shortage of student housing all over the country. Similar difficult housing situation is observed also in Bologna, Venetia, Florence and Rome.

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