Student residences constitute an important infrastructure within the university system in a sector which is characterized by the movement of students at a European and international level, by an increasing rationalisation in the number of universities and by a progressive reduction in public contributions towards the right to study.
The offer has increased in recent years, but availability is still insufficient compared with demand. FHS estimated that the current offer in Italy only meets the needs of around 10% of out-of-town students (while the European average is around 30%). Thus to be able to reach the threshold of almost 20%, at least 50,000 new accommodation places are required.
Operators and investors, even from outside Italy, have shown interest in the sector but the start-up of new initiatives is obstructed by the inefficiency of the operational models, by the slow pace of urban advancement and, above all, by the low profitability of the investments and of the management. Yet the role of the manager is crucial not just once the residences are operational, but already when they are still at the concept phase. Economic viability requires the projects and the realization to be managed with very close attention paid to costs.
For this reason, FHS constituted In-Domus srl in 2014, a company that manages student housing with a strong social dimension which retains 100% of the capital.
2014 also saw the acquisition, by Fondo Immobiliare di Lombardia (Lombardy Ethical Real-Estate Fund) Section 1, of the Campus Certosa building, which was granted for rental to In-Domus.
In September 2015, the student housing in Via Monneret de Villard was inaugurated, the management of which is entrusted to In-Domus.
