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Student Housing Crisis in Lebanon

Student housing in Lebanon is characterized by chronic stress and instability due to weak regulatory protections and an ongoing economic crisis, making it difficult for students to find affordable and decent housing. Many students face high rents and poor living conditions, often resulting in overcrowded accommodations, while the lack of clear rental agreements leaves them legally unprotected. This situation contributes to significant emotional and mental health challenges for students, impacting their overall well-being and academic performance.

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rabahghid
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13 views2 pages

Student Housing Crisis in Lebanon

Student housing in Lebanon is characterized by chronic stress and instability due to weak regulatory protections and an ongoing economic crisis, making it difficult for students to find affordable and decent housing. Many students face high rents and poor living conditions, often resulting in overcrowded accommodations, while the lack of clear rental agreements leaves them legally unprotected. This situation contributes to significant emotional and mental health challenges for students, impacting their overall well-being and academic performance.

Uploaded by

rabahghid
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Ghid Rabah

Journal 1

Student housing in lebanon is in a state of chronic stress and instability, especially


because of the weak regulatory protections, and the never-ending economic crisis in
lebanon. Many students struggle to find and maintain affordable housing, or even decent
housing, adding a lot of stress on top of the demanding academic life. One of the main
challenges is affordability, specifically in university-centered areas like Byblos, or Beirut,
where landlords demand high rents with minimal living conditions. With no other places
available, this leaves the students with no other choice, and sometimes are forced to share
overcrowded dorms or apartments to afford their accommodation specially with low wages
suffocating lebanon . Furthermore, with no strict rules to protect students, the landlords
may raise rents unexpectedly or terminate leases without prior notice if they think they
might have better options.

On top of that, the absence of protection and stable conditions add another layer of stress.
It’s treated as a private matter and not a community issue.

An additional issue is that nearly all the students rent housing without proper and clear
rental agreements which leaves them unprotected legally, rendering students unable to
change anything even if they wanted to and spoke up about it.

This problem has become so prevalent that the power imbalance between landlords and
students is considered nowadays normal and the stress that the students and their parents
must endure are guaranteed.

From my own experience, I myself have struggled immensely with finding a proper dorm
here in byblos as I live far from campus, and my sisters, high school students also here with
me away from my parents. It took us a whole year before we came here to find a good
apartment that was in budget and a good option. An entire year, with a note that we are
searching in Byblos, a not so crowded city like Beirut.
As a psychology student, I view this issue from an emotional and mental health
perspective. The chronic stress and instability that the students and their parents are going
through can and will interfere with their sleep, concentration, their ability to work both
academically and physically, their emotional regulation and irritability. Feeling safe is an
essential component for individuals to grow and be able to function properly. One of the
first things that came to my mind when I began thinking about this problem was maslow’s
hierarchy of needs. The second need in the pyramid is safety needs, which includes having
a stable predictable and protective home environment, exactly the opposite if what
students in dorms are going through. Individuals are unable to climb up the ladder in the

pyramid unless they have satisfied the previous need. For university students, who are
supposed to grow and find themselves and their purposes at this age, living in these
conditions will deteriorate their well-being and have a negative impact on their mental and
physical well being.

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