A new student housing option in the Amager district in Copenhagen was supposed to be a boon for international students dealing with the housing shortage in the capitol. But despite a number of students paying an advance deposit for an idyllic place to stay close to the beach, unfinished construction has led to some rough living conditions. 

 

More than two hundred disappointed students have moved in to the CPH Studio Hotel on Krimsvej to find that their rooms are still under construction, while workers scramble all over the building in an attempt to put the finishing touches on the project. 

 

Front of the CPH Studio Hotel in Krimsvej. Photo: Agustin Millan

 

“I’ve been here for just two days. I consider my room livable, but I know I’ve been lucky because I live on the first floor,” Kristina Barac, a student from Croatia, told The Local. 

 

The first floor has mostly finished rooms, but problems with the electrical system and wifi signal remain. Things are significantly worse on the upper levels, where some rooms don't have completed floors or heating.

 

Priorities list.

 

The general vibe in the students' dorm is one of resignation.

 

“At least we have something. Some of my friends are still in Airbnb,” Feral Daly, a student from Ireland, said. 

 

“We don’t have any other option,” explained computer science student Edward Marinescu. “I paid 12,000 kroner, equivalent to three months and the deposit”. 

 

Students are forced to work and catch up on their social networks out in the hallways. Photo: Agustin Millan 

 

Most of the students are still struggling with internet connectivity issues. 

 

“I use wifi in my friend’s room or the corridor because I can’t do it from my room,” Jorge Flores, a pharmaceutical student from Mexico, explained when we met him in the hallway. 

 

David Olsen, a student from California, said his room is now finished but that's about it.

 

“I can live in my room now, but I can’t work from there because I have no wifi signal. And all the facilities simply doesn’t exist: no gym, no restaurant and the laundry has just opened today,” Olsen said.

 

“Things are getting done, but I don’t trust the company,” he added. 

 

This room was supposed to host a student from September 1st.  Photo: Agustín Millan

 

But some students still face exceptionally difficult situations, like Chinese biology student Lidangzhi Mo. Her room doesn’t have a door, floor or finished walls.

 

“I’ve been living with a friend so far but now her roommates have come and I don’t know where I’m going next,” she told us on her way out the door to attend class.

 

Jacob Mosgaard, the chief of operation and co-owner of the building, vowed that the situation would be solved as soon as possible.

 

“We don’t try to hide our responsibility. We will finish this within two months or even sooner. We regret it, but construction delays happen,” he told The Local. 

 

Exposed pipes and connections in the hall.

 

Students are getting two months' compensation for the money they’ve paid in exchange for the construction delays. 

 

Despite the rocky start, German student Julia Gaugeris is optimistic.

 

“It’s improving quickly. I know that it could be better but I’m not angry. My room is on the third floor and I know I have been lucky to stay the first few days with a friend, because I couldn’t even sleep in my own room when I came here,” she said.