The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has opened its student accommodation portal for the 2025 academic year. This is important information for all NSFAS-funded students who require accommodation in 2025.
NSFAS provides comprehensive bursaries and student loans to deserving learners enrolled in approved courses at universities and TVET colleges. NSFAS funding covers tuition and registration fees, as well as several allowances for food, accommodation, and learning materials.
NSFAS Opens Student Accommodation Portal For 2025
Students can apply and reserve accommodation for the upcoming academic year from 6 January 2025. Applications will remain open until all NSFAS-accredited properties are filled.
NSFAS says the decision to launch the accommodation portal follows their successful pilot programme launched in the 2022/23 academic year.
The government bursary scheme launched an accommodation pilot project to enhance the availability of accredited student housing for students at 17 South African universities and 23 TVET colleges. This project aimed to ensure safer, quality student housing by working directly with accredited private providers, accessible through a new digital portal.
This system is designed to support students in finding accommodations that meet the set standards of safety and quality, though it’s faced challenges with limited access and functionality, sparking criticism from groups like the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA)
Following a review of the project in October, the government bursary scheme, NSFAS, decided to implement private student accommodation options at all Universities and TVET Colleges beginning in 2025.
Key to the outcomes of the workshop was for NSFAS to end the pilot and implement the NSFAS private student accommodation both at Universities and TVET Colleges in 2025.
Students and accommodation providers can now register on the system. Students can apply for accommodation, while accommodation providers can have their properties considered to house NSFAS-funded students.
NSFAS warned that they will re-evaluate all properties to ensure they meet the minimum norms and standards for student housing.
NSFAS will still re-evaluate the accredited properties that were identified not to be meeting the Policy on the Minimum Norms and Standards for Student Housing. Should such properties be found not to be compliant, their accreditation certificates will be revoked.
