Rent in Stellenbosch is rapidly increasing and experts have said this increase is driven by two key factors.
New rental property developments including “lifestyle features” such as gyms and games rooms; as well as the increasing number of students having to seek private accommodation off-campus, are pushing up prices.
Emily Robertson, a real estate agent at Pam Golding Properties, said that in Central Stellenbosch demand is increasing faster than supply.
As a result, an increasing amount of student accommodation is being provided by private suppliers, said Wayne van der Vent, a residential property developer and owner of a property data business.
According to the official Stellenbosch University (SU) website, SU can accommodate about 6 500 of its 30 000 students in 31 residences.
Robertson said that due to only a fraction of students being able to secure housing in university residences, most have to make use of private rentals.
“SU simply cannot house all of its students in on-campus residences, so there’s a strong spillover into the private rental market and increasingly into purpose-built student accommodation,” said Vivian Warby, property editor at Independent Media. “What that’s created is very high occupancy levels, sustained rental demand and ongoing pressure on pricing in areas close to campus.”
Warby added that she saw more “public-private collaboration and private development activity focused on student housing” due to universities accrediting more private student accommodation to increase capacity beyond their own residences.
According to an article published in early April 2026 by The African Investor, rent in Stellenbosch has increased 8% since this time last year, and is projected to grow an additional 5% to 8% in 2026.
With the rental prices continuously rising, people are finding it difficult to afford renting in Stellenbosch. “Affordability is a growing pressure point [in Stellenbosch],” said Warby.
Jané Westraad, a recent graduate living in Stellenbosch, shared her experience of looking for apartments. She said that her apartment, situated in Stellenbosch Central, is over-priced, but she was happy to pay it because she was in urgent need of a place to stay.
Westraad said that last year, she lived two streets from the beach in Sea Point, Cape Town, and paid much less for an apartment there. She added that she found it baffling how high rent can be in Stellenbosch.
An example of these high prices is a recently listed apartment in Ryneveld Street for which you would have to pay R68 000 a month. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment is also listed on AirBnB at R6 390 for two nights. It is centrally located and close to SU.
The contrast between accommodation for students in Stellenbosch and that in other university towns like Potchefstroom, is stark. A two-bedroom apartment in Potchefstroom costs R9 250 per month, while a similar apartment in Stellenbosch is priced at R29 900 per month.
“I think we are at a risk of rent becoming higher and higher to the point where students won’t be able to afford it. They [investors and developers] believe that they won’t stand empty because of the demand, because the supply is [limited],” said Van der Vent.
A Stellenbosch Town Report, published by the Western Cape government in August 2022, showed there is a need for affordable housing in Stellenbosch. Since then, it appears that this problem has not been resolved.
Van der Vent said that if investors and developers would accept a lower return over a longer period of time, renting could become more affordable.
“Ultimately, it boils down to high demand versus limited supply, amplified by the lifestyle appeal,” said Robertson.