The goal of the pact is to continue to ensure a proper balance in the supply and demand for student housing for now and the years to come. In the coming months, the municipalities will jointly work on an implementation agenda. For the short term, the emphasis is on better integration of the housing supply of Heerlen and Sittard-Geleen in Maastricht student housing portals so that the housing supply becomes more widely known. For the longer term, important issues include coordinating the share of student housing in the cities' existing housing programs and coordinating communication about the importance of student housing plans toward the market. "I am proud of this South Limburg cooperation. With this pact, we are joining hands to continue housing young talents in the region, and hopefully retaining them for the region after they graduate. In this way we strengthen the regional knowledge economy in general, and the dynamics of Heerlen as an emerging student city in particular." said Alderman Gelderblom (Housing) of municipality Heerlen.

Alderman Geilen (Housing) put his signature to the pact on behalf of Sittard-Geleen: "In the daily experience of many people, municipal boundaries do not exist at all, then it is also obvious to look beyond those boundaries as a government and work together towards solutions. In university city Maastricht, many people study who are not from the neighborhood and therefore need a place to live. Thanks in part to the good public transport connections, Sittard-Geleen is a great place to live then. We already have very good experiences with PITground. We would like to continue that line."

Alderman Pas (Housing) of municipality Maastricht: "Students who study at Maastricht higher education institutions do not only live in Maastricht, but also in the region. Regional cooperation is therefore important. This pact is therefore a good step forward. Not only for today's students, but also for young graduates for whom suitable housing is needed if they accept a job in South Limburg."

The basis for student housing programming is found in the student housing programming adopted by the Maastricht College and Council up to and including the year 2030. This assumes an average growth in the need for student housing of 3% per year. Historical data shows that approximately 20% of this growth does not land in Maastricht, but in the surrounding region. This distribution over the region is also maintained in this pact. This amounts to a total of 3,500 units for the years 2024 to 2030, of which 700 outside of Maastricht. The pact marks a starting point for cooperation between Heerlen, Maastricht and Sittard-Geleen, which other South Limburg municipalities can also join if they wish.