STUDENTS staying in a double room might need to prepare for a third roommate soon.

The Student Affairs Office (SAO) and representatives from the 16 halls met a week ago to discuss the proposal that could see up to two-thirds of existing double rooms at 11 halls converted into rooms for three.

The change could come as early as August, and is one of the proposals to tackle the high demand for places in hall.

According to sources at the meeting, two-thirds of the double rooms at Hall 4 may be converted into triple rooms, half of the single rooms at Hall 1 and 2 into double rooms and between one-third to two-thirds of the double rooms at the rest of the halls may be converted into triple rooms. However, there would be no changes to Hall 3, 7 and 16.

The changes were proposed by the SAO, taking into consideration the size of each hall. Hall 4, which has the largest double rooms, would have more rooms converted into triple rooms.

No change has been proposed to Hall 3 and 16 as they have the smallest room area among all the halls. Hall 7 would also be unaffected under this proposal because it lacks amenities such as a hall canteen. This would pose an inconvenience to an increased population should its rooms be converted as well, the SAO told representatives at the meeting.

The measure to convert existing rooms to house more students came after plans to construct four new halls to increase accomodation on campus were shelved for the next two years.

The delay was probably due to increasing pressure on construction resources here, which has seen the postponement of some $2 billion worth of public sector construction projects, according to the November-December 2007 edition of The Singapore Engineer.

“The bulk of the construction activities and resources in 2008 and 2009 are expected to be concentrated on mega projects such as the Integrated Resorts, Marina Business Financial Centre, Downtown MRT Line and petrochemical plants,” the magazine read.

If the proposed changes go through, the SAO expects to be able to house 900 more students, in spite of the construction crunch facing the nation.

The Chronicle understands that special furniture including double-decker beds and beds that are built atop study tables are being explored to house the third resident comfortably.

A range of rates for the triple rooms was also proposed at the meeting and are likely to be lower than rates for double rooms.

Hall presidents whom the Chronicle spoke to said there is a need to cater to the demand for a place in hall, but an appropriate trade-off must be found.

Robin Lin, 23, president of Hall 6, said it is a delicate balance between maintaining comfort for residents and addressing the shortage of space.

President of Hall 2, Ngiam Zhen Hao, 23, agreed that something must be done, but was concerned about having half of all his hall’s single rooms converted into double rooms at once.

“The school definitely has a valid point in doing this, but cutting down half the number of single rooms means having twice the number of people wanting single rooms (in Hall 1 and 2).”

Instead, Ngiam suggested carrying out the changes in phases so that residents can have time to adjust.

The SAO declined to comment until the proposal is finalised.