Estonian PropTech company Bidrento partners with Riga student housing operator
Duck Republik has opened a new student residence in Riga following an investment of €14.5 million. Located at Slokas iela 51, the building offers 211 fully furnished apartments, 261 beds and more than 800 square metres of shared spaces. The new student residence uses property management software from PropTech company Bidrento.
This is Duck Republik’s second student residence in Riga. The new residence is designed primarily for local and international university students and, in addition to private living spaces, offers shared areas for studying, sports and leisure.
According to Duck Republik board member Henrik Veld, today’s students no longer choose only a university, but increasingly also the environment in which they will live during their studies. The company aims to provide a living environment that combines privacy, community and modern services.
Demand for professionally managed student housing is growing across Europe. According to Savills’ 2026 European Operational Real Estate Investor Sentiment Survey, PBSA, or purpose-built student accommodation, is the most sought-after operational real estate sector among investors for the second year in a row. 58% of surveyed investors plan to allocate capital to the sector over the next three years.
Local figures in Latvia support the same trend. In the 2025/2026 academic year, 76,400 students are enrolled in Latvian higher education institutions, 2% more than a year earlier. Of these, 11,900 are international students, meaning that approximately one in six students studying in Latvia comes from abroad.
According to Bidrento CEO Taavo Annus, the growth of student housing is also making property operations increasingly professional.
“Serving 261 students on a daily basis means managing hundreds of agreements, invoices, payments, maintenance issues and interactions. The larger the property and the more international its residents, the less realistic it becomes to manage these processes through Excel, emails and separate systems. Our goal is to bring the entire process - from agreements and invoicing to maintenance and resident communication - into one system for the operator,” said Annus.
He added that student housing is an important and growing real estate segment for Bidrento. “With PBSA, simply renting out a room is no longer enough. Residents expect a good digital experience, while operators need to manage processes involving hundreds of residents as efficiently as possible. Duck Republik’s new project is a very good example of where the market is heading,” Annus added.
Duck Republik uses Bidrento for, among other things, managing agreements, invoices and payments, resident communication and maintenance processes.
About Duck Republik
Duck Republik provides modern student accommodation in Riga, focusing particularly on the needs of international students and creating a community-oriented living environment. Slokas iela 51 is the company’s second student residence in Riga. €14.5 million was invested in the development, which offers 211 apartments and 261 beds.
About Bidrento
Bidrento is property management software developed in Estonia that helps property owners and managers automate processes related to rental agreements, invoicing, payments, utility costs, maintenance and resident communication. The platform is used across residential and commercial real estate, as well as student housing, co-living and other professionally managed real estate portfolios.
