Duwo proposed a new vote-in policy, but according to Mirte Brouwer, not the vote-in policy, but the lack of rooms in student houses is the real issue. And on top of that, the plan risks being the death blow for many association houses.
(Photo: Sam Rentmeester)
Who has a place for me to live? “Just a small room, that’s all I’m looking for. Four walls, a door, and somewhere to park my bike. Nothing big, nothing fancy.” This could easily be the inner monologue of any student hunting for a room. Because most students aren’t looking for a palace or a villa—they just need a place to live. And yet, often the answer is: sorry, there’s just no room.
Nationwide, there is currently a shortage of 21,000 rooms, and this number is only expected to grow. On top of that, it’s mostly studios that are being built, while the majority of students would rather live with housemates, which is not only more fun, but also better for their wellbeing. Sadly, many students can only dream of a place of their own near campus. The few shared houses that do exist are in high demand, and unfortunately many students never manage to get a spot in one.
Duwo wants to offer “more equal chances of securing a shared housing unit” by tinkering with the vote-in policy. New plans were announced just before summer: all rooms will be listed on room.nl, then a preselection will be made from the responses, and only after that current tenants can pick someone. “We believe it’s important that every student has an equal chance at a comfortable place to live, regardless of their background, origin, or who they know,” the announcement says. That’s a good ambition, but it has to go hand in hand with safeguarding the residents’ autonomy and living comfort.
Student-association houses serve an important social function
Vote-in policies are presented as the problem, but in practice it’s completely understandable that residents want a say in who moves in with them. Your housemates are people you see often, you eat with them, fix the washing machine together, and argue over the utility bills. Students don’t want to live with someone just because they happen to have been on the waiting list long enough—they want someone they feel comfortable with and can trust. A student from Leiden put it perfectly [in Dutch], “I want to decide whose hair I have to clean out of the shower drain.”
The saddest part is that this policy could be the death of many student-association houses. These houses serve an important social function. You can go to association events together, you have a similar weekly rhythm because everyone is away for activities at the same times, and it strengthens the community within the student association as a whole because people from different years and degrees live together. Moreover, for associations without their own building, these houses are an important meeting place. When a housemate hosts a gathering for an association you don’t belong to, it’s mostly the hassle that stands out. To keep from inconveniencing each other, you’ll stop hosting. That’s frustrating for the association and a shame for you. Association houses don’t exist to make it harder for some people to find a room—they exist because living together there truly adds something special.
Ultimately, this policy doesn’t address the real issue: there are still too few rooms, and just as many students will be left without housing. The solution isn’t tinkering with the vote-in process, it’s building. More rooms, more student houses instead of studios, more places to live together and share student life. So that every student can find a place to call home.
Mirte Brouwer is a master’s student in Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft and a master’s student in Dutch Literature and Literary studies at VU University Amsterdam.
Do you have a question or comment about this article?
m.c.brouwer@student.tudelft.nl
Comments are closed.