Hundreds of international students still looking for rooms

For years now, TU Delft has reserved rooms for international students, but there are never enough rooms. This year, 700 international students will have to look for their own accommodation. TU Delft is not taking any emergency measures, as it did in 2015, because the 2016 Wet Doorstroming Huurmarkt (rental market flow act) does not cover short-term rental contracts. This means that TU Delft would run a financial risk if students move out before their contract comes to an end.

TU Delft is expecting about 2,700 international students this academic year. The last count was 1,384 master students and 807 bachelor students, the latter representing almost a doubling in the number. There will also be 470 exchange students and an as yet unknown number of students from joint education programmes.

Of the 2,700 students, TU Delft has helped 1,250 find accommodation through its ‘pool’ of reserved rooms. The allocation was done on a first come first served basis. Of the remaining students, 750 said that they would look for their own accommodation. The last 700 students will also have to look for their own accommodation. “We believe that there are a couple of hundred students still looking for accommodation, but that is hard to know,” explains a TU Delft spokesperson. “They do not let us know if they have found something.”

TU Delft advises students to not move into student hotels

TU Delft does hear from various sources that it is difficult to find a room. This is a worry, says the spokesperson. “We are stuck with changing legislation. It’s very hard. And there is a large international flow of students.” She says that this situation will probably only happen once as TU Delft will try to avoid the large number of registrations for computer sciences [LINK] next year.

TU Delft suggests the closed online community, Delftulip, to find a room. According to TU Delft, it contains links to trustworthy landlords and advises on avoiding fraud. TU Delft also suggests that students look in surrounding towns rather than only in Delft, and not come all the way to Delft if they do not have a place to live.

TU Delft advises students to not move into student hotels or bed & breakfasts temporarily. They have to pay a daily rate and this is expensive. It also takes time to find accommodation from there, which usually comes at the cost of the study. Should students be unable to find accommodation, they can de-register and will get their tuition fees back.

While TU Delft no longer looks for rooms, it does request various rental outlets to offer rooms. With the arrival of more international bachelor students, who would rent their rooms for longer periods of time, the demand for rooms will increase. “This will reduce the movement on the market,” says the spokesperson. “The good news is that there is more on offer for international students, for example the student flats on campus.”