In the council chamber, statistics stand opposite doom scenarios in the debate on the pick‑your‑housemate policy

On Thursday evening, the hum of conversation rises on the Markt, where about 200 students have gathered to express their dissatisfaction with DUWO’s new pick‑your‑housemate policy. They stand in small groups, wander around or sit on benches – some holding a slice of pizza in one hand and a beer in the other. Behind one of them hangs a banner reading: “I want to decide for myself whose hair I pull from the shower drain.”

At the moment, students still have complete freedom when choosing a new housemate. DUWO wants to change this by selecting a group of candidates itself for pick‑your‑housemate evenings, from which house residents then choose their new housemate. According to DUWO, this will lead to more transparency and equal opportunities for students seeking a room.

Close-knit bond

Students Anna and Sophie have come to the Markt to show they oppose the new system. The two are housemates, Anna explains, and have a close bond with their other housemates. “We can always walk into each other’s rooms and we do a lot together. If we no longer have a say in who moves in, that feeling will be completely different.”

In the town hall next door, other students wait until after midnight before the Social Domain and Housing committee reaches the topic of the pick‑your‑housemate policy. Before councillors debate the matter, seven external speakers share their views.

A quarter of rooms are occupied by DSC and Virgiel members

A pre-selection process leads to greater equality of opportunity, argues DUWO director Jelle van Kempen, who opens the discussion. “Only 16 per cent of the non-self-contained rooms we rent out are advertised by students on Room.nl. The other 84 per cent can only be found if you know the right people.” He presents more figures: 500 DUWO rooms are in all-male houses where women cannot apply, and only five MBO students live in DUWO housing. Of the four thousand non-self-contained units, one thousand are occupied by members of DSC and Virgiel. “And that number keeps growing, because those houses will never return to the open pick‑your‑housemate system.”

VeRa board member Lucas van Krimpen, who speaks immediately after Van Kempen, chooses a different approach. He appeals to emotion, painting a gloomy picture. “We have a story to tell that strikes at the heart of us as students, and with that, our beautiful Delft—our home,” he begins. “But for how much longer can we still call it our home? How much longer is it the place where we feel completely safe? How much longer is this the place where we can truly be ourselves?”

Autism 

According to Van Krimpen, the proposed pick‑your‑housemate policy undermines Delft’s student house culture and thus student well-being. He believes that the eighteen associations that are part of the VeRa have not been sufficiently heard by DUWO.

Six other students then explain why they oppose the proposed changes. Among them is Tom Borgdorff, who lives in a VGSD house with three others and stresses how important houses are for the association. Another is Daan Bos, who has autism and fears that an anonymous pre-selection by DUWO will only reduce his chances of finding a room. “The decision would then be based almost entirely on a brief social impression within the group, whereas the pick‑your‑housemate system through your own network already provides context and trust.”

Election campaign

That the municipal elections are approaching becomes clear once the political parties take the floor. CDA and Volt accuse STIP, the student party, of turning the pick‑your‑housemate policy into a campaign issue even though it is formally a matter between DUWO and tenants. “How fair is it to tell students you are defending their interests in this issue when as a municipal council we cannot actually do anything about it?” asks Jorrit Treffers of Volt.

PvdA, GroenLinks and Onafhankelijk Delft also stress that the council has no authority over the pick‑your‑housemate system. PvdA councillor Simon de Rijk additionally believes that pre-selection does not automatically lead to less social cohesion. “I study in Utrecht, and there, residents choose from twenty pre-selected candidates. There is still ample room to choose someone who fits your house.”

Motion

ChristenUnie, STIP and VVD believe the municipal council should influence the policy. They want the mayor and aldermen to officially recognise Delft’s student house culture. ChristenUnie councillor Jens Mostert says: “Instead of passively referring to an ongoing discussion between DUWO and student organisations, we can actively protect the house cultures and communities in our city.

STIP councillor Wieger Molkenboer announces he will submit a motion on the subject during the next council meeting on Thursday, 5 March. ChristenUnie, Volt and VVD express interest in contributing.

• The municipal council meeting on Thursday, 5 March starts at 20:00 and can be attended online or in person.
• Meanwhile, the process of developing a new pick‑your‑housemate policy continues. DUWO expects to present a policy proposal in April and send it to tenant organisations, which have formal advisory rights. In the second half of the year, DUWO hopes to implement the new policy.

With contributions from Marjolein van der Veldt and Nikita Ham.