Dossier

Student housing

From a shortage of rooms to fraudulent landlords

Do you want a room in Delft? It is becoming increasingly difficult. The city has a shortfall of 1,500 rooms, reports the Woonmonitor (housing monitor) 2021. If TU Delft continues to grow, the shortage may rise to 3,600 by 2028. The Municipality of Delft wants to build more housing, but there is little land. The campus is big, but TU Delft sees few opportunities for housing there.

The tight housing market is also causing all sorts of other problems. These include fraud and problems with landlords. Who is responsible for the shortage of rooms and who will solve it? And who is standing up for the rights of residents? Read about this and more in this dossier.

Opinion

Alex Nedelcu believes that he’s lucky to live in a city like Delft. However, he sees that it’s not an option for every TU Delft student. It seems to him that very few new housing developments are actually geared towards students.

Student life
The Schoof Government is not going to give shared student rooms a rent allowance. Housing Minister Mona Keijzer says that it is too expensive and difficult to implement. For years, voices have been calling for students in shared housing to also receive a rent allowance. Their high monthly costs would then go down and student
Student life
Student rooms are cheaper and cosier, according to outgoing housing minister Hugo de Jonge. But studios are more profitable. That is why student rooms are being converted into studios, he warns. Landlords can charge more money for a studio because the students have their own kitchen, shower and toilet in one. The government compensates part
Student life
Delft is number 11 on the Dutch Student Union (LSVb) ranking of student room cities. That is down four places from a year earlier. According to the student union, Delft has dropped mainly due to the relatively large price increases for student rooms in Delft. According to the LSVb, the average rent was 504.49 euros,
Student life
XIOR Student Housing has already been reprimanded hundreds of times by the rent commission for excessive service charges. Students also often pay too much at other large housing providers, NOSop3 observes. A landlord should not make a profit on the cost of cleaning, garden maintenance or a caretaker. Yet this does happen, reports NOSop3. The
Student life
The Indefinite Rental Contracts Act will come into effect on July 1. Then indefinite rental contracts will become the norm again. Student rooms are excluded from this Act. The House of Representatives had asked for an exception for foreign students. They should still be able to obtain temporary contracts. But the law now applies to
Student life

On 15 February, the House of Representatives will vote on the grant for students living away from home: at stake is the continuation of the extra 164 euros a month they receive at present. Meanwhile, student organisations want to see a permanent rise in the basic grant.