Students in the Netherlands have always been confronted with the issue of housing. Due to the current crisis, finding accommodation has become even more impossible, especially for international students. This blog will feature 5 tips and tricks to make your own search for housing easier!
- Look at Student Housing
By choosing this particular option of housing, you make sure that your rent is relatively low compared to other types of housing. Most student accommodations have all the costs included in the rent price, which means no extra surprises! This also goes for the furniture, as most of the places are fully furnished. This can save you a lot of money! Check this out for more information!
2. Explore Facebook groups!
Facebook is a great place to meet people as well as it is an amazing asset to have when searching for housing in the Netherlands! Most ads are published by the students themselves that are renting out their rooms or apartments. Therefore, Facebook groups can be seen as a trusting and welcoming space to do your search.
Check out this group for more information
3. Pay attention to scams!
Many international students face the danger of running into some sort of scam by diverse housing websites! To make sure that you can avoid this issue, we recommend always asking for a tour of the room or apartment before you sign any contract or transfer any money! Also, make sure that the contract is either in English or that a Dutch person can help you with going over the details! Those are major steps that you need to be aware of for your housing search.
4. Ask for help
This can either be on a more personal basis with your friends as well as the International Office at your University to even student organizations such as ESN itself! There are many places you can reach out to as an international student, you just need to be aware of whom to contact. Check out ESN Rotterdam’s page for more information!
5. Consult an agency
If you still do not manage to find a good place for yourself with all the tips and tricks listed in this blog post, we suggest contacting an agency! They will always manage to find you the best place possible. However, you need to account for the small fee they charge you for their work!
For more information on housing in Rotterdam, you can check out this video!
Written by Alexa Belli, from the Content Committee