‘I FEEL LIKE A BURDEN AS A HOUSE GUEST’

Tessa van der Ent (24, Physics) is temporarily sleeping in her friends’ office, along with her pet hamster Manda.

‘I’m a second-year master’s student, doing full-time research in the lab. It’s quite a nuisance if you also have to look for a place to live at the same time. Due to the new housing policy, I had to leave my previous house, along with five other housemates. In the summer of 2021, we had received a letter saying we would have to leave within six months. However, the letter was hidden underneath something else. By the time we found it, we only had three months left.

‘Whether or not we had the right permits remained unclear until the very end. I couldn’t find much information on the internet. When I called the municipality, I only ever got to speak to people who were not responsible for the situation. They refused to do anything for me, as if students had no right to housing, and I was constantly referred to my landlord. He said that everything was fine, probably to make sure that we would stay as long as possible so that he could keep making money.

‘I was in a three-year relationship at the time and we started living together, partly because it was easier to find a place together. We broke up about two months ago, and now I’m faced with the same problem again. I’m temporarily sleeping here, in a small office at my fiends’ place. I’m very grateful that I get to stay here, but I do feel like a burden, because they can’t work from home now because of me.

‘I check all the different website every day and I’ve only had one viewing. Sometimes there aren’t even any available offers, even though I only have two requirements: in Leiden and a maximum of 900 euros per month. I have little faith in the situation. I’m kind of at my wits’ end, but there are ups and downs. Sometimes I start to get hope again, but then I respond to an offer within one minute and I see that two hundred other people have also responded. Not to mention the prices: I recently saw a room of 19 square metres, with a shared kitchen and bathroom, for 750 euros.

‘It takes up all my time. You have to be constantly on the lookout. That makes it hard for me to concentrate on my research. Thankfully, there is understanding for the situation, but I do have to finish it on time. After this, I would like to study for a PhD, so it’s important that it goes well.

‘My expectations are low; I try not to think about it too much. But I think I’ll manage to find something within the semester.’

Also read: Prognosis: universities will continue to grow rapidly while room shortage rises to 44,800 

Paula von Byern (20, Psychology) is temporarily living in the student flat at Hildebrandpad, the so-called Black Boxes: her third residence in one year.

‘I just started the second year of my Psychology programme, and I’ve already had to move three times. I’m from Munich but I thought it would be nice to stay somewhere else for a while. As a student, you get the chance to study in another country.

‘I started out in a studio on Schipholweg, but the rent was quite high, 800 euros a month, and I also wanted to live with housemates. A friend of mine who lived in Oegstgeest had two rooms available in a kind of semi-detached house. It seemed like an ideal solution. I lived directly above the landlady; my two housemates were next door. Things were all right at first, but she started bothering me more and more. Even when I was just typing on my balcony, the sound would make her very angry. Or she would send me a text message when she heard me coughing. She would write that I was being noisy, that I wasn’t following the rules and that it was disgusting, sometimes with puke emojis.

‘By the end, just before summer, I was afraid to do anything but literally walk on tiptoe. She regularly showed up unannounced in our part of the house, had asked the cleaner to spy on us and took away my coffee machine once because I wasn’t allowed to make coffee in my room due to the smell.

‘The situation became untenable and the end of my lease was approaching. After a stressful housing search, I found the studio where I now live just in time. I cried with joy when the boy I rent from said I could move in. He will be back in January, so I will have to move again. I will extend my search to The Hague, because it seems like there is more offer there.

Still, I’ve never regretted coming here and I haven’t considered going back for a moment. It helps that I have friends here and that my parents can help me in case of emergency. It was exhausting, but it worked out every time. I’m hopeful that it will be the same this time.’

 ‘I RESPOND TO ALL THE ADVERTISEMENTS I SEE’

Leon Darius Rahimi (25, Statistical Science) is staying with a friend in his room at a student house in Uilenstede, Amstelveen.
 
‘I could also have chosen to study for my master’s in Germany, where I come from, but I wanted to do it in the Netherlands because they offer it in English here. I arrived here on Saturday. I had been looking for a room for about two months prior to that. For now, I’m staying here with a friend.

‘We met in Spain, where I worked and studied for two years. Back then, I had a house with a room for him to stay in, and now I can stay at his place. There are ten other people living in the house, all international students. We share the kitchen and the living room. They are all very friendly; everyone has just moved to the Netherlands.

‘I use all kinds of paid websites to look for a house, such as Kamernet, but none of them work for me: I never get any positive replies. Many people are specifically looking for Dutch students or for a girl. I find that pretty harsh.

‘I respond to all the advertisements I see. There are often requests on Facebook from people who are looking for others to rent something together, for example. Yesterday, I had my first lectures, so I immediately started asking around there too. I got some phone numbers of housing agents and of an organisation that offers anti-squatting accommodations.

‘I do feel stressed about it, but that doesn’t do any good. I try to distract myself by exercising. I shouldn’t give up; I just have to keep looking, but at the same time I know that there are certain things I can’t change.

‘It will be tough studying without my own room, but I’ll find a way. For example, by going to the library. Going back or postponing my studies is not an option for me. I might take one exam less and make up for it another semester.

‘Things always work out in the end. The worst-case scenario is that I stay here a little longer, and then I might find something for January or February, but I don’t want to be dependent on my friend and I also want him to have his privacy. It does feel good to know that in case of an emergency, I have someone I can rely on.’