Students pay too much rent

Almost three quarters of students (73 per cent) pay too much rent, according to an investigation by the National Student Union (LSVb).
By Peter Keizer / Translation by Sarah van Steenderen

Students pay an average of 55 euros too much for their rooms. In Amsterdam and Utrecht, the amount is as high as 100 euros, according to the union.

The student’s union wants municipalities and the Lower House to intervene and deal with crooked landlords. ‘Every year we notice that students pay too much rent, practically making going to university unaffordable’, says LSVb president Jarmo Berkhout. In 2015, 74 per cent of students paid too much rent. In 2016, that was 73 per cent.

Points system

The amount of rent is determined on the basis of a points system, which is legally stipulated. The union concludes that most landlords care not a whit about those rules. ‘On average, students lose more than 600 euros in overcharged rent a year’, according to the LSVb. Especially private landlords overcharge. But housing corporations do not always meet the rules either, the union says.

Students complaining about the high rent are often harassed by their landlords, says Berkhout. ‘The landlords aren’t complying with the rules and students are left to fend for themselves. That is completely unfair to them and municipalities and our national politicians should do something about it right now’, he says.

Dutch

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