Student housing in Netherlands
How student housing works in Netherlands, including providers, queues, deposits, contracts and practical risks to check before signing.
Read the complete Netherlands study abroad guide.
Housing
Housing is the hardest part of studying in the Netherlands and universities say so themselves. No Dutch university guarantees accommodation to all international students, and several publish warnings telling applicants not to come without a room.
Some institutions reserve a limited number of rooms for international students in the first year, allocated in a lottery or first come queue that opens months ahead. If your university offers one, treat the opening date as more important than any other date in your calendar.
Otherwise you compete on the private market, in a country with a national shortage, through Facebook groups and platforms where scams are common. Never transfer a deposit for a room you have not seen, in person or by video, and never to someone who refuses a viewing.
Insist on the right to register at the address. A room where you cannot register at the gemeente is worthless, whatever the rent.
Source: https://www.studyinnl.org/
Common questions
What should international students know about housing in Netherlands?
No university guarantees housing. Apply the day it opens, and never take a room you cannot register at.