Chapter 1
Housing: finding a room
Finding a room is the hardest part for most students. Start early, search in the right order and never pay anything before you are sure the room and the landlord are real.
When to start
Start 3 to 6 months before your programme begins. Around August and September everyone is looking at the same time and rooms are scarce, especially in the big student cities. If you start later, you will often need a temporary place first.
Have the documents landlords often ask for ready: your passport or ID card, proof of enrolment or admission from your school, and proof that you can pay the rent (for example student finance, a scholarship, a bank statement or a parent acting as guarantor).
The order that works
- First through your school or university. Many institutions have a housing service or agreements with student housing providers, and sometimes rooms set aside for international students. Ask the international office or housing service as soon as you are admitted.
- Then the well-known housing platforms. Create a profile, turn on alerts and reply quickly and personally. The names per country are below.
- Letting agents. Useful for studios and flats. Always ask beforehand what you pay and what for.
- Facebook and WhatsApp groups. You will find many rooms from students who are leaving, but also most of the scammers. Read the warnings below.
- Marktplaats (NL) or 2dehands (BE). Sometimes a good find, with the same care as in the groups.
- A room in someone's home (lodger). You live in the landlord's house. Often quieter and cheaper, with different rules (see per country).
A temporary place while you search
Not found anything before you arrive? Book something for a few weeks first: a hostel, a short-stay room, a room on a platform for temporary rentals, or a temporary room through your school (some institutions offer these in the first weeks). Keep searching from the city; viewings are much easier then.
Coming from abroad?
To register with the municipality you need an address where you actually live. A hostel usually does not count. With a temporary room, ask whether you can register there, and read https://studyslim.com/study-in-the-netherlands-and-belgium/arrival/ for what you can already sort out without a fixed address.
Spotting scams
Watch out: this is how most scams work
- Never pay in advance. No deposit, rent or "reservation fee" before you have seen the room (or someone you trust has) and you have a written contract.
- Never via Western Union, MoneyGram, a money transfer abroad, crypto or gift cards. Real landlords do not ask for that.
- "I live abroad, I will post you the key." A classic scam. No viewing possible is a firm no.
- Too good to be true. A big room in the centre for much less than similar rooms is almost always fake.
- Pressure. "Ten others want it, pay today." A real landlord gives you time to read the contract.
- Check who the landlord is. Ask for ID and whether they own the place or rent it out for the owner. Run a reverse image search on the photos in the ad: if they show up in other cities or under other names, it is fake.
- Pay to an account in the name of the landlord or letting company, in the country where you rent, and keep every receipt.
Not sure? Ask the international office, or https://studyslim.com/study-in-the-netherlands-and-belgium/ask/.
Checklist for a viewing
Bring this or ask it
- What is the rent and what does it include (gas, water, electricity, internet, service costs)? Do you get a yearly statement of the costs?
- How much is the deposit, and how and when do you get it back?
- Is there a written contract, for what period, and how do you give notice?
- Can you register at this address with the municipality?
- How many people share the kitchen, shower and toilet?
- Do the heating, windows and locks work? Is there a smoke detector? Any damp or mould?
- Take photos of the room and of any defects, and agree to add them to the contract.
- Ask the current residents what it is like to live there.
In the Netherlands
Through your school and student housing providers
Start with the international office or the housing page of your university. Many institutions work with student housing providers such as DUWO (including Delft, Leiden, The Hague and Amsterdam) and SSH (including Utrecht), or with private providers such as Xior and The Fizz. Some work with a waiting list or lottery: sign up as early as you can.
Housing platforms
- Kamernet: lots of rooms in student houses.
- Pararius: mainly studios and flats from landlords and agents.
- Funda (rentals): rental homes from estate agents.
- HousingAnywhere: aimed at international students, also from abroad.
- Kamer.nl: rooms and studios.
- Marktplaats: sometimes rooms, with extra care.
StudySlim has no deals with these sites and earns nothing from them.
Letting agents: when do you pay fees?
Does an agent work for the landlord and offer the room or home on the landlord's behalf? Then they may not charge you, the tenant, agency fees, not even under another name such as administration, contract or registration costs. You only pay an agent you hired yourself to find something that was not already on their list. Paid anyway? You can claim it back (the Juridisch Loket can help).
A room in someone's home (lodger, "hospita")
With lodging the landlord lives in the house and you share facilities. The first 9 months are a trial period: the landlord can end the tenancy without a reason, with 3 months' notice. After that you have normal tenant protection.
Your rights as a tenant
- A written contract and written information about your rights and obligations are required (Good Landlordship Act).
- Deposit: at most 2 months' basic rent (for contracts since 1 July 2023).
- Service costs: only costs actually incurred, with a yearly statement.
- Maximum rent for a room: set by a points system (including floor area, energy label and property value). Check it with the Huurcommissie's rent check. If your rent is too high, talk to your landlord first; if you cannot agree, go to the Huurcommissie (rent tribunal) or your municipality's reporting point. Since 1 January 2025 a landlord who charges too much can be fined.
- Registration: you must register at the address where you live. A landlord who says registration is "not allowed" is a warning sign.
- No discrimination or intimidation. Both are prohibited.
Rent benefit for a room?
Usually not. Rent benefit (huurtoeslag) is in principle for a self-contained home with its own front door, kitchen and toilet, and since 1 March 2024 also its own shower or bath. For a room in a student house you usually cannot get it, apart from a few exceptions. Check your situation with the Tax Administration. More about money in https://studyslim.com/study-in-the-netherlands-and-belgium/money-and-work/.
In Belgium
Through your school: the housing service
Most universities and university colleges have a housing service (often called the "kotdienst") with residence halls and their own platform with checked rooms ("koten"). Examples:
- Leuven: the KU Leuven housing service and its official platform Kotwijs. KU Leuven keeps part of the rooms in its residence halls for international students.
- Ghent: Kotatgent by the city of Ghent, with a checklist and model contracts.
- Antwerp: Kotweb, the free platform the Antwerp institutions refer to.
- Brussels: the housing service of your own institution (for example VUB, ULB or a university college).
Many Flemish cities use a "kotlabel" that checks quality and safety. Ask whether the room has a label, and whether the landlord has a conformity certificate (conformiteitsattest).
Housing platforms
- Immoweb: studios, flats and sometimes student rooms.
- The student room platform of your city or institution (see above).
- Spotahome: renting online, also for international students. Still try to have it viewed first.
- 2dehands: sometimes rooms, with extra care.
StudySlim has no deals with these sites and earns nothing from them.
Your rights in Flanders: the student lease
For student rooms in Flanders, the Flemish Housing Rental Decree has applied since 2019, with its own rules for students:
- Deposit: at most 2 months' rent (excluding costs for water, energy and internet). The landlord may only ask for it from 3 months before the start. Never in cash: the deposit goes into a blocked account in your name or into a landlord's account.
- Inventory (plaatsbeschrijving): required, made together before the start or in the first month, dated and signed by both of you. It is your main evidence if there is a dispute later about damage or the deposit.
- Registration: the landlord must register the contract within 2 months of signing (free, also online via MyRent).
- Ending: the contract ends automatically on its end date, with no tacit renewal. If you stop studying, you can give notice with 2 months' notice (with proof). Cancel more than 3 months before the start and it costs nothing; later you pay a fee of 2 months' rent.
- Insurance: fire and water damage insurance is strongly recommended. Sometimes your room is covered by your parents' policy, or it is part of the contract.
Brussels and Wallonia
Brussels and Wallonia have different rental rules from Flanders. Check the rules of the region where your room is (be.brussels or your school's housing service).
Belgian student?
A student room is usually your second residence: your official address stays with your parents and you do not register your room address. International students do register with the municipality; see https://studyslim.com/study-in-the-netherlands-and-belgium/arrival/.