Renting out rooms simplified in Eindhoven to help students

It became easier to rent out a room in Eindhoven from Wednesday. The municipality hopes this will create more rooms for students. Educational institutions called on Eindhoven residents to make use of the scheme.

International students, in particular, have found it difficult to find accommodation over the past years. “In recent years, extra room rental was not allowed in certain parts of the city to prevent nuisance,” said Eindhoven alderman Mieke Verhees of housing. “The new scheme will make it possible for homeowners and tenants of housing associations to rent out a room without a permit in all parts of the city. This should help new students find a room more easily.” The idea is that because the primary occupant also lives in the house, there is supervision and, therefore, less nuisance.

Nicole Ummelen, vice chairman of the executive board of Eindhoven University of Technology: “Our region is one of the main drivers of the economy, and the strong growth means the industry has a huge need for additional engineers. We are happy to train those engineers, but then there must be rooms available for students. We, therefore, call on everyone in Eindhoven who has an extra room to rent it out. This way, they can earn something extra, make a young student happy, and help the region.”

Director Hans Nederlof of Fontys Hogescholen is also optimistic about the scheme. “It’s actually very basic. Every extra room is an extra student.” That is also the view of student union LSVb. “It is excellent that the municipality is thinking about creating more housing for students,” said chairman Joram van Velzen. He stressed that it remains vital that more real student homes are created. “Living together with other students is very important for social development, for example.”

Knowledge institute Kences again expects a shortage of some 26,500 places to live for students this year. In recent months, several universities advised international students to reconsider their studies if they cannot find accommodation in time. International students gave heed to that call, with universities already getting dropouts.