Landlords failing students whose rooms fall into disrepair, unsafe conditions

Some landlords are taking advantage of the student housing shortage in the Netherlands and letting their homes fall into disrepair. Many students in unsafe housing don’t dare complain for fear of losing their homes. Things like missing fire extinguishers or broken locks are taken for granted, NOS reports after surveying over 2,000 students.

“My room has wood rot. There are no working smoke detectors, the bathroom is full of mold because we can’t ventilate, and a leak has caused damp spots,” one student told the broadcaster. They’ve complained to the landlord, who refused to solve the problems. “He was suddenly in my room and said: if you go on like this, you better look for something else.”

A third of respondents said they don’t have the mandatory fire extinguisher in their homes. One in ten don’t have a smoke detector, mandatory everywhere since July. Hundreds of students have broken doors, locks, or windows.

A third told NOS they wouldn’t go to the landlord because they’ll lose their home if they did. While students are well within their rights to complain if something is wrong with their house, and landlords are obliged to fix many such problems.

Rental teams are active in several student cities. They give tenants advice if they have problems. Students can also go to the Rent Assessment Committee, which has a list of defects that landlords must resolve by law.

Jacqueline Versteeg of Huurteams Nijmegen understands why students are scared of landlords. “They say: ten others for you. Just like everywhere, Nijmegen students often have temporary rental contracts. And it often happens that landlords do not renew if a tenant complains,” she said to the broadcaster.

It would help if students knew their rights better, Versteeg said. “When they come to us now with their contracts, we often read things that shouldn’t be in there at all. And a landlord can’t just say they’ll evict you if you complain.”

The Cabinet is working on the Good Landlordship Act to better protect tenants against abuses. The bill will give municipalities more options to intervene at their own initiative if a home is not in order. There is also a push in parliament to ban temporary rental contracts.