Most of our international students find their place to live on the private market. The private market offers an endless range of rooms and apartments owned by an infinite number of private individuals. Certain sites function as an intermediary, others are housing agencies that can make any necessary arrangements for you.
Use the list below to get started in your search for a room or apartment. Not all websites are available in English, so to make your life a bit easier, use this condensed glossary with housing terms. This should help you to judge the rooms on offer more easily. Please note: some of these will charge a fee!
- https://holland2stay.com/
- www.perfectrent.nl/
- www.rotsvast.nl
- http://niya.nl/
- www.roomplaza.com
- https://ishr.nl/
- https://www.m2studenthousing.nl/
- https://www.thisisourdomain.nl/rotterdam-blaak/home
- https://www.accresco.nl/vastgoed-rotterdam/rotterdam-vitro/
- https://fairlandstudios.nl/
- https://studenthousingthehague.com
- HousingAnywhere
- www.kamernet.nl
- https://www.funda.nl/en/
- www.pararius.com
- www.wimdu.com
- www.kamerverhuur.nl (only in Dutch)
- www.opkamers.nl (only in Dutch)
- www.kamers.nl (only in Dutch)
- www.huurwoningen.nl (only in Dutch, mostly apartments rather than rooms)
- www.KamerRotterdam.nl
Hospihousing
Staying with a host or guest family will provide you with a soft landing in town and is the perfect way to get in touch with the Dutch culture and language. You’ll have your own private room and shared facilities like a kitchen and bathroom. Hospi Housing has a big network of verified hosts and guest families. You can apply and use their platform for free at: www.hospihousing.com.
Practical information
Since there are so many landlords and we don’t liaise with them, we recommend you carefully read the legal section on this website.
Room rates start at about € 500 ranging up to € 1000. The use of gas and electricity is usually included in the rent (but not always). Landlords usually charge a deposit. The legal section includes a checklist that will help you to find out what is and isn’t included in the rent of the room you’re considering.
Be aware of landlords who ask you to wire money to a “Money Transfer Agent” (such as Western Union or GWK), because they could be frauds; money should always be transferred to a Dutch bank account.
The rooms on offer will be situated all over Rotterdam and its neighbouring cities. Check out the neighbourhoodand the distance to the university.
Although the rooms on offer are innumerable, the quality of the rooms may be much the same. Try and judge the quality of a room as best you can based on the information at hand. Erasmus University Rotterdam has no dealings with privately offered accommodation. In case a student has a complaint about a landlord or agency EUR may decide to remove the link from this website after looking into the matter.
Once you have found accommodation, your landlord should provide you with a contract, but the odd one doesn’t in an attempt to dodge the taxman. You must however insist on getting a contract. Again, make sure you have read the legal aspects before signing your contract.
Before signing your contract, make sure you know how much notice you will be required to give should you wish to terminate the contract. If you give insufficient notice your landlord may refuse to return your deposit.
The Dutch Student Union (LSVb) and the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) have launched a Housing Hotline for international students. The Housing Hotline can be found on dutchstudentunion.nl/housinghotline/. You can, for example, ask questions concerning finding a room, your rights or duties as a tenant, or how to deal with a conflict with their landlord.
Unfortunately, there are some housing frauds online. You can join this Facebook page in order to stay informed about active scammers on the housing market. They share tip s &tricks regarding housing in The Netherlands, in addition, they expose scammers who are active in the Dutch housing market. One of our vloggers explains how she ended up being scammed and advises on what (not) to do in this situation.
