Want to study in the Netherlands? Well, the new catch is that you might be paying rent to live in one bedroom with a stranger.
It’s that time of the year again — university doors will open in a few days, but many students are still panicking in search of housing. The Netherlands needs 60,000 extra rooms by 2030 to avoid leaving students on the streets due to the student housing crisis, reports the NOS.
In Nijmegen, student housing provider SSH is trying out an odd new emergency solution: offering a room for two international students to share. And no, we don’t mean sharing an apartment, but one bedroom for two people.
Half the rent in Groningen, Zwolle, and Utrecht
Apparently, as soon as international students were asked if they were interested in shared rooms, they were taken up in a split second. Better than the possibility of being homeless or dropping your studies, no?
We just hope you get along with your roommate really well…
The trial involves 10 rooms in the Boeckstaetehof housing complex in Nijmegen and will last six months. If it all seems worth it to students, the idea might be expanded to other buildings.
READ MORE | The student housing nightmare: a tale of discrimination, fraud, and protest
It turns out Nijmegen students aren’t the only ones with this novel offer. The SSH also rents out rooms for two people in Groningen, Zwolle, and Utrecht. However, it’s not always to do with the room shortage but also to offer students smaller rent.
Sharing an 18 square metre room in Nijmegen costs each person half the rent, so between €230 and €250 — not bad!
Would you share a one-bedroom with someone else? Tell us in the comments below!
