Arranging your own housing

Saxion has locations in the cities of Enschede, Deventer and Apeldoorn. Do you know in which city you will be studying? 

If yes:

• Open Google Maps
• Check the surrounding (5-10 km radius is a fair distance)
• Make a list of the neighbouring cities to increase your searching area, giving you a bigger chance of finding suitable housing (keep in mind travel expenses)
  
  Alternative accommodation in cities close to the study locations, such as Hengelo or Almelo, should not be overlooked. For studying in Deventer, living in Apeldoorn (or the other way around) might be a good alternative as well.

If no:

Check your programme's page to see where it's located before you start searching for housing. You can find it on the course overview page here! 👈

Of course, this depends on the type of housing (shared or individual), and the build-up of your rental price (including or excluding costs like gas/water/electricity or communal taxes).

• Room in Enschede starting from euro €425.-
• Room in Deventer starting from euro €450.-
• Room in Apeldoorn starting from euro €475.-

Prepare a budget plan and estimate how much money you have available for your rent and additional costs. Of course, you will need to add travel expenses to your budget if you choose to live in another location. For general prices, if you travel by train, check the website for the Dutch National train service here.

It's common in the Netherlands to arrange your student accommodation via online platforms. These are four ways to look for housing: 

1. Sign up with non-profit housing organisations/platforms
2. Sign up with commercial housing agencies and search engines
3. Connect with current students about housing via the Goin' app
4. Check out multiple Facebook groups

1. Sign up with non-profit housing organisations/platforms

It is important to do this as soon as possible.  We strongly advise Enschede students to register at ROOMSPOT.NL For students in Deventer, we strongly advise you to sign up with our partner ROOM.NL. Specifically for Apeldoorn we also like to refer to housing organisation Ons Huis.

These platforms are available in English. Multiple housing organisations are partners in these platforms and offer accommodation to students/youngsters. 

Via the platforms, you can receive 2 types of offers: a regular student room, or student rooms via a co-optation/vote-in system (in Dutch: hospiteren). A co-optation/vote-in system is a selection procedure in which the existing occupants of a student house choose their follow residents. For more information on co-optation check here.

2. Sign up with commercial housing agencies and search engines.

Before signing up, make sure you know how they work. Sometimes you need to pay a commission fee or subscription fee.

Enschede

Here are some of the most well-known commercial housing agencies for Enschede.

• XIOR *please note Saxion does not have a reservation code (only check the options without needing a code!)
• Plaza Resident Services (click on I am looking for smart living solutions for students)
• Dutch Student Union
• Direct Wonen
• Kamertje.nl
• Kamernet
• Pararius
• Funda
• Smart Wonen
• VlugWonen
• Twents Vast
• UTwente
• Huurwoningen.nl (in Dutch only)
• VPS* (in Dutch only)

More information about housing is given by the ESN (Erasmus Student Network): https://esntwente.nl/housing/

Deventer and Apeldoorn

Here are some of the most well-known housing agencies for Deventer and Apeldoorn.

• Plaza Resident Services (click on I am looking for smart living solutions for students)
• Directwonen
• Domica
• Kamertje.nl
• Kamernet
• Pararius
• Funda
• Nederwoon (in Dutch only)
• Huurwoningen.nl (in Dutch only)
• VPS* (in Dutch only)

*This is an organisation that manages vacant buildings and offers them under specific conditions. Often for temporary use only.

3. Connect with current students about housing via the Goin' app

The app Goin' is a social platform for new students at Saxion. This is where you come in contact with other (international) students from the Saxion community. In Goin', you can join smaller groups with a shared interest and make your own community. You can also join groups about housing and send a message that you are looking for suitable accommodation or reply to current advertisements via the GOIN app.

4. Check out multiple Facebook groups

Joining different Facebook groups is a good way to search for housing, but it's essential to be cautious due to the prevalence of scammers.

To protect yourself, always request a FaceTime or Zoom conversation so the person you are renting from can show you the accommodation.

Additionally, ask for the landlord’s personal information, avoid being pressured into quick decisions, and never pay large sums of money before signing a contract or viewing the room.

Use Google Images or Google Maps to verify the listing and ensure it isn't a duplicate from other sites.

If renting through an agency, check if the organization is registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce.

Finally, search the name of the person offering the room; if the ad appears in multiple housing groups across different countries or cities, it's likely a scam.

If time is running out, it is a must to make a backup plan. Make sure you have a temporary roof above your head before travelling to the Netherlands. The pressure on the housing/room market is at its peak in August – October & January - February.

Tips:

• If you have friends/family in The Netherlands, consider staying with them so you have time to look for your own place.
• Use other contacts you might have. A lot of students do find housing by spreading the word to their contacts/network. Offers might pop up via unexpected channels.
• Be open to offers with an alternative starting date (either earlier or later then you prefer). You will need some extra budget for this since you might have to pay a month extra or look for temporary housing in a hotel/motel till you can move in.
• Use social media to spread the word or to look for for housing but be careful! Nowadays it is easy to get scammed online.

Short stay information

If you are in need of a B&B or hotel, please check the following websites.

• Enschede: Uit in Enschede
• Deventer: Stay over night
• Apeldoorn: Uit in Apeldoorn

Hostels in Netherlands

You can find hostels in The Netherlands here.

We strongly advise you not to travel without having made any arrangements!