Rent in Rotterdam - is the room available?

Finding a suitable room (as the most evident option for a budjet student, writing a thesis during the summer time) - quiet, cozy and affordable is a question in such a dense-populated city, as Rotterdam.

There are some options - if you just have lost your room or just arrived, lets say after internship abroad -

1) staying at friends for some time (if you have such a nice welcoming friend;) - cost nothing! Just smiling all the time if their flat is over-populated:)
2) staying at hostels for some days (cost some money but at least you are independent)
3) finding the room while you are still abroad.

Lets go quickly through all the options.

1) staying at friends for some time - hmmm if you have friends who you haven't seen for quite a long time I bet you will be spending all your time partying when one morning your friends will say we are welcoming now other friends. Have you got your new room yet? - glancing at you eye to eye. Not a good option though.

3) finding the room while you are still abroad. - very risky. Do you know all those people writing tepmlated emails like Dear I got through classifieds and felt in love with you from the first sight. Or I am acontractor, the room is vacant, please meet with my agent and give hime the money for two months and receive the keys. And the keys is from nothing actually.

2) So-so option. If you don't mind to pay 20 euros per night in a 8 male/female/mixed dormitory - go to the Stay Okay Totterdam (city center, always overcrowded) or try family run hostel in the South of Rtterdaam  singe 1 night 30, twin 50 euro. All facilities including internet, TV, shower and washing machine. Limited offer only till the niddle of may. I am the owner of that nice flat,

Cheers Tom 06 2498 9944
More about family running hostel at our colleagues at www.rentholland.blogspot.com

End of September: Rent Netherlands.

Rent Netherlands: Struggling for a room.

The end of September - Beginning of October is the time in the Netherlands, when people rush to find accomodation is getting slower, and the question Is the Hostel a good Beginning is no longer left without answer (see my previous reviews).

September, October - the time when the first steps are done. And most of the people who just arrived in the Netherlands are more or less settled down.

Some people still trying to survive in Hostels or short stay accomodations. And other are already in possessing of a long-term contracts with landlords.

There are some different types of landlords, but generally speaking many of landlords are similir in their wishes both to help the students and young people coming to work in the Netherlands and on other hand to cover their extremly high bills of their (rental) mortgage properties.

Many landlords doing it (renting out) accomodation due to different reasons, but the most common thing about all of them is loneliness. For some of them loneliness is more pscyhological factor, when they don't want to stay alone in their small (big) houses and flats.

For other the most cruel thing is loneliness in financial matters - when landlords are looking for descent tenants to help sharing the bills and some other costs of (rental) mortgage houses.

In the Netherlands financial matters are quite important due to many thigs. Holland is one of the most expensive countries in continental Europe.

There are some few tips that will help you to avoid dissapointment in future contact with landlords:

1) Print out and sign contracts about renting a room (flat) in two exemplars. If you don't understand Dutch Language, at least you can try Google Translator, or even ask a landlord to print out the tenancy agreement in English Language. If a landlor is refusing doing it - that is the first suspicious sign.

2) In most cases the security deposit (normally 1 month rental price) is required - both for you (to reserve your right to rent the room on a month-to-month basis and for a landlord to protect his (her) interests in saving property in it's original condition: all the fixing works on broken stuff cost a fortune in the Netherlands on one hand and 1 month security deposit also provides to a landlord at least 1 month time period of finding another tenant if the previous one is no longer financially able to cover the rental costs. If the landlord on your request refusing to give you a paper (a standard paper with signature of both tenant and a landlord in two exemplars regarding the sum receiving as a security deposit - that is definately the second bad sign).

3) And just summing up the said above, there are two type of properties across the Netherlands - free (mortgage) houses - in most of the cases the best place to have a room at - and social flats (houses). There are also some very typical features that will be discussed further, to help you to understand which property (first or second type) you will be probably living it. But in general, only living in a private property (free market houses) gives you the fullest in your rights and responsibilities as a tenant, and it can be addressed also to a landlord. Renting (subletting) "social" houses is very limited by some civil acts of local authorities and can follow to a penalty or other prosecurement both for a (potential) tenant and a landlord.

Good luck and try to find your dream house before the real winter is coming to the Low Lands, the Netherlands.

A. Aksenovs,
HollandLive (c) 2010

Is Hostel a Good Beginning?

It is very difficult question, especially in the Netherlands, the unique European country which largest part the territory of is water and lands below the sea level.

Is Hostel a Good beginning? 

That is the question. And the question could be an answer as well, but just be followed by a sub-question: Beginning of What?

My blog is for the people who are in need of accomodation for more or less long time, 1-3 months, half a year, or maybe one year. Most of my readers are students or young trainees coming to Rotterdam for study and sometimes following internships at big world companies that are widely distributed in the Netherlands.

Therefore the sub-question is: Yes, I need the accomodation for more or less long time.

As my colleague, Tom Aksen, in one of his articles said about 'High Season' - August, September, October, November - the most difficult time for people searching for suitable accomodation - "It is very difficult to find a descent room during this time".

This again can be explained by a housing shortage in the Netherlands, especially in big cities, like Rotterdam, Den Haag and of course, Amsterdam.

But that also can be explained by some private landlords using the very high volume demand from students and increasing the prices dramatically. It can follow to misunderstanding, when some parties can not pay either accept the living conditions, and landlords asking for more and more money.

It is like a circle. But is it, or there are some other ways to find the suitable accomodation? There is the answer: Is the Hostel a Good beginning?


So we have arrived at the same question again, which is basically answer to the questions: Is the Hostel a Good Beginning for finding suitable accomodation, and the answer is Yes.

There are quite few descent hostels in Rotterdam: Quite Posh and avangard Stay Okay Rotterdam. Many people are starting their way in the Netherlands (South Holland) exactly from Stay Okay: there are more StayOkay in the Netherlands.

Another example is Hostel Room Rotterdam. I don't know much about the hostel personally and professionally but just some references from guests are: the best hostel in Rotterdam (from Ricardo, post is published on 2008-10-26 at the web-site of the hostel).

Some people advising to use one of web-resourse, for example couch surfing dot com, and try to find accomodation (temporary, of course) via those resources, but I think that one is more for travellers. And most of travellers are in Amsterdam, as like Dutch people saying, Amsterdam is for fun, Rotterdam is for work, Den Haag is for court.

One of the freshest examples are family running hostels. There are not much of them yet, but one is located in South Rotterdam (3081TW)

This one is a small family running hostel ideally suitable for 1-2 weeks short stay. It is equipped with all necessary facilities for a comfortable short term staying.

Why Short Stay? The answer is simple, because the choice is quite modest as per Tom Aksen words, in High Season. Is it probably better to try 1-4 weeks staying in a lets say the same family running hostel instead of coming and hurring up to find the best room on a very short notice?

Good luck and I will continue!

A. Aksenovs,
HollandLive (c) 2010.

Need a Room in Amsterdam?

Need a Room in Amsterdam?

That is not very easy question.

Why? First of all if you already have read the title and continue reading - that means that you definately need it. It doesn't matter, where, in Amsterdam, Den Haag or Leiden, or maybe even in Rotterdam?

The answer YES is triggering more and more questions.

It is not very easy to find an accomodation in almost any Dutch city, especially in those that are located close to the Dutch Universities. In Leiden, Delft (TU Delft), Rotterdam (Erasmus) - there are plenty of them also in Amsterdam. Especially in 'High season' (August - September; January) - it is almost impossible to find a suitable accomodation and responsible landlords.

It is not because that many students are coming (or returning) back to the Netherlands after summer or Christmas vacations, but actually it can be explained just of a very massive shortage of places to live in the Netherlands.

Anyway, there are still some web-resources even in the Dutch domain zones that can help you with that.

Most of resources are free, but some specialised agencies are charging money for so-called Agency Fee, and in most of cases it varies from 50 per cent of 1 month rent to 100 per cent.

Not only students are in need in accomodation in the Netherlands. Most of provinces are very welcoming international companies to build up their EMEA (European Middle East Africa) centers of operations and logistics subsidiries due to very conviniet geographic location between UK and Continental Europe.

Such facilities as Europort (situated 20 kilometers North from Rotterdam along the delta of Maas and Rijn rivers), Schiphol airport and logistics companies across the country make the location one of the most unique in contest of Return on Investments and quality vs quantity.

Most of world Name companies need high paid proessionals from many other countries of the world, and those professionals also need accomodation (in most cases of high end class).

Where is the demand, there is the offer.

So if you need a room in Amsterdam or high class apartment in one of the Towers in the center of Rotterdam - just continue reading this blog and you will get all the information you need including emails, phone numbers and addresses of the agencies and privagte persons having the accomodation to let.

Good luck!

T. Aksen,
HollandLive (c) 2010