Choosing your own housemates? The landlord decides, says the minister

Both students and local politicians oppose DUWO’s new housemate selection policy, but the minister of housing will not intervene.

With more than 33,000 rooms in cities including Amsterdam, Delft, Leiden and Wageningen, DUWO is one of the largest student housing providers in the Netherlands. Last year it announced that it would overhaul its housemate selection policy.

According to DUWO the current system is unfair; some students have a much lower chance of getting a room than others. So the housing provider will make a pre-selection itself. Residents will then choose their new housemate from the remaining candidates. But the decision has met strong resistance. A petition against the plans received thousands of signatures, and motions have been passed in the municipal councils of Delft, Leiden and Utrecht calling for the free housemate selection policy to be retained or for talks with DUWO.

National politics

It became a national issue: even governing party VVD got involved and raised questions with then education minister Gouke Moes (BBB). He said, however, that he would not intervene.

The current minister of housing, Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan (D66), now says the same. She writes this in a response to parliamentary questions from party colleague Robin van Leijen.

Pros and cons

According to Boekholt-O’Sullivan, the current housemate selection system has advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand it can ensure ‘social cohesion is greater’, on the other hand it means some groups have a lower chance of getting accommodation. But: “It is up to the landlord to weigh these interests”, she says.

The minister stresses that landlords must be transparent. Even if students are allowed to select their housemates, that cannot be ‘unlimited’. They can choose who fits into their household, but may not ‘discriminate on the basis of origin or skin colour’.

According to Boekholt-O’Sullivan it is especially important that more student housing is provided: by loosening rules around shared housing and renting and by building more student homes she hopes to be able to curb the shortage.