{"id":106710,"date":"2019-12-02T19:25:37","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T18:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=106710"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:35","slug":"mathenesserweg-residents-protest-increase-in-number-of-student-houses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/12\/02\/mathenesserweg-residents-protest-increase-in-number-of-student-houses\/","title":{"rendered":"Mathenesserweg residents protest increase in number of student houses"},"content":{"rendered":"

The people living in Mathenesserweg are fed up. More and more houses in their street are being let to students. For this reason, they put up banners in the street over the weekend.<\/p>\n

\"\"

In 2019, residents of the Mathenesserweg protested against more student housing in their street.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWieneke Gunneweg<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cWe don\u2019t mind students per se,\u201d Mathenesserweg resident Jack Bil\u00a0told RTV Rijnmond<\/a>, \u201cbut we do mind having a whole lot of these houses in one part of the street.\u201d Amsterdam-based real estate entrepreneurs have recently acquired a third house in the street\u00a0separating the Spangen and Tussendijken neighbourhoods in western Rotterdam, in which they will create thirteen rooms to be let to students.<\/p>\n

The increase in the number of student flats in the street is not going over well with the locals. Last Saturday, several of them put up banners in the street, bearing messages such as \u201cCouncil, stop investors from turning our homes into single rooms to be rented out\u201d and \u201cOur Mathenesserweg is not a cash cow\u201d.<\/p>\n

Most students are passers-by who do not spend more than one or two years in a house, said local Leonie Verhoeven. \u201cThey are less involved in what\u2019s going on here. They have a rhythm of their own, whereas we are actually trying to promote solidarity and cohesion in our street,\u201d she said, in reference to students.<\/p>\n

Loophole<\/h2>

There is not much locals can do to stop houses from being converted into single rooms for rent. The real estate entrepreneurs responsible for the practice are using loopholes, says Bil. \u201cThey call it a shared living space, which means students are welcome to join. All they have to do is establish a foundation and refrain from putting locks on the doors of their rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bil believes the street would benefit from the local authorities amending the rules and requiring investors to obtain permission for this type of student housing. This would allow the local authorities to check whether there aren\u2019t too many of these houses in the street.<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n
\n\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Een lijst van afbeeldingen<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t