{"id":5713,"date":"2015-12-15T09:00:32","date_gmt":"2015-12-15T08:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2015\/12\/15\/rechtenstudent-dimitri-van-tienhoven-strijdt-voor-eerlijke-huurprijzen\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:19","slug":"rechtenstudent-dimitri-van-tienhoven-strijdt-voor-eerlijke-huurprijzen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2015\/12\/15\/rechtenstudent-dimitri-van-tienhoven-strijdt-voor-eerlijke-huurprijzen\/","title":{"rendered":"Law student Dimitri van Tienhoven fights for fair rent prices"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Law student Dimitri van Tienhoven (27) has started his own company to ensure that students pay a fair price for their accommodation. The master student and former member of the Youth Organisation Freedom and Democracy (JOVD) started his\u00a0Rent to Save<\/em>\u00a0company because he wanted to help students. \u201cMany students pay too much without realising where the problem lies\u201d, Dimitri explains.<\/p>\n

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Dimitri van Tienhoven<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

According to Dimitri, the problem is that landlords often fiddle the points system<\/a>. This means that students are often overcharged. As an example, he mentions a student who was paying 695 euros including service costs to rent a studio, although the basic rent was only 300 euros. The student was therefore paying 195 euros for the service costs. Additional costs were also included for things that were included in the basic rent, such as the intercom.<\/p>\n

Rather a court case<\/h2>

Dimitri got his first official case just after the summer. He has now completed five cases and has three cases which are ongoing. He has had to go to court only once; the other times a different solution was found. However, Dimitri prefers a court case. \u201cThe court gives a binding advice which the landlord can\u2019t get out of. That\u2019s not the case if the tenants\u2019 association gives advice\u201d, he says. Dimitri works on a no cure, no pay\u00a0<\/em>basis. The first telephone call is always free, after which Dimitri comes to view the property and then draws up a quote.<\/p>\n

Students don\u2019t need to worry that they\u2019ll be evicted from their room, because a landlord can\u2019t do that without good reason. The landlord can only evict the student if he\/she hasn\u2019t paid the rent or causes repeated problems. So far, Dimitri hasn\u2019t experienced a landlord who hasn\u2019t kept to the agreement.<\/p>\n

According to Dimitri, landlords don\u2019t usually have bad intentions. Sometimes houses were bought at an expensive time and the costs are very high. Landlords don\u2019t often get rich from these houses. In such cases, Dimitri prefers to reach an agreement with the landlord so that the student can be repaid in instalments.<\/p>\n

Future<\/h2>

Personal recommendations are very important for the growth of Rent to Save. \u201cIf you hear from a friend or a fellow student that I\u2019ve been able to help, it\u2019s less difficult to approach me\u201d, says Dimitri. He is currently also working on his website and there\u2019s already a Facebook page<\/a><\/u>. Dimitri can\u2019t say what the future will bring. Eventually, wants to help students nationally, but for now the Rotterdam region is his priority. Dimitri prefers to grow one step at a time, so that he can manage everything himself.<\/p>\n