{"id":6854,"date":"2015-09-11T10:37:24","date_gmt":"2015-09-11T08:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/?p=39270&lang=en"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:23","slug":"zonder-verlengsnoeren-doen-de-boiler-vaatwasser-en-wasmachine-het-niet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2015\/09\/11\/zonder-verlengsnoeren-doen-de-boiler-vaatwasser-en-wasmachine-het-niet\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Without extension leads, the boiler, dishwasher and washing machine don\u2019t work\u2019"},"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>

Rotterdam does not really have a housing crisis. Yet, over a quarter of the students are (very) dissatisfied with their landlord. Where Fabio Spano lives, they need a network of extension leads to operate their appliances.<\/p>\n

When Fabio Spano (22), student of Economics and Business Economics, arrives home in the evening to his student house on Nieuwe Binnenweg, he has to be careful not to trip over the various extension leads all over the floor. And it\u2019s virtually impossible to get a late-night snack from the kitchen without stumbling.<\/p>\n

Wires everywhere<\/h3>

When the fuses in the kitchen kept tripping, he and his housemates thought up an ingenious plan to allow them to continue washing up and doing their laundry. The washing machine and dishwasher are now connected to other plug sockets in the house where the power is stable by extension leads. This is a practical solution in response to a situation which is the result of a lax landlord. \u201cWe obviously need to wash, otherwise things would become a terrible mess,\u201d says Spano.<\/p>\n

As the senior member of the house, he liaises between his landlord and seven other \u2013 male \u2013 housemates. \u201cI initially thought that we weren\u2019t getting a satisfactory response from our landlord because the other student wasn\u2019t making enough effort. But now that I\u2019m responsible for contacting him, I find that the situation is more nuanced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waiting weeks for repairs<\/h3>

Generally, Spano and his housemates are very happy with their student house. They have a big living room and a dishwasher is obviously quite a luxury for a student house. The problem also isn\u2019t that their landlord is difficult to get hold of, says Spano. \u201cHe usually calls back within half an hour and responds normally, he\u2019s not aggressive or anything.\u201d But if repairs are needed, like when the fuses blow, it takes weeks before he does anything. \u201cIt takes ages before an engineer comes round.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that isn\u2019t right, the student feels. \u201cIt\u2019s really awkward having extension leads everywhere. But without these extension leads, the boiler doesn\u2019t work, nor do the dishwasher and washing machine. As a student, you need to be able to wash your clothes normally.\u201d Thanks to the landlord, it will be a while before they can do that.<\/p>\n\t

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This summer EM <\/em>joined up with Yournalism<\/em>, a platform for research journalism, and ten other higher education media to conduct a survey into the student lodging market. The whole dossier is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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