{"id":80848,"date":"2017-10-05T17:07:37","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T15:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=80848"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:51","slug":"unhappy-students-in-xior-building-start-petition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/10\/05\/unhappy-students-in-xior-building-start-petition\/","title":{"rendered":"Unhappy students in Xior building start petition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Xior building in early October: still to be completed.<\/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\tBoris Berg<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Construction workers and construction equipment still fill the corridors and entry hall of Xior\u2019s new student housing complex, situated in a corner of Woudestein Campus. Construction was supposed to be completed by 1\u00a0October, but wasn\u2019t. The inhabitants (all international students) have started a petition against the poor living conditions at the complex. IBA student Yoyo Lam (21, Hong Kong) said on the 2nd of October, \u201cI still don\u2019t have any heating in my room, and winter is getting closer and closer.\u201d By now, the rental company, Xior, has made the students a few promises of improvement and Lam\u2019s heating has been fixed.<\/p>\n

Petition<\/h3>

Giorgio Chiara and Jan Pogorzelski initiated the petition, which was signed by half (125) of the inhabitants of the Xior building. \u201cXior offered the students a one-off discount of 175 euros, but we feel this doesn\u2019t make up for the inconvenience experienced by students in the last month, which continues to be experienced even now,\u201d said Chiara.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe demand a rent reduction for the months of construction work, a remission of the costs of the services we are paying for but aren\u2019t getting, a date by which construction will be completed, and last but definitely not least, unlimited Internet data so that we can keep in touch with our families and properly carry out our study assignments,\u201d stated Pogorzelski.\u00a0Last Tuesday, Chiara and Pogorzelski represented the inhabitants of the Xior building at a meeting with Xior\u2019s property development officer.<\/p>\n

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Xior building\u2019s courtyard.<\/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\tBoris Berg<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Ongoing construction work<\/h3>

Students have been living in the Xior housing complex since early September. At the time, the entire ground floor was still to be completed, and a lot of things in the rooms were still missing or broken. \u201cThe entire building will be completed by the end of September,\u201d\u00a0Xior spokesman Robin Cremers said in early September<\/a>. However, the company was unable to keep this promise.<\/p>\n

To this day, the corridors are filled with construction workers\u2019 stepladders, tools and boomboxes, and every morning at 7am, the inhabitants of the building are awoken by the sound of electric drills. It is making it very hard for the international students to focus. Says Pogorzelski, \u201cThe construction workers are noisy, smoke in the corridors and have no respect for the students\u2019 privacy. They enter rooms without knocking and leave behind mud and dirt.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, the students are being made to pay for spaces and services with which they have not been provided. \u201cAccording to our contract, we are paying for communal rooms, but these rooms have not yet been completed,\u201d says Chiara. \u201cFurthermore, we are paying for garden maintenance.\u201d Chiara shakes his head in disbelief. \u201cThere is no garden.\u201d<\/p>\n

No unlimited Internet data<\/h3>

Xior spokesman Robin Cremers met the students halfway on some issues last Tuesday afternoon. The students will not be required to pay for services they are not receiving. In addition, he gave them a date by which construction will supposedly be completed: 13 October. But he also admitted that some things are beyond the planners\u2019 control in construction work.<\/p>\n

His argument for the Internet data limit was that it had been implemented to prevent illegal downloading. He was unable to make any promises regarding the requested rent reduction (to make up for the inconvenience caused by the construction work), as he will have to discuss this with Xior\u2019s board first.<\/p>\n

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Last Monday Giorgio Chiara (third left) and Jan Pogorzelski (blue-and-black checked cardigan) discussed living conditions at the Xior building with the other inhabitants to prepare for the meeting with the spokesman of Xior on Tuesday. This happened in the only communal space ready for use: the windy roof terrace.<\/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\tBoris Berg<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Empty promises<\/h3>

Pogorzelski and Chiara had positive feelings after the meeting, although they were not impressed with Cremers\u2019 argument regarding the data limit and were forced to conclude that he had not made many actual promises. \u201cOur sticking point is the heating in our rooms. If that issue isn\u2019t solved in one week, we will increase pressure on Xior,\u201d said Chiara.<\/p>\n

read more about xior and housing<\/h2>