{"id":89804,"date":"2018-09-21T14:40:09","date_gmt":"2018-09-21T12:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=89804"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:06","slug":"wij-willen-de-huizenmarkt-eerlijker-maken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2018\/09\/21\/wij-willen-de-huizenmarkt-eerlijker-maken\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We want to make the housing market fairer\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Koen Dorsman and Victor Stijntjes<\/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\tFeba Sukmana<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Koen Dorsman, Erasmus School of Law alumnus, knows how difficult it is to deal with a fraudulent landlord. When he relocated to Rotterdam last year, his then landlord in Utrecht didn\u2019t want to pay back the deposit.<\/p>\n

Countless telephone calls achieved precisely nothing. Three months later and after taking legal steps he finally received his deposit. \u201cNot long after that, I read an article about how often international students and expats were scammed by landlords. That\u2019s when I thought: I can use my legal background to do something about this.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Dorsman (24) and Victor Stijntjes (25) established DepoClaim last January. The start-up aims, among other things, to support scammed tenants to recover the deposit they paid. \u201cBecause of my work and my personal experience, I understand how difficult it is for laymen to obtain the legal support to which they\u2019re entitled,\u201d explained Koen Dorsman who, as well as the start-up, works in the legal sector.<\/p>\n

Prey<\/h2>

When Dorsman explained his idea to Stijntjes, Stijntjes was immediately enthusiastic. He used to work in the property world and has seen first-hand how estate agents treat foreign tenants. \u201cThe internationals are seen as prey; they\u2019re not always given the right information, they pay twice as much as Dutch tenants and are often not treated properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair got to work immediately. \u201cIt\u2019s our ambition to make the housing market fairer,\u201d stated Stijntjes, who has now completed his Entrepreneurship master degree at the University of Amsterdam.<\/p>\n

No level playing field<\/h2>

Dorsman and Stijntjes understand only too well that there\u2019s no level playing field in the housing market. \u201cAccommodation is hard to find and landlords often use this scarcity as an opportunity to make their own rules,\u201d stated Stijntjes. Dorsman added: \u201cIn the Netherlands, for instance, we don\u2019t have a \u2018hard\u2019 regulation in which the maximum rental price and deposit are determined. The rent and the deposit can therefore be very high.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair are currently specialising in recovering deposits and they\u2019re mainly supporting international tenants as, according to Dorsman, Dutch tenants are generally well informed. \u201cThat\u2019s not the case for internationals. They generally know very little about Dutch tenancy law. And if they search for information, it\u2019s usually in Dutch,\u201d stated Dorsman, who specialises in private law.<\/p>\n

Legal support <\/h2>

According to Dorsman, Dutch legislation is tenant-friendly. \u201cIf the landlord refuses to pay back the deposit, he or she must be able to prove that you\u2019re no longer entitled to the deposit,\u201d explained Dorsman. \u201cUnfortunately, nine times out of ten, scammed tenants are unable to recover their money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dorsman and Stijntjes take legal steps against fraudulent landlords. Often sending just one letter is enough to resolve the case. \u201cLandlords know exactly what they\u2019re doing. So as soon as they realise there\u2019s a specialist party involved, they tend to return the deposit quickly,\u201d stated Stijntjes.<\/p>\n

\u2018No cure no pay\u2019<\/h2>

The pair understand that most people don\u2019t seek legal advice because it usually costs a lot of money. \u201cThat\u2019s why we work according to the \u2018no cure no pay\u2019 principle. So, if we don\u2019t succeed in recovering your money, you don\u2019t need to pay anything,\u201d they explained.<\/p>\n

Dorsman and Stijntjes have boundless energy and dreams about the future, but as far as DepoClaim is concerned, they remain idealistic. \u201cOf course we have many great plans for this start-up, but we started the initiative to make a positive contribution to society, and we want to continue to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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