D66 wants to prevent another housing crisis

Last week, Dutch political party D66 raised some questions in city council of Tilburg with regards to housing for international students. Their worries might be justified, considering the major problems that arose last year.

Homeless students

When it comes to international students, the motto of Tilburg University seems to be ‘the more the merrier’. Understandably so, since they bring in large amounts of money for the university. But while the university invests ample of money into bringing internationals to Tilburg, their accommodation hadn’t been taken care of. Finding a place to stay has always been harder for international students than for Dutch students, but last year the situation reached an all-time low, leaving dozens of students homeless for weeks.

Problems

The struggle of international students to find housing is not necessarily due to a lack of accommodation. Instead, they often struggle to find a place to stay because of other reasons. Some Dutch student homes are not so open to having international roommates. Others require a proof of sponsorship, which can be difficult to acquire when your parents are abroad. In addition to that, international students often don’t have a steady income to guarantee the payment of rent.

Questions D66

To prevent masses of international students without a home this year, D66 wants to bring the problem to the city council’s attention in time. The questions they’ve raised are:

– Can an increase in the amount of international students looking for accommodation be expected in 2017-2018?

– Are there already plans that help realize extra accommodation for international students in the fall semester of 2017? And if so, what are these plans?

– Is there ample contact with the International Office of Tilburg University and the colleges of Tilburg to ensure that international students that want to come to Tilburg can be informed in time about the possibilities of housing?

The city council will have to provide answers to these questions in writing within three weeks from now.

Roots hostel

One improvement that is already in the making, is the creation of Tilburg’s first hostel. Roots hostel will open in April 2017 and has room for 60 people. Though Roots does not provide a permanent housing solution, it will at least provide a temporary place to stay until international students find a room, something that Tilburg was lacking before. The rooms range from private to shared rooms of ten people, with prices starting at 21 euros per person per night.

_Advertentie.