How to apply for a room

The University of Amsterdam (UvA) provides student rooms for international students. In total, the UvA has over 1,700 rooms available to international students. The UvA offers shared rooms, private rooms with shared facilities and private rooms with private facilities. The room prices vary from approximately € 350 to € 600 per month. The UvA can provide this service through close cooperation with the housing corporations De Key and DUWO.

After you have been admitted to a program at the UvA you will receive an email with a link for the online application for student accommodation. You can expect this email mid-May when you plan to start your study at the UvA in September and in the beginning of November when you will start in February  (If you have been admitted after May or November this email will follow as soon as possible).

UvA Fee & Credit card:

Students renting accommodation via the UvA will be charged a fee. This fee is required to cover the UvA's costs in providing the housing service to international students. You can only submit the online housing application, if you have paid the UvA fee via credit card. In the online application, you will be informed about the payment procedure.

If you do not already have a credit card, it is necessary to acquire one in order to complete the payment procedure (please note that the payment can not be executed with a debit card). If you do not have a credit card, you may use the credit card of a relative. For one semester the UvA fee is €250 - €300. For two semesters or a full year the UvA fee is €425 - €500. This fee is non-refundable.  Please note that all UvA fee payments will be made in US dollars corresponding to the Euro amount. Due to currency fluctuations, the amount might be slightly lower or higher.

We advise to submit your application as soon as possible. If you wait to long, we might not be able to offer you a room. We will do our utmost to provide all applicants with a room. In previous years, we have been able to provide all applicants with housing. Nonetheless, if the number of applications exceeds the number of rooms, your name and preference will be put on a waiting list. Filling in this form and paying the UvA/HvA fee does not guarantee placement. If we are not able to send you a room offer, we will refund the UvA/HvA fee to you. We expect to be able to do this no sooner than April 2012. However, if you have received a room offer via the UvA/HvA and decline the room offer, the UvA/HvA fee will not be refunded.

You can expect the room offer via email from De Key or DUWO between 1 December 2011 and 15 January 2012. 

Room offer

After submitting your online housing application your name will be put forward to housing corporation. You will receive a room offer by email from the housing corporation when a room is reserved for you. This important email could automatically be put in your spam/junk folder. You should confirm your acceptance of the room offer within 3 days of receiving it. If you do not respond within that time, your reservation will be cancelled. Please note that you will receive only one room offer. Strict rules apply concerning cancellation.

Finalizing your reservation

After accepting the room offer students will need to pay the following to the housing corporation: administration fee €150, deposit: one month’s rent or €150 (depending on the housing corporation) and depending on the housing corporation also one month’s rent. You need to transfer this first payment within 5 days of accepting the room offer. Only after the housing corporation has received your first payment, your room reservation is confirmed. Payment details will be explained in the room offer. You will have to send proof of payment of this bank transfer to the housing corporation.

Housing fee, Administration costs and Deposit

To clarify the difference between these payments, please read the following information:

Why do I need to pay the UvA fee?

As previously mentioned, students renting accommodation via the University of Amsterdam (UvA) will be charged a UvA fee. This fee is required to cover the UvA's costs in providing the housing service to international students.

Why do I need to pay administration costs at the housing corporation De Key or DUWO?

Housing corporations De Key and DUWO require tenants to pay an administration fee when they make their first payment to confirm the room offer. Housing corporation De Key and DUWO provide short stay accommodation to international students. Renting out this type of accommodation requires a different service than is required for standard accommodation rented out to Dutch tenants. Short stay tenants rent accommodation for a relative short period (average 8 months) therefore costs are much higher than for regular tenants who rent accommodation for a long period (average 10 year). The housing corporations also provide customized services that are tailored to the tenants’ needs. All communication and information is in English. The information and assistance provided by De Key and DUWO is very wide-ranging and covers the period both before/during and after the accommodation is rented out.

Why do I need to pay a deposit?

Tenants at the housing corporation De Key and DUWO are required to pay a deposit. This deposit is refunded at the end of your stay if you leave the room clean, tidy and without damages. Please read the information provided by the housing corporation regarding the amount charged for the deposit.

Rental period

Please note that the rental periods for UvA students are always fixed periods. In addition, we strongly advise Bachelor and Master students not to choose a one semester period if your study has a duration of two semesters, a full year or more. If you choose only one semester we cannot guarantee you an extension. In case an extension is granted, you will have to pay the UvA housing fee twice. Exchange students can choose a rental period of one or two semesters depending on the duration of study. Therefore, please select the period corresponding with the duration of your study with a maximum of one year.

It is not possible to get a reduction for a late arrival or an early departure. It is not possible to end your contract before the end of a semester.

Preferences

Although the housing corporation will do their best to meet students’ reservation preferences, they cannot guarantee that everyone’s preferences are met. It is not possible to apply for a specific location or to change rooms.

Staying longer than one year?

The UvA only provides accommodation for international students for a maximum period of one year. If you are planning on staying in Amsterdam for longer than a year, we strongly advise you to register at the Dutch student housing website (www.studentenwoningweb.nl) at the beginning of your stay. Registration at this website could provide you with a student room when the UvA can no longer provide you with accommodation.

Mixed floors

Most international student rooms are situated in buildings or on floors with only international students. However, some are located on floors where the majority of tenants are Dutch. The benefits of living on a floor with Dutch students include the opportunity to make Dutch friends, a first-hand introduction to Dutch student culture in Amsterdam and the opportunity to improve your Dutch language skills. For more information on applying for students rooms on mixed floors, please contact the program manager at your faculty.

Disabilities

In case there are any special needs regarding your accommodation due to disabilities please contact the international office of your faculty.