Students locked out of SSH homes due to problems with smart locks

Since the end of 2024, SSH has been installing locks in some of its Utrecht complexes that require a smartphone app to open. Since then, these smart locks have regularly caused problems, with residents unable to get in or out of the building.

“That’s nothing short of a nightmare,” says student Milou, who wishes to remain anonymous out of fear that SSH will consider her a problematic tenant. Milou has been renting a studio flat in an SSH building in the Wisselspoor neighbourhood since the end of 2025. The main entrance door, the door to the cycle shed and the connecting doors are all fitted with an iLOQ, which must be opened using a smartphone app. “We tenants have constant problems with the system. Residents often can't get in and are forced to stand outside at night or disturb their neighbours, asking them to open the door for them.”

In pyjamas
To gain access to the building and the communal areas, you must have a smartphone with an NFC chip – the same chip that allows you to make contactless payments using your smartphone. “So not only do you have to have a smartphone with that sort of chip, but SSH is requiring us to do that at a time when everyone is trying to spend less time on their phones,” says Milou. Another problem: the phone must always be charged to open the door. “Our group chat always has messages from people asking if anyone’s still awake to let them in because their phones are almost dead. Fortunately, the intercom is working again, but for a long time, it wasn't, and ‘good neighbours’ had to go downstairs in their pyjamas.”

However, access isn’t guaranteed even with a fully charged phone and an NFC chip. “The system has been working terribly for months,” says Milou. “Residents left external doors open or left connecting doors ajar so they could get in and out, which allowed uninvited guests to enter the building. Several residents have also found themselves locked in.” Even while writing this article, a malfunction left all the doors leading to the flats open.

Key fob
Those without a suitable smartphone can apply for a "key fob", a physical digital key. But people like Milou, who want a key fob so they don't depend on their smartphones, won’t be given one. “You have to physically prove to an SSH member of staff that you don’t have a smartphone with an NFC chip.” Her classmate Jasmijn*, who is speaking anonymously for the same reason as Milou, was refused a key fob even though iLOQ didn’t work on her Android phone. “There you are, a student, all on your own in a new city. That felt pretty unsafe.”

Students living at the SSH Baobab residence, which has also had iLOQ since October 2024, also complain about the system. Although the resident we spoke to hasn't had problems himself, he knows some people do have trouble with the smart locks: “For example, there was a glitch where the app kept pulling up your bank card and the lock wouldn’t open. That’s been sorted out now. But if your phone runs out of battery quickly, you’re at the mercy of someone who’s at home.”

New SSH policy
For security reasons, SSH does not want to disclose which of its properties have digital locks, apart from the block in Wisselspoor, Baobab, and the recently completed High Five in Utrecht Science Park. The housing association trialled the system in Rotterdam in early 2024, after which it also fitted estates in Utrecht and Groningen with digital locks on their front doors. In total, around 3,000 SSH residents across seventeen locations use these locks.

According to SSH press officer Joris van Eijck, the digital keys offer several advantages over traditional keys. He explains that the system was chosen because it can be managed remotely, making it easier for the housing provider to issue keys to new residents. He also believes that the digital key resembles how students arrange access to other services.

Defeating the purpose
In his view, the fact that not everyone has an NFC chip in their smartphone is not as big a problem as one might think. “Most residents often do have a suitable device after all.” According to SSH, a key fob would undermine the whole idea of a keyless system, although the residents of the Wisselspoor complex do have a normal key for the door to their own studio.

Van Eijck acknowledges the problems: “There have been several faults with the locking system at Wisselspoor.” He emphasises that the digital key merely transmits a signal. Faults with doors, door closers, and cabling can affect the digital key's operation and user experience. “We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but we’re glad to receive these reports, as it means we can sort them out.” Residents can receive on-site support, which, he says, has often led to a solution.

Stress
Milou and Jasmijn see things differently. “At first, we made ten to fifteen reports a week, but it took weeks for SSH to take any action. If you ring the emergency number, they only turn up the next day. Most tenants have simply given up.”

According to the two students, the digital locks make residents feel unsafe, especially women. “We sometimes get texts warning everyone that there’s a homeless person lying in the bike storage or laundry room. If you walk in unsuspecting, it can give you quite a fright,” says Milou. “Some girls don’t dare enter these rooms on their own anymore.”

Milou: “It’s also not a reassuring thought that you might not be able to get into your home in the evening or at night. I work the night shift sometimes and don’t want to find myself standing outside, staring at a locked door. That thought alone stresses me out.”

Boks: legitimate concerns
Ray Polman, chair of BoKS, the association representing SSH tenants' interests, is alarmed by reports from Wisselspoor residents. “I’d already heard reports from High Five, which has the same locks, but we hadn’t yet heard of any specific examples from Wisselspoor. These reports must be taken seriously. A new system inevitably has teething problems, but the concerns are legitimate; I find the stress it’s causing particularly troubling.”

BoKS will be meeting with SSH later this month, alongside the newly established Wisselspoor residents’ committee, to discuss iLOQ-related issues. “I have no doubt about SSH’s good intentions,” says Polman. “But if SSH is the main beneficiary and residents gain little from it, we must ask ourselves whether we should continue with this.”

Boks wants residents of buildings with digital locks to have access to a convenient smartphone charging point, the option to choose an affordable key fob, and a possible halt to the installation of iLOQ locks in new SSH properties.

The Wisselspoor residents’ committee is awaiting the meeting with SSH before potentially discussing the matter with DUB.

*DUB's editors know Milou and Jasmijn's real names

Parliamentary questions
Early in 2025, Volt MP Marieke Koekkoek tabled parliamentary questions regarding similar plans for student homes managed by Veste Wonen in Enschede. After speaking with students, the housing association decided that tenants could also opt for a physical tag alongside the smartphone app, or instead of the app.