The big TWC move has begun

People cycling past TWC can immediately see that the orange building is due for a major renovation. The building is covered in scaffolding, a large crane is nearby, and all kinds of materials are stored around it. The entire student housing complex is a construction site, as the red building is also receiving the final touches.

Student housing provider SSH decided to thoroughly renovate the Tuindorp-West Complex in 2023. The buildings are being given more energy-efficient facades, and all bathrooms, toilets, and kitchens are being replaced. The residents of the red building, the first to be renovated, had to leave their homes in October 2024.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to give the residents of the red building a new home at TWC, nor could we move them as a group to another student complex," says Joris van Eijck, a spokesperson for SSH. "That's why we've moved them separately, which they were very disappointed about. The situation will be completely different for the almost three hundred residents of the orange building, who will be moving to the red building with the group composition mostly unchanged."

He says "mostly unchanged" because graduates couldn't move to the red building, as a new campus contract had to be signed to get a new room. "We have helped that group find another accommodation," says van Eijck.

Collecting the keys
The residents of the orange building can collect the keys to their new homes at caretaker Eddie's office. Mirthe Huisman (22), a Psychology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences student at Utrecht University, and Reinout Kreeft (20), a Chemical Technology student at the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, are due to collect their keys today. They are neighbours and live on the top floor.

Mirthe is looking forward to the move: "I've only been living here for six months. Everything works fine in our apartment, but it is really old." Reinout is also looking forward to "a fresh start". However, he discovers that his keys have already been collected. There seems to have been a mistake. His room keys were accidentally given to a roommate. An honest mistake: one occupies room 12 and the other, room 21. 

Eddie solves the problem with a big smile, and Reinout can move to his new place.

Same roommates
Reinout is pleased that the roommates are staying together. "We haven't been living together in this configuration for very long, but we're already starting to form a bond. It's great that we can keep on doing that. We all stay home to be together on Monday night."

Mirthe approached it from a practical point of view: "We can bring all the kitchen utensils with us! We don't need to buy anything new, except for a couch."

First impression
We run into some of Mirthe's roommates on our way to her new room. They are all beaming with enthusiasm about their brand new place. Mirthe's expectations are high. Once she manages to open the door (which of the nine keys is it?), she is up for a big surprise: “Everything is so clean and tidy!” she exclaims.

One door further on, Reinout is letting out a few expletives. He is amazed at the size of the living room: "This is so much better!" He opens all the cupboards in the new kitchen and thoroughly inspects the household appliances, leased by SSH. 

Finding her room in the new house proves a bit difficult for Mirthe, as the new apartment is mirrored to the old one. "I think this is it," she says. The room is almost identical to the old one, only the view is a bit disappointing: "I could see the Dom tower from the other room."

The view from Reinout's room is obstructed by a net. At first, he assumes it is there to prevent suicides, but it actually serves to keep pigeons out. Reinout doesn't mind that it obstructs the view a little: "It's actually nice that pigeons can't fly into my room anymore."

From top to bottom
Today, only the residents of the top-floor rooms can collect their keys. Each student house has three floors. Students can collect their keys throughout the week, and their rooms in the orange building must be empty by Sunday. Next week, it will be the next floor's turn. The entire block of flats must be empty within six weeks.

This means that around 50 students will have to move into the red building in a single week: "The lift will be busy on Saturday," laughs Mirthe, who would have liked a little more time to move. It doesn't matter that much to Reinout. "In principle, everything can be done in a day."

However, the students feel that SSH could have communicated better with them. A week ago, the final moving date was changed by a week, and Reinout's new roommate was not informed. Mirthe's flatmates emphasise that the easy access to caretaker Eddie makes up for the lack of communication.

SSH helps
SSH is helping the students move. A free removal service has been arranged to transport belongings from one flat to another in a van. Students also do not have to pay double rent for the overlapping weeks. However, moving house costs money. Students must lay their own floors and paint the walls before their belongings can be moved in.

"If you're renovating anyway, why can't you lay a cast floor?" Reinout wonders. Mirthe also thinks it's a shame: "Laminate flooring costs about 250 euros." But not everyone needs it. Some residents are taking the floors from their previous room with them.

SSH spokesperson Joris van Eijck acknowledges the situation. "We understand that students may want to buy a new floor or curtains so they can make a fresh start. That's why they have received a relocation allowance." Students who were living in the orange building before May 5, 2024, will receive 668.64 euros each. Both Reinout and Mirthe have been excluded from the allowance because they already knew they would soon have to move into the red building when they moved into the orange one.

The floor is not the only expense students like Reinout and Mirthe have to make. The rent is also going up. "SSH rents out all its properties according to the government's points system, and a better property means a higher rent. However, this is almost entirely offset by the rent allowance, which means that the bottom line is about 22 euros extra per month," Van Eijck explains.

Renovation
Back in Reinout's old room, it is clear he hasn't started packing yet. However, the building is undergoing major renovation works and the construction fences, which create narrow passageways, are not making the move very easy.

Mirthe and Reinout are not bothered much by the renovation. "We don't hear much of it on the top floor. But a huge crane suddenly appeared next to my window once, so I just closed the curtains."

According to Van Eijck, there was no other option. "The contractor has already started preparing the site for construction and building the scaffolding. We are working on a tight schedule, and waiting until everyone has moved out would cause many delays."