Housing provider wants to give room seekers a choice
SSH to disallow 'hospiteren' in new buildings
High Five, a student housing complex under construction. Photo: DUB
The new rule already applies to the student complexes De Baobab and Opaalweg, both completed recently. From October, 206 students will be living in Baobab, near the Diaconessenhuis Hospital. Some 200 students have already moved into the building on Opaalweg, in Utrecht-Zuid.
The new buildings to be completed in the next few years, such as Het Wisselspoor on Amsterdamsestraatweg, which will house 335 students, and High Five, at Utrecht Science Park, which will be home to 921 students, will allow no hospiteren either.
Auditioning is “difficult” for some
The adjusted policy was unveiled in SSH's new business plan. Students who have been registered with the student housing provider the longest will be given priority for rooms and studios in buildings that have been completed recently or are soon to be completed. The same procedure will apply to their successors.
As a result, students will not be allowed to choose their own roommates. Up until now, SSH allowed students to hold hospiteren evenings, in which room seekers audition for a vacated room.
“We want to offer a choice to students who are registered with us,” explains a spokesperson for SSH. “Some students find auditioning 'difficult' for several reasons. These students can now choose to react to offers for which hospiteren is not necessary.”
SSH's decision to ditch the practice in its new buildings was partly based on a study on the topic, published last year (available only in Dutch, Ed.). According to this study, although the system has positive aspects such as promoting social cohesion, some room seekers have a hard time navigating it. Some are shy or afraid of not standing a chance compared to more extroverted students.
Not abolished
The student housing provider is also considering meeting with tenants' association BoKs to discuss the pros and cons of hospiteren. However, the spokesperson for SSH emphasises that the new policy only applies to new buildings, so student complexes such as Tuindorp-West (which is undergoing an extensive renovation right now) may carry on as usual. "Existing houses can continue to choose their roommates," the spokesperson emphasises. "If those residents prefer to continue with the practice of hospiteren, we will respect that. We will not abolish it."
