International Office/Housing - General Conditions

International Office/Housing helps international students and scholars and other visitors who are associated with the University of Twente in finding (furnished) accommodation by coordinating supply and demand. We cooperate mainly with Acasa, the provider of accommodation on Campus. Applications for housing are processed depending on category.

Below you find the general conditions that apply to the services provided by International Office/Housing. Please read the conditions carefully before submitting a housing application.

Services by International Office/Housing

1. Applicants

The services of IO/Housing are limited to individuals who have either educational or research affairs with the University of Twente. We distinguish the following five categories:

1. Exchange students (e.g. Erasmus, ECIU consortium partner students)
2. International Master students with a UT or HSP Huygens scholarship
3. International Master students
4. International Bachelor students
5. International PhDs, employees, trainees, or other guests, staying more than 1 month

2. Supply

IO/Housing administers about 180 furnished rooms on Campus. In addition, we cooperate with a few local housing providers in the city centre of Enschede, providing us with about 30 extra rooms*.
The supply ranges from individual rooms in a student house to two-room apartments, meant for couples and small families. For more information about the kinds of accommodation on Campus, please visit the Acasa website (see the link at the bottom of this page).
IO/Housing distinguishes five types of furnished accommodation for individual use (incl. the price range for monthly rents):

*All our off-campus rooms are individual rooms, some have private sanitary and some do not. Information with regard to these rooms (e.g. rent prices, facilities, location) will be provided in the e-mail correspondence from IO/Housing.

Couples and small families can apply for (incl. the price range for monthly rents):

In order to give priority to one or more of these categories for furnished accommodation, please use the comment boxes at the bottom of the online application form. There you can leave personal remarks about your housing preferences or special needs. Although IO/Housing will try to find you accommodation according to your preferences, we cannot guarantee to satisfy all your requests.

3. Rental period

The minimum period for renting accommodation through IO/Housing is 6 months. The maximum period is two years. The dates of contract are always from 1 August to 31 January and from 1 February 1 to 31 July.

Since IO/Housing is in the middle of a transition period, other starting dates might scarcely be possible between 1 February and 31 July 2009, i.e. the 1st and 16th of a month. However, the ending dates are fixed, i.e. 31 January and 31 July. Please inquire at IO/Housing by e-mail or by reporting to our office.

Procedures before arrival

1. Application

Category 1, 2, and 3
Exchange and Master students can apply for furnished housing by filling in the online application form for Housing. Exchange students will be directed to the online form as soon as their complete application package for studying reaches International Office. Master students can find the link to the online form in the application procedure called 'Seven steps to registration'.

Category 4
Bachelor students can only apply by contacting IO/Housing directly.

Category 5
Trainees, PhDs, employees, or other guests who want to apply for furnished housing should make arrangements through their contact person at the faculty. Their contact person can fill in an application form for accommodation (internal document) and submit it to IO/Housing.

The (online) application form must be filled in as accurate and complete as possible. IO/Housing needs a correct e-mail address to communicate with the applicant. Because most applicants will receive a University e-mail address after arrival, it is possible to modify your contact information with IO/Housing by informing us by e-mail. If you do not inform us about your new e-mail address, we will keep using your initial contact information. Please consult your e-mail daily when you are in the process of accommodation application.

Confirming your application

When the (online) application form is submitted, you and/or your contact person will receive an automatic confirmation of reception immediately by e-mail.

For Exchange and Master students, this does not mean that you are registered on the waiting list yet. IO/Housing will check whether you are indeed an Exchange or Master student at our university. In order to be validated, Master students are specifically required to have submitted their Entrance Acceptance Form. After this validation, you will receive a confirmation of your registration on the waiting list.

Cancelling an application

As long as no booking has been made for you, you can have your name removed from the waiting list free of charge by sending an e-mail to IO/Housing. We will confirm your cancellation by e-mail.

2. Waiting list

As soon as your application is confirmed, you will be registered on the waiting list for furnished housing.

Priority

Category 1
Exchange students are guaranteed to get accommodation through IO/Housing, on condition that they have applied to the University and completed the online application for Housing at least 4 months prior to arrival.

Category 2
Master students with a UT or HSP Huygens scholarship are guaranteed to get accommodation through IO/Housing, on condition that the admission procedure at the University and the online application for Housing are completed at least 3 months prior to arrival.

Category 3
Master students are given high priority, on condition that the admission procedure at the University and the online application for Housing are completed at least 3 months prior to arrival.

Category 4, 5
For other types of visitors, IO/Housing cannot guarantee that accommodation will be available, but we will do our very best to help you.

3. Offer

IO/Housing tries to find you accommodation according to your preferences. If we can offer you suitable accommodation, we will contact you and/or your contact person by e-mail 4-6 weeks prior to your arrival. The starting and ending dates as mentioned in the offer cannot be changed.

Responding to an offer

You have to respond within 1 week whether you accept the offer for accommodation or not, unless a different deadline is mentioned in the offer. If you or your contact person do not respond before this deadline, you will be removed from our waiting list. In case there is a shortage of rooms, refusing an offer for accommodation may result into a lower position on our waiting list.

4. Booking

If you or your contact person accept the offer, we will book the accommodation for you and inform you by e-mail.

Cancelling a booking

Once a booking has been made, you may cancel this booking free of charge up to 1 month prior to the starting date of your rental contract, by informing IO/Housing by e-mail. After that you are committed to pay cancellation costs (up to 2 months rent). You are responsible for these costs. We will confirm your cancellation by e-mail.

Procedures after arrival

1. Check-in

The booking e-mail contains detailed information about picking up the keys, signing the contract and rental payments.

Keys

Unless other arrangements have been made for you, keys can be picked up 24 hours a day, starting at 12.00 hrs of the day your contract starts. This way, you can enter the accommodation immediately upon arrival.

Contract

Your contract has to be signed within 1 week after the starting date of the contract, usually at the Acasa office or during the Introduction Day for international students. The dates of contract are always from 1 August to 31 January and from 1 February to 31 July.

Since IO/Housing is in the middle of a transition period other starting dates might scarcely be possible between 1 February and 31 July 2009, i.e. the 1st and 16th of a month. However, the ending dates are fixed, i.e. Jan 31 and July 31. Please inquire at IO/Housing by e-mail or by reporting to our office.

Payments

The first bill includes the rent of the first month, a deposit, one-time cleaning costs and one-time administration costs. The total amount needs to be paid within 2 weeks after the starting date of the contract. The deposit (see the box below) will be refunded at the end of your stay.

The rent is to be paid monthly, either by (automatic) bank transfer or by paying at Acasa's front desk through credit card (MasterCard, Visa) or Dutch bank debit card (PIN). It is not possible to pay cash. For more information about rental payments, please visit the Acasa website (see the link at the bottom of this page).

2. Renewal

It is possible to renew your contract for another period of 6 months, on condition IO/Housing is informed by e-mail at least 2 months before the contract expires, i.e. before 30 November or 31 May. The maximum period for renting accommodation on Campus is two years. The ending dates are only 31 January or 31 July.

When you do not comply with the 2-month term of notice, there is a chance that your accommodation has been booked for someone else. For you, this would mean that you must leave the accommodation.

After extending your stay, a new contract has to be signed during the first week of the new rental period.

Six months' contracts may be renewed maximum three times, i.e. you may stay up to maximum two years in a furnished room.

3. Check-out

On one of the last days of your contract, an Acasa inspector will do a final check of your accommodation. You have to make an appointment with Acasa for this final check, unless IO/Housing arranged otherwise. On the day of your departure, you must hand in the keys of your accommodation before 12.00 noon. If you are leaving outside office hours, the keys can be delivered at the porter's lodge at the main entrance of the Campus.

Before you leave, the final bill has to be paid and your deposit may be returned to you. Only after the final check, payments of any outstanding dues and handing in the keys, you have complied with all contract engagements.

Note: It is not possible to end the rental contract before it expires (i.e. before January 31 or July 31).

Links

Acasa website: types of accommodation

Acasa website: payment of rent