1. Be critical when searching and keep the following in mind
- Does the room have its own entrance or do you need to go through the house to enter your room?
- How is the room heated?
- Is there a sufficient heating source so winters aren't freezing cold?
- Is it an attic room, where the summers can be unbearable hot?
- Is the rental price inclusive of all costs or are the water, gas and electricity costs not included?
- Are there other unforseen costs?
- Is there a telephone in the house, and how are the costs calculated?
- Who else lives on the premises?
- Is the room furnished (does the room contain any furniture) and how much extra will you need to pay?
- Do you have your own kicthen, shower and toilet or will you share with the other residents?
- When you have common gas, water and lighting costs, how much is your share?
- How does the landlord value the room? (there is a legal point system to establish the rental prices of rooms, see for example www.steunpuntwonen.nl).
2. Registering with the Municipality
When you find a room, register yourself with the appropriate municipality within five days after you begin your rental term. It is important so you can receieve your study subsidy as a non resident, and also so you may participate in regional activities, such as elections.
3. Rights and Obligations
Of course, tenants and landlords have their own rights and obligations:
As a tenent, you have the right to:
- rent protection (you can not be thrown to the street)
As a tenant, you are obliged to:
- pay your rent on time
- to be a good tenant (to not be an inconvenience or destructive)
- to make sure your room is in good condition before you leave
- perform daily maintenance of small things at your own costs (for example light bulbs or sink washers)
- if it is forbidden in your rental contract: not sublet your room
The landlord is obliged to:
- provide (and keep providing) gas, water and electricity if it is stated in the contract
- perform large scale maintenance
- provide a pleasant housemate (also, the landlord may not go in your room without your permission)
- keep the living area in good condition
4. Termination of the rental agreement
A rental agreement terminates only after giving proper notice to the tenant. The landlord may not terminate the contract without consulting the tenant: if he would like to end the contract, he must receive written agreement from the tenant. If the landlord does not receive agreement from the tenant, he must show a well founded reason for the termination of the contract.
There are only five reasons whereby a landlord may terminate a contract without permission of the tenant:
- If the tenant does not conduct himself as a good tenant
- If the rental contract is fixed for a certain time, and in the contact it is expressly agreed upon that the landlord (or the former tenant) will live in the room after the time expires
- If the tenant does not agree to a reasonable offer of a new rental contract, unless this offer contains rent increase or increase in service costs
- If the landlord of the room needs the room urgently for his own use
- If the landlord wants to carry out a fixed time development plan
Other reasons than these are not allowed, and they should be left out of any considerations of termination.
If you wish to terminate the contract yourself then the termination period is the same as the paying period. If you pay your rent per month, then the termination period is also a month. Also, you must request termination in written form and send it via registered mail to the landlord.
5. Fire safety
Regularly you will see announcements in the newspaper about fires breaking out in student houses. Students are injured and standing on the street. Fire safety is important, but often you don't stop to think about it until it is too late. TTherefore, it is important to evaluate the risks as early as possible before there is a fire in the house. On occasion you should check out how to avoid and limit these risks. Also, there are a number of measures you can take to diminish the chance of a fire.
Firesafe living area
Rooms with the landlord or in a student house must satisfy numerous requirements in the area of fire safety. There requirements are briefly discussed below.
If your living area is not provided with fire safety precautions, mention it to your landlord and ask if required maintenance will be performed. If nothing is done, you can send the landlord a registered letter where you grant him a specified time to complete the maintenance. If still nothing is done, you can ask the municipality to compel the owner to perform the emergency maintenance. It is also possible to ask the justice of the peace to demand of the landlord the necessary maintenance.
How to handle a fire?
Several products are especially handy to have in the house to quickly alert you if a fire has started.
The first: smoke detectors. Hang one in your room and also in the hallway. Regularly check to see if the batteries are working. Smoke detectors are available in household stores and cost abour 8 euros.
The second: fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers for the house come in three varieties: powder extinguishers, carbon dioxide extinguishers and foam spray extinguishers. Of the three, it is advised to use foam spray extinguishers in most cases: this extinguisher is able to handle most fire emergency situations in and around the house. There is one important exception: electrical fires must be extinguished with the carbon dioxide extinguisher. Extinguishers begin at 20 euros.
The third: fire blankets. if someone is on fire, you must make sure that the fire does not consume any more fuel. A person should drop to the floor and roll back and forth (stop, drop and roll). Also, throwing a fire blanket around the person will help to quench the fire. You can purchase fire blankets for about 25 euros.
If there is no fire escape where you live and you are on the first or second floors, you may want to buy a rope ladder which you can hang out the window and climb to safety. You can buy one for about 85 euros.
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