When do you need to start your search

When do you need to start your search?
Give yourself enough time to find accommodation. How much time you will need depends on the type of housing that you are looking for.

Would you like to find a room in a residential group?
Hospiteren is the most commonly used method of allocation. There is no registration time or waiting time. How long it takes for you to find a room in this way will depend on the motivation that you send to the current residents, how often you are invited to meet the current residents, how you present yourself, and if there is an instant match with one of the groups. Especially in the months June, July and August, it is hard to find a room, because a lot of other (new) students will be looking for a room as well. For some students it is harder to find a group that matches their personality than for others. Therefore our advice is that, as soon if you know where you would like to study, you should start your search for a room. Please note that:
- if you have found a room, the lease agreement will begin immediately and cannot be postponed until start of the academic year. So it is possible that you will have to start paying the rent, although you do not live there (yet).
- if you are entering into a campus contract, you can start renting four months before the academic year begins.
- we do not recommend paying five or six months of extra rent and not living there just because you want to have a particular room.

Would you like to live independently?
If a landlord draws rental candidates, it is not possible to say when you will need to start your search, because it will be a matter of pure luck. If you are lucky, you will quickly find a place to live. If you are unlucky, you will have to participate much more often and therefore wait much longer. Some landlords look at the amount of time you have been registered to qualify for social housing. If this is the case, you must take into account having to wait for a period of time before you qualify. Ask the relevant landlord(s) what the average waiting time is.

Please note the following: If you have a place to live but want to move to another place in the long run, or if you already know that you cannot stay as long as you would like, you must register on Roomspot again immediately after your lease agreement has been signed. This way, you already build up a record of registration time during your period of residence. As a result, you will find housing more quickly afterwards.