As per the rest of the Netherlands and especially the Randstad area of Rotterdam-The Hague-Amsterdam-Utrecht in particular, the rental market in Leiden is competitive and it can be hard to find a suitable and affordable room. Luckily, as an international student Leiden University will help you find a room, meaning that you will in all likelihood bypass having to negotiate with the tough rental market. Leiden University has no accommodation of its own but instead acts as a mediator between you and two rental corporations: SLS (Stichting Leidse Studentenhuisvesting) and DUWO.
You begin your application for student housing when you begin your application for the study programme of your choice. You will be asked to indicate whether you are interested in applying for international student housing. You can only rent your room for a maximum of one year, unless you are a Research Master’s student in which case you can rent for two years.
In order to be eligible for student housing you have to pay a housing deposit of €500. This gets converted from application fee to housing deposit when you sign your rental contract. You will receive this deposit back at the end of your rental contract provided your room is still in good order. If you cancel your housing request or turn down your room offer, you will lose this €500.
Accommodation is allocated on a first-come-first-served basis, so you should definitely make sure to submit your application and housing deposit as soon as possible. Only when the Housing Office has received the deposit will your name be placed on the list.
Once you have received acceptance for your programme, you will receive a request for confirmation of your interest in student housing and for some further specifications about what kind of housing you are looking for. You indicate your preferences with the application form for housing (word document) which you email to housing@leidenuniv.nl.
You will then be offered a room, but this is not guaranteed as there are more applicants than available rooms.
Due to the scarcity of housing, you will only receive one offer, and there is a chance that this offer may not fit to your requested specifications. In some circumstances you can ask for a second offer, which will put you to the back of the waiting list. If you decline the room offer, you will lose your application deposit.
The deadlines for payment of the housing fee/deposit are: 1st June or 15th November, depending on when your programme begins. However, application deadline dates are earlier than this, as noted above.
The housing contracts typically begin around the dates of 16th August or 16th January.
In order to keep your offer reserved, you must complete the housing offer form and email a scanned image of it within 5 days to housing@leidenuniv.nl.
Before you arrive in Leiden, you must pay by bank transfer an administration fee of €130 as well as 1.5 months rent if you start on the 16th of the month, or one months rent if you start on the 1st of the month.
This can be made payable to:
Rabobank Leiden
Schipolweg 105
2316XC Leiden
BIC/SWIFT code: RABONL2U
IBAN code: NL20RABO0160632277
Bank account number: 1606.32.277
Universiteit Leiden (Leiden University)
Rapenburg 70
2311 EZ LEIDEN
The Netherlands
You must make an appointment to sign your contract at the Housing Office when you arrive. The first rental payment must be made before you can sign the contract.
If your room is at Herengracht, Kaarsenmakerstraat, Hugo de Grootstraat, Hooigracht or Smaragdlaan, you must call or email the caretaker of the building five days before you are due to arrive to arrange an appointment to pick up your key. Bear in mind that you need a signed contract to receive a key.
If you have a room at the Verlengde Wassenaarseweg or Oranjelaan, you must make an appointment with the Housing Office five days before you are due to arrive to sign your contract and receive your keys.
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