The municipality of Groningen will collaborate with Hospi Housing, an organization that connects international students to local host families, to combat the ongoing housing crisis. Starting in July, a joint campaign will be launched for international students in need of a room.
The municipality of Groningen’s official website claims that the initiative is a mutually beneficial solution to the issue, with hosting households earning an average of 400 euro per month. In order to use the service, students are required to pay a one-time fee. The municipality does not specify the exact amount students are expected to pay in their announcement.
“Groningen is a real student city, and it is not for nothing that it is the pearl of the North. We are proud that with our concept we can bring old and new Groningen residents closer together and offer a solution to the housing shortage,” said Daan Donkers, founder of Hospi Housing.
The new collaboration means that for the next two years it is temporarily allowed to rent out a non-independent room to students in Groningen. The maximum allotted length for a rental agreement under Hospi Housing is six months per academic year.
Hospi Housing is already available in a number of student’ cities across the Netherlands, including Utrecht, Leiden, and Maastricht. The new agreement in Groningen is set for two years, with the aim of establishing 100 matches between hosts and students in the hopes of building a sustainable solution to the housing crisis.
To help promote the new service, the municipality will collaborate with both the Hanze University of Applied Sciences and the University of Groningen. In addition, a number of student associations, such as Shelter Our Students and the Erasmus Student Network Groningen will participate in the new campaign.
You can check out our previous coverage on the housing shortage in Groningen, here.
