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Housing Manual
BUas
2022- 2023

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General Information
Breda is a beautiful city in the south of the Netherlands. Breda University of Applied Sciences has a
growing number of students and therefore accommodation in Breda can be scarce and challenging
to find. There are several ways to find accommodation in Breda. Most student accommodation
involves houses with multiple single rooms for students or young people. Spaces such as the living
room (if available), kitchen and bathroom are shared. Rooms offered are mostly not furnished (no
furniture, bed, curtains, etc.). Please keep this in mind when you rent a room. If a room is not within
walking distance of the school, remember the Dutch love to cycle and Breda is not a big city.
Consider buying a (second-hand) bike instead of using expensive public transport.

Housing in the Netherlands is not cheap. Rental prices for a student room in Breda vary from €300
to €600 per month. However, you will most commonly find rooms to rent for about € 400. Do not
forget that in your first month you will also have to pay a deposit and an additional fee, depending
on how you got your room. Set realistic goals when it comes to the rent of your student room. The
chart below gives a general indication of different room sizes and rent prices. Prices may differ
accordingly. There will be a lot of Dutch students starting the academic year in September as well,
so it is highly recommended to start your search for a room at least three months in advance. Do
not wait to start your search until you have been fully accepted to the degree programme.

Estimated costs for a room in Breda in 2022/2023

Type of room Size Budget

Room in a shared 14m2 and smaller €375 – €425
house/building. Perhaps with
own sink unit
Room in a shared 15m2 – 18m2 €425 – €475
house/building. Perhaps with
own sink unit
Room in a shared 19m2 and bigger €475 – +++
house/building. Perhaps with
own sink unit
Studio. One living/bedroom 22m2 + €600 +
with small kitchen OR private
bathroom
Apartment €900 +

Arriving in Breda
It is recommended to come to Breda at least a few days before the start of your study programme.
In this period, you can sort out anything you might need while staying in the Netherlands. Try to
have your accommodation sorted beforehand. There is also a chance of a gap between your arrival

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and beginning of your rental period. Many students try to stay at a friend’s place, another student’s
place, hotel or hostel, make use of Airbnb or find a place to stay through Couchsurfing. Keep your
safety in mind when using websites such as couch surfing.

Finding a room
Please note that Breda University of Applied Sciences does not recommend one platform or
company over the other. These are just examples of where to look for a place to live. It is your own
responsibility to find suitable accommodation and it is your own decision if you want to rent
through one of these platforms or companies. Please also keep in mind that not all people active on
these sites have the best of intentions. When a room seems too good to be true, reconsider! And
make sure to be careful with your personal details. When you are about to rent a room, do not
forget to ask what’s included in the price and if additional costs are being charged. Remember that it
will probably take multiple tries to find a room. Do not be discouraged by lack of response and be
sure to send out many applications! The more applications you send out, the bigger the chance of
finding a room.

How does it work?

Some of the platforms or organisations mentioned below are commercial intermediaries in
flats and rooms. They are quick with their offers, but this service comes at a price! In general,
the procedure will be as follows:

• Register if needed (sometimes you will have to pay a registration fee to subscribe).
• Send out applications for multiple rooms or flats.
o If you respond to an advertisement, it is wise to tell something about yourself
(gender, nationality, smoker or non-smoker, age, what you are going to study,
hobbies, etc.). The first selection round is based on assessing the responses
received, so make sure your application is original!
• You get an offer for the room or flat.
o If you like the offer, generally, you will come to check the room or flat after which
you can accept or decline the offer. Since you are an international student, you might
need to find another solution, a Skype/FaceTime interview might be a good option.
We are also willing to help you with a viewing. Just contact us
([email protected]) and we will see what we can do.

• If you accept an offer, there are several amounts that you will be required to pay in the first
month: rent, deposit, and an additional fee (depending on where you find your room).
Sometimes the last two mentioned amounts are equal to the rent. This means that if your
rent is €400, the costs of your first month could be around €1,200.

We recommend searching for rooms through the Facebook pages and the Breda University of
Applied Sciences platforms first. Experience has shown that students tend to use these
platforms quite often. You can always make use of the other organisations if things do not work
out through the free channels.

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Facebook

Social media offer great ways to communicate with each other. There are several pages where
students and private owners advertise their available rooms, studios or apartments. Facebook is
one of the best ways to avoid service charges and high registration fees. Please note the rules
mentioned on the Facebook page concerned and keep in mind that response on Facebook is not
very high. What’s more, please be careful when using social media for finding your room.

Living arrangements
https://www.facebook.com/groups/71867862623/?fref=ts
Mostly temporary rooms offered by other students from Breda University of Applied Sciences and
AVANS who are subletting their room due to placements and exchange programmes (mostly around
six months) Information is provided in English. Sublet rooms are mostly furnished.

Find a room(mate) or house in Breda - Kamer(s) in Breda

https://www.facebook.com/groups/kamer.in.breda/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Zoekt kamer in Breda Community (Looking for a room in Breda community, Dutch)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/zoektkamerinbreda/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Rooms / Housing / huisvesting Breda

https://www.facebook.com/groups/542921162427481/?fref=ts

BUas partner platform (free to use)

www.klikvoorkamers.nl/en

If you want to find a good place to live in time, Breda University of Applied Sciences urges you to
subscribe to Klik voor Kamers (Click for rooms). This is a joint initiative of the three housing
corporations in Breda: Laurentius, Alwel, and WonenBreburg. You can register (free of charge) and
find a room on their website www.klikvoorkamers.nl/en. You will be given priority in
accommodation offers because you are an international student.
They use three systems to assign rooms. Either first response, by lot, or waiting list.
• First response is easy, the first to respond gets the offer for the room.
• The system of by lot is very fair. They randomly select the person who will get the offer.
However, the farther away you live, the more often your name is entered into the system.
• Waiting list is the hardest system. The applicant who has been on the waiting list for the
longest period of time, will get the room. Signing up is free of charge, so we recommend you
to sign up as soon as you read this.

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It is, however, very important that you respond only to rooms you do wish to have. This is because
when you are offered a room but do not accept it, your priority status will be removed, as will your
waiting period. You will have to start from scratch all over again on the website. Rooms offered on
Klikvoorkamers are well maintained and well-priced.

Other organisations/companies/websites

Some websites below charge a registration fee of €30 - €40 to have full access to their site and be
able to respond. When you find a room, studio or apartment through one of these companies they
charge an administration fee as well. These can be as high as one month of rent, so count on at
least €250. However, administration fees/contract fees/intermediary fees and so on are forbidden in
the Netherlands. Do not outright refuse to pay them but ask them why you must pay them. They
usually never respond, but you will keep the room (if you already signed the contract).

See https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/huurwoning/vraag-
enantwoord/bemiddelingskosten-betalen-huurwoning-kamer for the Dutch page about these fees.

See https://www.government.nl/topics/housing/rented-housing for a general page about renting in

the Netherlands. Both pages are from the Dutch government.

Unfortunately, not all websites have English translations. However, if you manage to understand
some Dutch or know someone who can assist you, that could be useful. Many foreign students
successfully use websites like these with the help of Google Translator or Google Chrome.

https://www.househunting.nl/en/
https://www.housingsolutions.nl/index.php
http://www.acuuthurenbreda.nl/
https://www.stadhuis.nl/en/woning-huren/
https://www.stuworld.nl/en/home http://bredawonen.com/aanbod/
http://www.pararius.com/apartments/breda
https://directwonen.nl/en/rentals-for-rent/breda
http://www.housingxl.nl/en/home/
http://www.kodawoningbeheer.nl/en
http://www.huurda.nl/
https://kamernet.nl/en/for-rent/room-Breda
https://select-a-house.nl/en
https://www.rotsvast.nl/en/https://nl.cameloteurope.com/properties/rooms/breda
https://www.kamerbreda.com/
https://www.huursector.nl/huurwoningen-breda/?min_price=0 https://www.kamer.nl/te-
huur?plaats=Breda https://www.xior.nl/en/land/the%20netherlands
https://spots4you.com/en/nl/spaces/living/1?city=Breda (Camelot)
http://www.marktplaats.nl (Dutch trading website, try entering the search terms ’Huur Kamer
Breda’)

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Scammers

There are quite a few scammers active in Breda. To prevent you from becoming one of their victims,
we have compiled a list of tips and tricks which you can use to your advantage. Be (extra) careful if:

• If someone contacts you to offer you a room out of the blue. The same applies to random
comments to Facebook posts.
• If the room looks very nice and quite luxurious, then put at least €100 on top of the prices
mentioned in the table. Any prices below that should raise your suspicion.
• If someone offers you the room on behalf of another person who is abroad.
• If they require a big payment up front (more than one month of rent + safety deposit).
• If the safety deposit is higher than one month of rent.
• If they deny you a viewing.
• If they do not allow you to register at the municipality with the address.
• If they refuse a contract.
• If they have a suspicious-looking Facebook profile (new account/no friends).
• If there are spelling and grammar mistakes in communication.
• If they ask you for your ID card or passport. Make sure to hide your photograph and
BSN/Social Security Number/Personal Number. They are legally not allowed to ask for that
information.
• You can check if they are the owner of the property at the given address through the
Kadaster website (Dutch institution). The website is only available in Dutch though.
o Go to https://www.kadaster.nl/winkel and fill in the address in the search
bar above the map and select it.
o Buy ’’Eigendomsinformatie’’ for €2.60 (ownership information)

o You should now be able to see who owns it, and other information.

But most importantly; if it feels like a scam, do not hesitate to e-mail [email protected] with
as much information as possible. We will examine the information and give you our advice.

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Furnishing

Unfurnished rooms can be cheaper to rent and since most rooms in the Netherlands are
unfurnished, you may need to furnish your room yourself. This does not have to be expensive as
there are many DIY stores, second-hand stores, second-hand websites, and Facebook pages. Useful
stores are mentioned below. Most of these websites are in Dutch. However, if you manage to
understand some Dutch or know someone who can assist you, that could be useful. Many foreign
students successfully use websites like these with the help of Google Translator or Google Chrome.
You can use their home delivery services or you can check their products online and visit the actual
stores which are all located in Breda.

Name shop Website Use

IKEA www.ikea.com/nl Furniture and
everything you may
need
Leen Bakker www.leenbakker.nl Furniture and
decoration
Kwantum www.kwantum.nl Furniture and
decoration
Gamma www.gamma.nl DIY store
Formido www.formido.nl DIY store
Marktplaats www.marktplaats.nl Second-hand website
Emmaus kringloop www.emmaus-breda-veilingkade.nl/home/ Second-hand store

Vindingrijk Kringloop www.vindingrijkbreda.nl Second-hand store

Goedkoop & Zo www.goedkoopenzo.nl/ Second-hand store
Facebook pages; Facebook pages: Furniture, bikes,
second-hand items www.facebook.com/groups/298857480315635/ decoration and
www.facebook.com/groups/2ehandsverkoop/ everything else you
www.facebook.com/groups/375195449252311/ may need.
www.facebook.com/groups/fietsen.breda/

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Mgr. Hopmansstraat 2
4817 JS Breda

P.O. Box 3917

4800 DX Breda
The Netherlands

PHONE
+31 76 533 22 03
WEBSITE
www.buas.nl

DISCOVER YOUR WORLD