Housing for EEA students

If you have the EEA nationality, you need to find a house yourself. Wondering how such a process works? Read the information on this page carefully.

Each year, over 4,000 new students start at the University of Twente (UT). A lot of new students start their search for accommodation at the same time as you. UT does its utmost to inform you about finding possible accommodations. To ensure a smooth start to your student life, you should arrange your accommodation before the start of your studies, at least three months in advance. However, count yourself lucky: finding housing in Enschede is cheaper and easier than in other Dutch student cities!

  • Which countries are EEA?

    There are 30 EEA countries:

    • Austria
    • Belgium
    • Bulgaria
    • Croatia
    • Cyprus
    • Czech Republic
    • Denmark
    • Estonia
    • Finland
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • Iceland
    • Ireland
    • Italy
    • Latvia
    • Liechtenstein
    • Lithuania
    • Luxembourg
    • Malta
    • Netherlands
    • Norway
    • Poland
    • Portugal
    • Romania
    • Slovakia
    • Slovenia
    • Spain
    • Sweden

Housing providers

If you are an (international) student who does not need an entry visa and/or residence permit and you are looking for accommodation on campus or in the vicinity of our University, keep an eye on the offers on the websites below. These are updated with rooms regularly and you can filter on price, location, and room size. 

Tips and tricks

Here are some important tips and guidelines to live by when searching for accommodation if you do not require an entry visa and/or residence permit:

  • 1. Register for housing platforms

    We advise you to keep an eye on the online portals RoomspotStudent Union Kamersite, Kamernet and Pararius. These websites are updated with rooms regularly and you can filter on price, location, room size, and much more. You can also check out Huurwoningen.nl and Kamersenschede.nl or social media platforms such as Facebook. Please be aware that we are no direct partners of these national platforms, and we cannot guarantee the quality and reliability of the rooms. You could also take a look at our list of other housing possibilities.

    If you want to rent a room in a residential group, it could be the case that you have to deal with hospiteren/co-optation. This means that you have to write a letter to tell something more about yourself (interests, hobbies), so that your future roommates can see if you could get along with the residents. Then, it could be the case that you will be invited with some other (future) students to have a look at the room and meet the other residents. The current residents then decide who will be their new roommates. You might be rejected once or twice, but don't give up. Just be yourself and you will find the ideal room with ideal roommates. Tips and tricks for co-optation can be found on Roomspot.

  • 2. Start on time

    The sooner you start your house hunting, the sooner you can start finding your accommodation. We advise you to start your house hunting in May for the September intake.

    When you start to search for accommodation early, you have more chances of finding housing before the start of your studies. Don't worry if you can't find housing immediately after you started your search. Sometimes it may take up to two months before you find something suitable.

  • 3. Find housing before the start of your studies

    Studying at a university might be completely new for you, or even moving to a new country can be overwhelming. To ensure a smooth start to your student life at the University of Twente, you should arrange accommodation before the start of your studies.

  • 4. Be realistic in your wishes

    Who wouldn’t like to live in a three-bedroom apartment with a nice view over the city? Sometimes it’s better to accept a housing offer when it comes along and search from there. Once you’re living in the area, you can use your newly built network to search for accommodation better suited to your personal preferences.

  • 5. Watch out for scammers

    Don’t be too picky, but watch out for scammers as well. A lot of different tricks are being used, mostly trying to take advantage of the fact that people are not able to come and check out the property in person.

    Red flag alerts:

    • The landlord says he stays abroad for the moment and asks you to send the money to a foreign account
    • The landlord asks for your credit card number
    • The landlord says he cannot show you the accommodation, but he'll send you the keys once the deposit is transferred
    • The rental price is considerably lower than other similar accommodations in the area
    • You cannot register yourself for the address of the accommodation at the municipality.

If you want more tips and tricks on finding housing, see the Erasmus Student Network website for a housing guide.

Exceptions for some studies

As UT is a campus university, you have the option to live either on campus or in the city. But if you are going to study one of the programmes below, your situation is different.

Possible housing options

There are different possible housing options. You can rent a room or a (studio) apartment. You can live alone, or with roommates. Take a look at the student house where Carlijn shares a few facilities and compare it to the apartment which Akash rents alone: 

Frequently asked questions