Photo Guy Ackermans In a short amount of time, a petition against DUWO’s plea for ‘equal opportunities’ in flatmate interviews for housing has been signed 4,600 times. Residents want to continue to decide for themselves who their new flatmate will be.
Last week, student housing corporation DUWO announced that its policy on flatmate interviews is to be overhauled. This could affect many student residences. With over 33 thousand rooms in locations such as Amsterdam, Delft, Leiden and Wageningen, DUWO is one of the largest student housing corporations in the Netherlands. In Wageningen, the consequences of the new policy seem to be less severe: DUWO manages Campus Plaza, which only houses studios (and therefore does not require a flatmate interview). DUWO is also involved in M20 on Marijkeweg, but Idealis is responsible for the management and rental of this property.
DUWO thinks the system of flatmate interviews is unfair: ‘Students without a network, with less access to information or without a connection to certain associations are considerably less likely to get a room as a result.’
Freedom of choice
Begging to differ, a group of students from Leiden have launched a petition, which was signed 4,600 times in four days. They ask DUWO to ‘refrain from plans that limit residents’ autonomy and freedom of choice in selecting their future flatmates’.
But the policy change (or rather: announced policy change) doesn’t come out of the blue. The housing corporation has previously said it’s committed to ‘a fair home for all students’. And so, it will change direction from 2026 onwards. From then on, DUWO wants to make its own pre-selection. This means residents will have to choose their new flatmate from the pre-selected candidates. This is to ensure ‘equal access and social cohesion’.
Elsewhere
Criticism of flatmate interviews isn’t unheard of. In Utrecht, student housing corporation SSH has abolished the interviews for new properties, instead operating on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. This led to discussions, in Wageningen as well. What consequences would a policy change have, for example, for student association houses in buildings owned by student housing providers?
A few years ago, a law student – who himself was chosen as a new flatmate right away – wrote in an opinion piece for Utrecht university platform DUB that flatmate interviews promote sexism and discrimination. He called for the complete abolition of the system of flatmate interviews.
HOP, Naomi Bergshoeff
