VU Amsterdam has reserved a limited number of accommodations for prospective international staff with different housing providers. Unfortunately, we can only offer housing to about 50% of all new incoming staff.
We advise you to start your search on time and to widen your search to areas further away from Amsterdam, like for example Zaandam, Almere, Hoofddorp, or Alphen aan de Rijn. Public transport is available but be aware that it will come with extra costs if you need to travel to VU Amsterdam. Information on the following website might also be useful: Access website.
In the Netherlands there is a difference between Social housing and housing on the Private market. The differences are in short:
Social housing: Affordable housing, for people with a low income, owned by housing corporations. For internationals coming to the Netherlands is very hard to obtain, as they work with registration time. At the moment, the waiting time is 8- 15 years. To apply for social housing, contact the municipality to find the local organisation.
The maximum rent of these housing options is €763 excluding services and extras. Sometimes tenants are eligible for housing allowance. There are income restrictions, you can find the actual information here.
Private market (Free sector): Houses on the private market are more expensive, prices have been liberalised. There is no maximum rental price. Prices will start from €750 for a studio to around €1,500 for a simple 1 bedroom apartment. Please note that your income must be below the income threshold for social housing.
Once you are in social housing, you can apply for a housing allowance (a state contribution to your rent). Some conditions must be met in order to receive a housing allowance. VU Amsterdam has no influence on the outcome of your housing allowance application.
House prices in the Netherlands have increased heavily in the last few years, and as a result, finding affordable accommodation in the main Dutch cities can be a challenge. Unlike what you might be used to, a substantial part of your budget will probably be spent on rent and other housing related costs. For example, a one-bedroom apartment to rent in Amsterdam can range from €1,100 €1,700 a month while three-bedroom apartments start from around €2,300. In addition, there will be mandatory costs for utility and water bills, municipal taxes and insurances.
Depending on the neighbourhood and size of the apartment or house, count on approximately €1,200-€ 1,500 euros a month for just the rent of a studio / small apartment. In addition, there will be mandatory costs for utility and water bills, municipal taxes and insurances. If you are planning to come to Amsterdam with your partner and or children, be aware that it is even more difficult to find affordable housing in Amsterdam and surroundings.
All guests, staff members, interns and PhDs who have a courtesy or employment contract at VU Amsterdam (initiated by the supervisor of the department) and in case of a non EU citizen the VISA procedure has been approved (conditionally) will receive an invitation to apply for accommodation online via a google doc link. You can only apply for accommodation from VU Amsterdam when you meet the following criteria:
You will automatically receive an invitation to apply for housing, this is part of the employment or courtesy contract process. Once your VU Amsterdam supervisor / promotor has initiated the employment contract process in your personal dashboard on vu.nl, your file will also be sent to the international office and then you will receive information regarding our accommodation services. We advise the department to initiate the process a long time before your arrival.
This means that after that you will receive an application form (Google doc) by e-mail. We advise you to send in your application form as soon as possible to have the best chance to get housing upon arrival.
The contracts we offer are short stay options. The minimum stay is one month and the maximum one year. The contract cannot and will not be extended after the maximum period of one year. Nor will we assign you another / new short stay contract. For more information on the accommodation types, please click here.
We have very limited rooms available for couples. Those are often rented out and therefore very limited available. We do not offer accommodation for couples with children.
Families with children need to find their own accommodation on the private market and search for contracts longer than 1 year. It is always difficult if you have to move to a different location while finding new schools/ day care / general practitioners. Another option is for guest / employees to come alone to the Netherlands first and try to find accommodation for their families while living here.
When you receive a short stay accommodation from us and you wish to end it any sooner than the official end date, you may do so with a full one-month notice time per the 15th of the month or per the last day of the month. In that case, please notify both of us (by e-mail) and DUWO via the button: terminate rental agreement in your own personal DUWO account. In case you would like to extend up to the maximum allowed period, please let us know by email (staffaccommodation@vu.nl) and at least two or three months before the official end date of the housing contract.
Note: we can never guarantee you an extension. This depends on our availability and the amount of people on the waiting list.