‘We preferourDutch’: International students’ housing experiences in the Netherlands

Abstract

This article investigates how international students find and maintain housing and what constraints they have to deal with in the process. It reveals how the interplay between personal characteristics and housing-market features shapes housing biographies and unequally disadvantages certain international students over others. Eighteen in-depth interviews with international students were conducted about the housing situation for them in Utrecht, a Dutch student city. Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) of the interview data found that international students' housing biographies differ substantially, both in progression and outcomes. Despite some students successfully finding adequate housing, many described living involuntarily in conditions of stress, instability and insecurity and a number experienced progressively worsening housing conditions. The students ascribed their difficulties to discrimination and structural disadvantages on the housing market. In light of these findings, this article calls for a re-evaluation of the Dutch student housing system. ARTICLE HISTORY

Shared housing for students and young professionals: evolution of a market in need of regulation

“…They are often neither eligible for social housing nor able to obtain a mortgage (Boelhouwer, 2019). These conditions, combined with stagnating housing production (ibid) and the growth of (international) students following higher education (Fang & van Liempt, 2020), have contributed to the growing market pressure on the Dutch PRS and the housing shortage (Boelhouwer, 2019). Because it has become increasingly difficult for young adults to pursue a linear housing career in cities like Amsterdam (Hochstenbach & Boterman, 2015), flexible life arrangements have expanded in Dutch cities (Hochstenbach, Wind, & Arundel, 2020).…”

“…Although the shared housing market may have grown particularly rapidly in Amsterdam, we expect it to develop in other cities facing housing commodification and a housing shortage for young adults, both in the Netherlands and in other European countries. Other Dutch cities, including university cities and cities with a high housing demand, will be probably confronted to this growing phenomenon, given their difficulties to accommodate similar target demographics (Fang & van Liempt, 2020;. In other countries, the shared housing market is more likely to grow in liberal regimes such as the UK, where higher rates of shared housing arrangements have been observed (Arundel & Ronald, 2016).…”

“…Therefore, our purpose is to explore, through the comparison of two projects located in Amsterdam, the development of the shared housing market. This fastgrowing Dutch city has a tremendous housing shortage, especially for students (Fang & van Liempt, 2020) and young professionals (Hochstenbach & Boterman, 2015). This situation is partly due to the internationalisation of higher education (Fang & van Liempt, 2020) and young adults' preference for urban living (Muhammad, Ottens, Ettema, & Jong, 2007).…”

“…This fastgrowing Dutch city has a tremendous housing shortage, especially for students (Fang & van Liempt, 2020) and young professionals (Hochstenbach & Boterman, 2015). This situation is partly due to the internationalisation of higher education (Fang & van Liempt, 2020) and young adults' preference for urban living (Muhammad, Ottens, Ettema, & Jong, 2007). Amsterdam has also experienced an on-going restructuring of affordable housing provision, following housing policy changes making room for new, flexible tenure forms (Huisman, 2016b;Jonkman, 2020).…”

Hear me out

“…In a similar fashion, one might argue that when using groups such as national (i.e., Dutch) and international students (the groupmembership manipulation applied in Study 2.2) participants' responses could be influenced by prior stereotypical beliefs about these groups. In fact, the research in Study 2.2 was conducted in the lab at Utrecht University at a time where students of the international community reported to face discrimination and structural inequalities on the housing market (Fang & van Liempt, 2020). Using these real groups might be influenced by individual stereotypical beliefs, but the benefit of using real groups is that the results have greater external validity than when using, for instance, minimal groups.…”