'The comeback of Homestay' - a news overview of autumn 2023
‘The comeback of Homestay’. What a year. Homestay and Hospi Housing were all over the news. Missed it? Here's the news overview of autumn 2023.
This summer, you only had to open a newspaper or tune into any radio station and you'd hear: 'The comeback of Homestay (Hospita in Dutch)'. 'Homestay as a significant solution to the housing shortage', 'Are hosts the solution to the shortage of student rooms?' No less than 7x on TV📺, 15x on radio🎙️ and +50x in articles online or in the newspaper📰: we were all over the news. Huge thanks to everyone who contributed. In this blog, an overview of the news in autumn 2023.
Homestay on TV
In November and December alone, Homestay and Hospi Housing had 4 performances on television. Ranging from early in the morning to late at night, various hosts and tenants spoke about their experiences so far.
Goedemorgen Nederland (WNL)
The premiere of the musical 'The Landlady' was reason for Goedemorgen Nederland to visit some landlady's and their tenants in their homes on Friday morning, November 3. And the program wouldn't live up to its name if they didn't knock on the doors very early.
At half-past six in the morning, landlady Ellen from Utrecht had the coffee ready. After the death of her husband and since her sons moved out, she decided to rent out her empty attic room. “I know there is a lot of housing shortage among students and I also thought it would be nice to have someone in the house occasionally.”
Student Robin also lives with a landlady. After searching for a room for a year and a half, he came across Heidi through Hospi Housing. “Heidi is wonderful, she's really a gem of a woman”, he says. “We've set up rules, sure. But we stick to those rules and respect each other's privacy. I really have nothing to complain about with her.”
Expeditie Nederland (Omroep MAX/ L1)
“A solution for the room shortage and it provides companionship”. That's how the item from L1, the regional broadcaster in Limburg, opens in the program Expeditie Nederland from Omroep MAX. In this program, topics that affect everyone are highlighted from different regions. In the episode from Monday, November 20 (from minute 18:30 to 24:00), they visited two special hosts near Maastricht.
One of our first matches in Limburg was with host Habbo and student Doortje. For Habbo, it felt good to have someone else living at home. It was enough for him to ward off a feeling of loneliness. For Doortje, Habbo provided a safe place to start her studies in Maastricht. Doortje: “It felt like a grandpa-granddaughter relationship.” Recently, she moved to a more central location in Maastricht, and “I secretly miss it a bit.”
For international students, the room shortage poses an extra challenge. They cannot view a room in advance, making them vulnerable to scammers, and commuting between home and study is not an option. Living with a landlady or host family offers a solution. This was also the case for Sofia from Russia, who found a home with Linda in Itteren, the outskirts of Maastricht. “In addition to the companionship, it's nice to be able to be a kind of mentor, to help her on her way and provide a place where she can feel at home.”
Dit is de Middag (EO)
In the live lunch program Dit is de Middag, current themes are discussed with present guests. On Wednesday, November 29, the episode was dedicated to homestay rental and senior citizen communities as a solution to the housing shortage.
One of the guests was Inge, who, along with her husband Pedro, opened up their attic room for a student. Inge and Pedro are both around 60 and live in Houten. Since their sons moved out, they have extra space in their house and decided they wanted to do something with it.
“You live in such a huge house and it's just completely empty. I have children that are students myself, who had a terrible time finding a room. It can't be that you live near a student city and then do nothing with all that space. I felt a bit guilty about it.” They had doubts about privacy, but in practice, it turns out to be quite manageable. “You can make good agreements about this and then you'll figure it out together!”.
GoedNieuws Vandaag (SBS6)
‘The Landlady: the Hero in the Student Housing Crisis’. To close off the year, on behalf of Hospi Housing Joost was a guest on the episode of GoedNieuws Vandaag from SBS6 on December 7. The reason for this item was the announcement by minister de Jonge about a legal amendment that should make it easier for mortgage providers to allow hosting rentals.
Fortunately, you don't have to wait for this, as homestay rental already brings many benefits. For example, rental income up to €6000 per year is tax-free and it can give you a safe and cozy feeling!
Homestay rental on the Radio
The announcement by minister de Jonge also caught the attention of other media. In the broadcast of Villa VdB on NPO Radio 1, they extensively discussed the rules of mortgage providers and why banks sometimes do not allow hosting rentals.
Joost Bokkers: “The risks are small, but in theory, it could happen that someone can't pay the mortgage anymore and that would decrease the value of the collateral. That's why they say: we don't want that. Although we have not yet experienced that it leads to a problem”.
An anonymous host speaks. Although it's not allowed, he finds it important to contribute to the housing problem: “I find it intolerable that in a time of enormous housing shortage, you have to leave part of your house empty because it's not possible or not allowed. That's not what I want. I have plenty of space here. So, I'm glad that I have people living here.”
Homestay rental in the Newspaper and Online
Last summer, the newspapers mainly talked about the return of the landlady. Now the focus is more on the announced legal amendment by minister de Jonge, about the musical 'De Hospita', and about regional regulations and success stories.
The AD had the scoop on December 4 with the announcement of Hugo de Jonge about the ‘legal amendment that should eliminate cold feet among mortgage providers’. In a follow-up article, hosts Saskia and Dick are interviewed. “In the past, there was such a stereotype of a landlady as an old hag in a dirty house”, says Saskia laughing. “There are plenty of people who have enough space, and if you can temporarily provide someone with shelter, it's a win-win situation.” They do set some rules to ensure each other's privacy. In practice, this works fine.
The Parool outlines in a detailed article the new rules for the housing market in Amsterdam in 2024, including 'making room rental easier'. De Volkskrant writes about 'the return of the landlady, even in the theater'. Finally, PZC writes about Aron from Middelburg who lived with a landlady in Baambrugge and in the Stentor landlady Jeanette (79) from Zwolle speaks tells about her experiences.
Homestay rental, something for you?
Reading this and thinking: I have a spare room at home. Great, then it wouldn't hurt to find out if room rental could be for you. At Hospi Housing, we're happy to help you with this, completely free of charge. Create an account and schedule an online intake. During the intake, we'll answer all your questions and see what's possible in your situation. See you soon!