Not one, but two alderpersons visiting in Haarlem

At Jocé and Sofía’s home, it became clear how homesharing can offer a personal, affordable and meaningful housing solution for both residents and people looking for a room.

Not one, but two alderpersons visiting a host and tenant in Haarlem at the same time — that was a first on March 12. During a warm and informal visit at Jocé and Sofía’s home, it became clear once again how meaningful homesharing can be in a city where affordable housing is urgently needed.

Visit of aldermen Floor Roduner and Diana van Loenen

On March 12, something special happened in Haarlem: for the first time, not one but two alderpersons visited a host and tenant in the city at the same time. One duo through Hospi Housing and one through Onder de Pannen. Two conversations, two living rooms, and one clear conclusion: homesharing works.

For Hospi Housing, the visit took place at the home of Jocé and her tenant Sofía in the Rozenprieel neighbourhood. It was not a formal meeting, but simply coffee, good cookies, and an open conversation around the kitchen table. Which is exactly what homesharing often looks like in real life: low-threshold, personal, and surprisingly meaningful.

Sharing a room, making a difference

Jocé lives alone and had a lovely attic room to spare. She signed up because she wanted to help someone — and of course, the extra income was also welcome. But what she appreciates just as much is the added liveliness in the house. Not constantly spending time together, but having occasional contact and simply knowing someone else is there. That is exactly what makes homesharing so valuable for many hosts.

For Sofía, a 25-year-old from Costa Rica, the room offered a comfortable temporary home during her internship in the Netherlands. And that is far from a given. For many students, interns and young starters, finding an affordable room is incredibly difficult. That also came up during the visit, when the alderpersons asked about her experience searching for housing.

Sometimes it starts right on your own street

Jocé was also asked how she first came across Hospi Housing. And the story was too good not to share: she knew about Hospi Housing through an earlier campaign by Hospi Housing and the municipality of Haarlem, when a video and photoshoot had taken place at a neighbour’s home on the same street.

It is a great example of why visibility matters. Sometimes it does not start with a big plan, but simply by seeing something in your own neighbourhood and thinking: hey, maybe this could be something for me too.

Haarlem is seriously putting homesharing on the map

The visit did not happen in isolation. In Haarlem, Onder de Pannen, Hospi Housing and the municipality are working more and more closely together to make homesharing better known. The municipality recently also launched a new webpage on homesharing. An important step, because the more people know this is an option, the more rooms can become available.

And that is badly needed. Homesharing may not be the only answer to the housing crisis, but it is a social, affordable and immediately available solution that can make a real difference. For the host, for the tenant, and for the city.

This is why we believe in it

What this working visit showed us most of all is that homesharing is not something abstract. It is happening right now. In people’s homes. Around the kitchen table. In honest conversations about why someone chooses to share their home, how hard it can be to find a room, and what becomes possible when a match works out well.

The fact that not one, but two alderpersons joined visits on March 12 made it even more special. Not just because it was a first, but because it shows that homesharing in Haarlem is being taken seriously.

And rightly so. Because this is what change looks like: human, practical, and happening right where people live.