Fair rent for all

05 maart 2009 - 

At one time or another, all residents of Amsterdam – especially expats – will have been involved in heated discussions about the seemingly impossible task of finding reasonable and affordable accommodation in the city.

For some, the solution is to buy their own apartment, but at the housing market’s current inflated price levels, this option is open to fewer and fewer people. For students, short-term residents and those on average salaries, or below, there is only the rental market. As a member of the Wijksteunpunt Wonen (District Housing Support Group), Guido Zijlstra advises tenants on a daily basis about their rights and entitlements. In The Sentinel, he provides some invaluable guidelines to expats: the universal ‘suckers’ of the rental market.