Reserved housing for international PhDs

You can register an account up to 4 months prior to your arrival. As of the first working day of the month your registration is reviewed by Utrecht University. If your registration is correct after review by UU you will receive an automated e-mail about your approval and you can submit a reservation request on first come first served basis. Below you can find an overview of when you can register. Due to limited availability we advise you not to postpone your registration to a later date or month. 


 

• Start rental period 1 June 2023
  Registration possible: 1 February 2023 onwards
  For review by UU as of: Wednesday 1 February 2023
   
• Start rental period 1 July 2023
  Registration possible: 1 March 2023 onwards
  For review by UU as of: Wednesday 1 March 2023
   
• Start rental period 1 August 2023
  Registration possible: 1 April 2023 onwards
  For review by UU as of: Monday 3 April 2023
   
• Start rental period 1 September 2023
  Registration possible: 1 May 2023 onwards
  For review by UU as of: Monday 1 May 2023
   
• Start rental period 1 October 2023
  Registration possible: 1 June 2023 onwards
  For review by UU as of: Thursday 1 June 2023
   
• Start rental period 1 November 2023
  Registration possible: 1 July 2023 onwards
  For review by UU as of: Monday 3 July 2023
   
• Start rental period 1 December 2023
  Registration possible: 1 August 2023 onwards
  For review by UU as of: Tuesday 1 August 2023
   
• Start rental period 1 January 2024
  Registration possible: 1 September 2023 onwards
  For review by UU as of: Friday 1 September 2023
   
• Start rental period 1 February 2024
  Registration possible: 1 October 2023 onwards
  For review by UU as of: Monday 2 October 2023

Average rent for international PhDs

Average rental prices are roughly between 950 and 1170 for a self-contained studio or apartment including facilities. Please note that due to an increase of energy costs, the total rent amount per month is higher than previous years. For information about your rent, please contact SSH Short Stay directly: info@sshxl.nl. 
Note that for tenancy agreements for a rental period of 6 months or shorter an added one off 9% Tax Fee is charged over the combined rent. For the accommodations on the "Kriekenpitplein" the cleaning costs are included in the rent. For the other accommodation these costs are charged separately. 

Rental periods

SSH Short Stay accommodation can be rented for a minimum of one calendar month, and a maximum of one year. You can terminate the rental contract on the first day of the month, subject to a notice period of one calendar month.

Locations

All accommodation is situated within travelling distance from the various university locations: on Utrecht Science Park, in the nearby community Zeist, and on the International Campus Utrecht.

Extended stay

The maximum length of rent via SSH Short Stay is 12 months. If you reserved accommodation for a shorter period than 12 months it may be possible to apply for an extended stay in very rare occasions, taking in acount the following conditions:
 

• It is not possible to extend your stay in the current accommodation you rent. This means that extending your stay via SSH Short Stay involves a new tenancy agreement and moving house.
• An extended stay is only possible depending on availability. For this, the general dates and instructions on when to register and reserve accommodation still apply. This means that you can submit a new reservation request up to 4 months prior to the start of a new rental period on first come first served basis.
• The added period of stay of your old and new rental agreement cannot exceed one year.
• With each extension a reservation fee of 81 euros, 9% VAT and cleaning costs are charged. 

1. If you meet the conditions to apply, your UU faculty's HR contact person must first inform International Service Desk (ISD) of your arrival. Once the ISD is aware of your arrival you can register for housing.

2. Visit the SSH website for the application form. Registration is free of charge

3. Fill out the webform. Select the correct faculty combined with “International PhD’s”.  For type of resident, select “UU PhD Candidates” regardless if you hold an employment contract or if you are -temporarily- affiliated through a hospitality agreement

4. Your registration will be reviewed by the UU International Service Desk

5. If your registration is correct it will be approved and you can submit a reservation request for your registered time frame via the rent offers page

6. If you actually reserve accommodation, you pay a non-refundable down payment of one (first) month’s rent, the one-off cleaning costs and the reservation fee of 77,50 euros

Registration not approved?
When your registration is under review by the UU International Service Desk they may determine that your registration is incorrect, incomplete or that you are not eligible. If this is the case you would receive an automated message by SSH Short Stay with the reason why your registration is not approved. Please read the reason or further instructions carefully and if you have any questions on how to proceed kindly contact the ISD.

No availability?
It is possible that there is no availability within your registered time frame. You can then consider a later arrival, searching on your own, or booking temporary accommodation such as a hotel or hostel at first. Please log out and leave the date fields blank to view any offers available for other months. You can then view the available time frame if you select “more information” after clicking on the offer. If you prefer to change your registered time frame to match an offer, kindly contact the International Service Desk.

Are you under 28, and will you stay for longer than a year?
Then we recommend you to also apply for SSH unfurnished Long Stay accommodation. This can help you find accommodation after the first year. Follow this link to our student website for more information and how to apply.

If an offer becomes available to PhD candidates it is posted in the Xior booking portal. As an eligible PhD candidate you can apply if your UU faculty's HR contact person has informed the International Service Desk (ISD) of your arrival.

We advise you to check the Xior portal regularly for availability and to sign up for the Xior PhD mailer alert. In the case an offer becomes available, you will receive a notification from Utrecht University.

Furnishings

Most studio apartments offered by Xior are furnished with basic furniture (bed, desk and wardrobe), but this is not always the case. The ad of the available unit will indicate if the studio is furnished or unfurnished.

Monthly rent

The monthly rent for a studio in the Rotsoord building is between 1145 - 1225 excluding and 1365 - 1385 euros including mandatory service costs and utilities per month. The studio apartments are not eligible for rent allowance.

Keep in mind that, as explained in the contract, the monthly rent excludes Municipal taxes. These must be paid by the tenant to the Municipality of Utrecht upon request.

Costs

Application for a Xior account is free of charge. Only when you reserve an accommodation when booking opens you pay a non-refundable registration fee of 25 euros.

Advanced payments

When your reservation has been checked and approved by Utrecht University you can complete your reservation by signing the agreement and completing the additional advanced payments via bank transfer within 24 hours:

• Non-refundable administration fee: 75 euros 
• One-off cleaning fee: 115 euros
• Deposit:  1000 euros
• First month’s rent

Optional packages (select during booking):

• Linen package: 95 euros
• Starter package of tableware: 45 euros
• Cleaning package: 50 euros
• Cooking package: 55 euros

Visit the Xior website for more information on the various optional packages. 

Rental period

The reserved housing via Xior for eligible PhD candidates is exclusively available for fixed rental period of 12 months. The rental period is indicated in the ad.

Important: 

• Because the rental period is fixed on 12 months it is not possible to cancel the accommodation prematurely, nor is it possible to extend your stay.
• If you are searching for housing for a shorter rental period than 12 months, it is not possible to book this accommodation. 
• Tenants are responsible for the rental payments for the full tenancy period. If you arrive later, regardless of the reasons why, Xior cannot defer a reservation to a later moment and you remain responsible for paying the rent per the starting date of the contract. 

Step 1: ISD needs to be informed of your arrival

If you meet the conditions to apply, your UU faculty's HR contact person must first inform International Service Desk (ISD) of your arrival. Once the ISD is aware of your arrival you can register for housing.

Step 2: Register an account 

Prior to booking register an account on the Xior booking site (free of charge). Please use the Chrome browser. Once you registered you need to verify your account by confirming the link in your e-mail.

Step 3: Check for availability

Once you registered, you can log into your Xior account (use a Chrome browser). Kindly select City: Utrecht, and complex: Rotsoord. Housing reserved for UU PhD candidates is labelled UU PhD. We advise you to check the Xior portal regularly for availability and to sign up for the Xior PhD mailer alert.

Step 4: Apply for accommodation

• Select an accommodation labelled UU PhD and enter the booking code for UU PhD candidates: 2324XIORPHD. This code is only valid for accommodation labelled UU PhD 2p. If someone else is already submitting a reservation request, you will get an error message.
• Once you have entered the booking code you have 25 minutes to carefully read the details, select extra packages (optional) and submit the reservation request. You can leave the field for BSN blank, BIC* is a required field. You complete the reservation request by paying a non-refundable registration fee of 25 euros via Paypall or credit card.

*BSN and BIC: BSN stands for a Dutch Social Security number. BIC stands for Bank Identifier Code or SWIFT-BIC and is a specific code that differs per bank. This code can be found on your bank's website.

Step 5: Wait for verification

Xior will now verify your eligibility with Utrecht University. Note that this may take some time!

Step 6: Make payments and sign contract

If your eligibility is verified, Xior will send you the contract and payment instructions. To complete the booking you must return a signed contract and proof of bank transfer (print screen) within 24 hours. Make sure to include the invoice number in the notes of the bank transfer. If you miss this deadline your reservation is automatically cancelled. 

Experiencing technical issues? If you are experiencing technical issues during the registration process or booking process kindly contact Xior via Utrecht@xior.nl