This article only applies to Short Stay. Click here to find more information about the difference between Long Stay and Short Stay housing.

When can I book a room?

The publication date of our rooms depends on several factors, like the city you would like to live in and the educational institution that you will attend. Please check our Universities page to find your educational institution and have a look at the booking period.

At what time will booking open?

The start time of your booking depends on your (educational) institution. To find the specific booking period and time for your institution, please refer to our Universities page. It's important to note that our system operates Dutch local time, which can differ from your time zone. We therefore recommend you to check the exact time difference so you do not miss out when the booking opens.

What documents do I need to book a room?

To be eligible to book a room, you need to have an approved registration. Other statuses such as 'not approved', 'on hold', and 'for approval' are not eligible for booking. No additional documents are required to book a room. In order to finalize your booking, you must have a valid credit card, a debit card with CVC/CVV code or make the payment through iDeal (Dutch online banking). Make sure your daily limit is enough to pay the first payment.

Booking is almost open, but I am not approved yet. Help!

If you are encountering a situation where the booking is about to open, but you have not yet been approved, please note that the approval process is not within the control of the SSH. The approval process is managed by your university. In such cases, it is recommended to check your university's housing website for the registration procedure; for example, Erasmus University Rotterdam does not approve all eligible students at the same time. If you cannot find the procedure or do not understand your registration status, you can contact your (educational) institution directly for assistance. They will have the necessary information about your approval status.

Booking for Short Stay, how does that work?

The Short Stay offer is limited and offered on a first-come-first-served basis. It is available from the moment studies commence, which is either from January / February or from July / August. You cannot use a Long Stay registration for Short Stay, and vice versa. You can book your Short Stay accommodation in three steps: 

Book your accommodation
Log in to your My SSH account to check the rental offer. Make sure to be on the offer page right when booking time opens. If you are earlier than the announced booking time, make sure to refresh at opening time. In the rental offer, you will see 'Book this accommodation' button in the corner of the advertisement's picture. Click on this button to book the room. Be aware, the rooms are booked on first-come, first-serve base. 

Step 1: confirm your booking option
If you have successfully booked a room, you will receive a notification titled 'You've got a booking option'. To confirm step 1, go to My SSH and navigate to the 'My bookings' tab. You have 60 minutes to complete this step. Additionally, download the concept rental agreement and terms and conditions, and provide your emergency contact number. Once you have filled in the required details, you can proceed to confirm step 1, which will take you to step 2. If you do not confirm within 60 minutes, the booking option will expire and will be available on the rental offer again. Please note that you cannot have multiple booking options at the same time.

Step 2: make the first payment and accept the rental agreement
In step 2, you will see an overview of the payment details. See the following question to find more information on the first payment and what it includes.

During this step, you must select your preferred monthly payment method: direct debit or the My SSH payment page. Further information on payment methods can be found in this article.

Step 3: receive a confirmation
When you have finished the booking process, we will send you an email to confirm your booking. Now it's official; congrats!

To be eligible to book a room,  you need to have an approved registration.

What's in the first payment?

After you have made a booking for one of our accommodations, you have to make the first payment within 24 hours. During the final steps of your booking, you can see the exact breakdown of the required payment. It always includes your first month’s rent and a non-refundable reservation fee. In addition to that, depending on the type of accommodation and the city, it sometimes consists of your last period rent, your bedding package (if ordered) and cleaning costs as well. Lastly, if you stay is for 6 months or less, we’re also obliged to charge you with a tax fee (9% of the total to be paid rent). After finalizing your booking, you the breakdown and overview of your booking will stay on your My SSH page, tab 'My booking'. Do note that you will not have to pay rent again, for the weeks/months you’ve paid in advance. 

How do I have to pay the first payment? 

The first payment has to be made via either credit card, debit card with CVC/CVV code, or iDeal (Dutch online banking). We accept credit cards from Maestro, Master Card, or Visa; other types of credit cards are not accepted. It is not possible to pay with an international bank transfer since our system will not receive a confirmation to complete your payment in time. In such a case the room reservation will be cancelled and the room will be available for booking by someone else again. 

I don't have a credit card! Can I pay with a credit card from someone else?

Sure, you can! If you don't have a credit card of your own, you have the option to use someone else's credit card to make the first payment. It's important to note that if you need to cancel your booking, any refunds will be issued to the credit card that was originally used for payment. Therefore, it is advisable to use the credit card of a family member or a close friend if you don't have your own.

Example of first payment

Example of first payment: room 
The amount of your first payment depends on various factors, such as rental payment, length of contract, and start and end dates. For rooms, we require payment for the first month and last period of rent. We calculate the daily rate for the first and last period. Note that in agreement with your university, we reserve accommodation so they can guarantee housing for their students. In exchange, we ask for three months of rent in advance to prevent and minimize rent arrears of the reserved accommodation. 

Let's consider an example where you want to book a room with a monthly rent of €600, starting from August 7th and ending on July 27th. Here's the breakdown of your first payment:

• First month: €483.87 (August 7th - August 31st)
• Last period: €1,722.58 (May 1st - July 27th)
• Reservation fee: €95 (as of 2024)
• (Optional) bedding package: €75 (as of 2024)
  Total: €2,376.45

If your stay is for 6 months or less, a tax fee will be applied. Let's say you plan to stay with us from August 7th to January 31st, with a monthly rent of €600. In this case, your first payment will include:

• First month: €483.87 (August 7th - August 31st)
• Last period: €1200 (1 December - January 31st)
• Reservation fee: €95 (as of 2024)
• Tax fee: €313.54 (9% of the total rent to be paid)
• (Optional) bedding package: €75 (as of 2024)
  Total: €2167.41
  
  Example of first payment: self-contained studio
  The amount of your first payment for a self-contained studio depends on various factors, such as rental payment, length of contract, and start and end dates. Unlike rooms, self-contained studios can be cancelled on a monthly basis, so we do not require payment for the last period. We calculate the daily rate for the first month. Let's consider an example where you want to book a self-contained studio with a monthly rent of €800, starting from August 7th and ending on June 30th. Here's the breakdown of your first payment:

• First month: €645.16 (August 7th - August 31st)
• Reservation fee: €95 (as of 2024)
• (Optional) bedding package: €75 (as of 2024)
  Total: €815.16

If your stay is for 6 months or less, a tax fee will be applied. Let's say you plan to stay with us from August 7th to January 30th, with a monthly rent of €800. In this case, your first payment will include:

• First month: €645.16 (August 7th - August 31st)
• Reservation fee: €95 (as of 2024)
• Tax fee: €379.03 (9% of the total rent to be paid)
• (Optional) bedding package: €75 (as of 2024)
  Total: €1194.19

What is last period and why do I have to pay this?

The 'last period' refers to a portion of the first payment required to confirm a short stay booking. It covers the last 2 or 3 months of your rent, along with the first month. We ask for these payments to reduce the risk of unpaid rent when we offer rooms for short stays. After booking, you'll get a list showing which months are included in the first payment. Additionally, please note that Short Stay tenants who stay for one semester are required to pay all remaining months of rent at once upon arrival. Check this page for more information about rental payments.

I cannot pay my booking within the required 24 hours.

No worries! You can extend your booking deadline by another 24 hours. You can do this yourself by going to the tab 'My bookings' and clicking on the extension button. If you haven't made the payment within 48 hours, your booking will expire and the room will become available on the booking page again, allowing you and other students to book it.

What's a tax fee?

Tax fee is a one-time fee obligated by the Dutch Tax Authorities for Short Stay agreements up to 6 months. It amounts to 9% of the total to be paid rent. 

I've got a payment failure. Why is that?

The abortion of your first payment could have several reasons. Please have a look at the suggestions below, or try another credit card or payment method, for instance:

• Your daily limit has been reached.
• Your bank requires an additional authentication for card-not-present (CNP) transactions.
• Your bank could have blocked foreign transactions to Europe.

Often the solution is to contact your bank. In case you do not have enough time to finalize your booking, you can extend the deadline with another 24 hours. Please only extend when you are almost out of time, because the time starts counting from the moment you click on extention.

Payment failure?  Often the solution is to contact your bank.

What is a bedding package and how can I order one?

We provide a bedding package (€75 in 2024) which consists of a duvet, pillow, covers and fitted sheet (please note: no towels!). You can order the bedding package while finalizing the booking of your room. In case you are interested in booking a package but did not buy one while finalizing your booking, you can order this yourself via My SSH. This is possible up to four weeks prior to the start date of your rental agreement. Within four weeks before the start of the rental agreement, we have to order the packages with our supplier, so we are not able to add them to your booking anymore. In that case, it is best to get a set yourself when you arrive. There are multiple shops that have these items on offer for rather similar prices (Action, Blokker, HEMA, IKEA etc.). You'll find the exact size of your bed in the inventory list which is on My SSH, tab 'My accommodation'. 

Preview rooms, is that possible?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to view a room before you book it or before your rental agreement starts. All our living spaces are almost constantly occupied, so, unfortunately, we cannot enter it or show you around. Most of the time, rooms are empty just a few days before someone new moves in. We definitely need that short amount of time to clean and prepare the room for your arrival!

What about the deposit?

During your first payment please note that you haven't paid for a deposit; therefore there is no amount that we can refund to you by the end of your stay. Your first payment consisted of non-refundable costs, such as the first (and last) month of rent, reservation fee, tax fee (if applied), and bedding package (optional). All these costs are non-refundable.

Where can I find my contract? 

During the last step of booking accommodation, the rental agreement will be presented to you online. You can read the rental agreement and agree with it. By accepting the rental agreement, you automatically sign the documents. This is a digital signature. Once your booking is finalized by paying the first payment, you will be able to find the documents on your personal ‘My SSH’ page. Login to My SSH, and go to ‘My Documents’. 

The first payment overview, where can I find that?

You can find the overview of your first payment in your My SSH, tab 'My Bookings'. If you click on your booking, an overview will appear.

Can I change my booking?

After you have finalized your booking, it is not possible to change your accommodation, except if the cancellation period has not expired. You have the option to cancel your booking yourself up to 4 weeks (28 days) before the intended start period. If you choose to cancel within this time frame, you will receive a refund for your first payment, minus a cancellation fee and the reservation fee. In the event that you cancel your booking and there is another available accommodation, you can immediately make a new booking. However, please be aware that you will need to make a full payment for the new booking. If the cancellation period has already passed, it is no longer possible to change rooms.