Natalia Escobar, international student in Utrecht, lives in the same room for more than five years and she has been paying too much for the furniture for five years.

As a foreign student I’m not really sure what my rights in the Netherlands are and what aren’t. Sometimes, me and my nationality fall by the wayside, for example with health care and rent rebate. Therefore I didn’t expect to have a right to this as a foreign student. The Huurdokters calculated how much I have paid too much over the years and we came to the conclusion that I could have bought my furniture new twenty times over. During the process I was worried that it would affect my application for naturalization. The landlord told me that if I would speak up for my rights as a tenant, I could never be naturalized. Luckily the Huurdokters assured me that this could not affect my naturalization process. Because of the Huurdokters, I will be refunded more than € 1,000,- per year. I want to use this money to discover Asia. I’m from Columbia myself and I have noticed that Dutch people like to go to Thailand. I’ve never been to Asia myself, so if anyone has tips, let me know.
Can the landlord charge for furniture whatever he wants? The rent of furniture is covered by the service costs. The rule concerning service costs, is that the landlord is not allowed to make a profit out of them.If you rent a house or a room, you’re supposed to get an overview in which the furniture is valued. With this value overview, you can calculate how much service costs you should be paying monthly. Not every part of your furniture is valued equally. Some pieces are considered durable goods, while others are not. If you have doubts concerning the value of your furniture it’s always wise to have someone with knowledge take a look at this.

Do you pay for your furniture as well? We notice that people pay too much for their furniture 90% of the time. Let the Huurdokters help you and find out whether you should be getting a refund.