Finding an Apartment in Delft

September 4, 2007 11:44 AM

There's a good chance that I'll be moving to the Netherlands in the next few weeks. What are the best resources that could help me find a place to live (preferably a studio apartment) in Delft?
posted by kepano to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

Is your move university-related (student, postdoc)? If so, they can help you out with a relatively cheap appartment for the first year. If that is not an option, finding an appartment will be difficult. Student appartments (shared facilities) are usually rented out according to a terrible system in which the current group of inhabitants choose from a group of applicants ("instemming"). Conventional housing is assigned according to a system with a waiting list, so there's little change that you will get an invitation in your first year(s).

If you want to spent more, there are (at least) two commercial housing agencies: www.Rotsvast.nl and www.homelets.nl. They will mostly rent out furnished appartments in the higher segments. If you're here for a relatively short period, this might be worthwile. It will also enable you to find something cheaper.

If you have any detailed questions, please feel to contact me (e-mail is in my profile). Welcome to Delft! It's a great little city.
posted by swordfishtrombones at 11:55 AM on September 4, 2007

Response by poster: I would potentially be staying in Delft from the end of September to March/April with a Christmas break. I'll be doing an internship there so it's not directly university related since I wouldn't be attending school, but I am still in that age group. I have been looking on DUWO which is the only website I had found thus far, but like you said it seems you have to register to take advantage of the system.
posted by kepano at 12:05 PM on September 4, 2007

www.funda.nl is the largest Dutch housing site with places for sale and for rent. You need some basic knowledge of Dutch to find your way around, though, since I don't think there's English-language site navigation. The descriptions of furnished appartments that people are offering for rent to ex-pats tend to be in English.
posted by rjs at 1:21 PM on September 4, 2007

Also check out Expatica, as posting a question there might get you some helpful responses.
posted by different at 1:55 PM on September 4, 2007

Pursue DUWO a bit more, consider skyping them directly. Surely they speak English. Definately push this option if you are a student/PhD/post-doc/etc. It is no problem to commute to Delft from Amsterdam daily so consider that too (though the transportation requires taking a train, but service is reliable). Expatica is ok, but it is a long-shot IMO.
posted by mateuslee at 12:30 AM on September 5, 2007