Many people have had difficulty finding rooms in Groningen. Due to the high student population, and the low number of apartments/rooms available in the city, it often takes time and quite a bit of online surfing to find a room that most suits you.
Free Services.
These are some useful Facebook groups that can help speed up your search for a room to rent.
- Groningen Rooms (Facebook Page).
- Student Rooms Groningen (Facebook Page).
- Couch Surfing Groningen (Facebook Page).
Be sure to make your private messages to the person advertising their room stand out from the many other message they may receive. Also be sure to keep yourself and your money safe. See if you and a friend can visit the room or video chat the owner to get a better idea of what it looks like, and the condition it is in.
For short-term accommodations (Hotels, Hostels, Bed & Breakfast), visit CityTrip Groningen, or Airbnb.
Paid Services.
A great option for international students coming on exchange is “Stichting Studenten Huisvesting,” or, SSH. SSH is an organization that rents out student rooms to in large student houses. These houses often have shared bathroom and kitchen facilities. SSH also helps people find shared apartments should an incoming student prefer more privacy. Students must be aware that SSH charges reservation fees for using their services. Many Universities and organizations in Groningen (RUG, Hanze and UMCG), have partnered with the SSH in order to provide easy points of service to incoming students.
Besides that, there are other online options that always have rooms and apartments available for rent through their services. These companies also charge fees for using their services. Here are their webpages:
Another option where you may find user posted ads for their room is Kamernet. Although the service is free to register and to view ads, you must pay a fee in order to respond to the room ads. The fee is a 14-day subscription to the website. These room ads are often posted by the landlords, or the people who live in the rooms, so be sure to check it out before making any final decisions.
Finally, the Huur Commissie website (published in Dutch), outlines the max prices one should pay for the number of square metres in your room. This website can either be used as a measuring stick to see if you are paying what your room is worth, or a website to file a complaint stating you are paying too much for the square metres in your room, (this is a long process and annoying process).
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