INFORMATION ABOUT PREMATURE TERMINATION OF DUWO HOUSING CONTRACTS
The International Office is regularly visited by international students, PhD students, and other international guests, requesting the premature termination of their one-year DUWO-contract. Although such requests may be understandable, neither DUWO nor TU Delft can comply with them. In exceptional cases only, is it possible to terminate a contract prematurely. These cases are handled by the TU International Office, and not by DUWO.
Contract between TU and DUWO
Since 2006, DUWO has been issuing fixed-term contracts that can be renewed only once.
In most cases, especially for Master’s and PhD students, these are one-year contracts.
This arrangement has been contractually negotiated with TU Delft. TU Delft believes that it is desirable to optimise the DUWO accommodation, which has been reserved for TU guests.
Special circumstances
Only in special cases will the International Office give permission for the premature termination of a contract. The ‘special circumstances’ that could give rise to such a termination are, for example, where studies or research have to be halted, completely or for a long period, due to illness or the death of a close relative.
Finding cheaper accommodation via friends or acquaintances is explicitly excluded as grounds for terminating the contract. Supposed financial difficulties are likewise excluded. All visiting students have been informed about the cost of living in the Netherlands. Before coming to the Netherlands international guests can also be expected themselves to assess the cost of living here.
It may be useful to point out what happens when a DUWO resident terminates a contract, after four months for instance. In that case TU Delft is obliged to pay the remaining 8 months of rent. TU Delft is actually renting the accommodation from DUWO. The cost of empty accommodation is born by TU Delft.
“I know someone who….”
It happens regularly that visitors know someone who did terminate their contract prematurely. Then they feel they should be entitled to the same treatment. It is true that in recent months the International Office has permitted some international or PhD students to move to cheaper accommodation. Although TU Delft reserved 160 more accommodation places with DUWO in September 2006, making a total of 1,100 places, there were still people on the waiting list in the first semester of the academic year. TU Delft had to house these international guests in temporary accommodation, waiting for other accommodation to become available.
At that time it would have been unreasonably bureaucratic to hold people who found alternative arrangements to their original contracts, and keep people on the waiting list in temporary accommodation. Currently there is more slack in the system and normal rules apply.
Conclusion
Only visit the International Office if there are special circumstances for doing so.
A visit to DUWO to terminate your housing contract is even pointless; only the TU Delft International Office can give permission to end a housing contract prematurely.
Thank you for your understanding.
International Office TU Delft |
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