International students living in the international student houses of Housing Office are not satisfied with the living conditions in their residence and the way Housing Office responds to their complaints. They decided to start the Facebook community ‘Experiences from Groningen’s Housing Office’ to share stories and photos of the issues in their houses. We interviewed one of the administators of the group, who wanted to remain anonymous.
Housing Office is a non-profit organization that offers accomodation for international students in Groningen. Jeroen Boonstra of Housing Office responded to the complaints for our HanzeMag Journaal: ‘Firstly, we really think it’s unfortunate that there are complaints. When things are broken, we will repair them. We don’t think the facebook page is necessary. Students can report their complaints directly to us and we will deal with it.’
Most complaints focus on the houses Diaconessen House, Plutolaan, and Van Houtenlaan. Last month, Housing Office told HanzeMag that these houses are on the list to dissappear next year. The Office is currently looking for buildings to replace the old houses.
