LUNTERO
Find your way home in the Netherlands with 20,000+ rental listings at your fingertips!
© 2025 Luntero. All rights reserved.
LUNTERO
Find your way home in the Netherlands with 20,000+ rental listings at your fingertips!
© 2025 Luntero. All rights reserved.
Luntero
NS Launches Glamping at Utrecht Centraal to Ease Student Housing Crunch
Dutch rail company NS offers a unique glamping experience at Utrecht Centraal Station to help first-year students without accommodation during introduction week.
NL Rental News
Housing experts caution that election-year pledges may deepen the Netherlands’ housing shortage and advocate for realistic, long-term strategies.
Learn how to use Funda to gauge your mortgage capacity, evaluate key property features, and make informed decisions when house hunting in the Netherlands.
Although owning a home can feel like stability, high costs, rising rates, and temporary permits make buying a Dutch property risky for many expats. Explore the key pitfalls before taking the plunge.
Luntero consolidates rental apartments, rooms, studios, and houses from the leading Dutch real estate platforms (including Funda, Pararius) into a single, constantly updated database. Easily filter by price, number of bedrooms, pet policy, specific neighborhoods, and more to find your dream home in the Netherlands much faster.
Comprehensive Dutch Rental Listings
Discover every available rental property from Funda, Pararius, Kamernet, and more. Stop switching between multiple sites – no more missing out on hidden gems in the Dutch housing market.
Intuitive User-Friendly Interface
Navigate our clean and straightforward design effortlessly on both desktop and mobile devices for a seamless apartment, house, or room hunting experience in the Netherlands.
Multilingual Support for Expats & Locals
Browse rental listings in English, Dutch, Spanish, French, German, and more. Luntero ensures you can find your next home in the Netherlands in the language you're most comfortable with.
Real-Time Listing & Price Updates
Get instant notifications for new rental listings and price changes. Stay ahead of the competition in the dynamic Dutch rental market and secure your ideal home.
As the student housing shortage in the Netherlands intensifies, the Dutch rail operator NS has unveiled a novel initiative: glamping at Utrecht Central Station. From August 11 to 14, up to 20 incoming students who haven’t found a room in Utrecht will be able to stay in fully equipped tents right inside the station during introduction week. This creative pop-up campsite aims to bridge the gap between the end of summer break and the start of classes, offering a safe, comfortable, and free temporary home for those in need.
The demand for affordable student accommodation in the Netherlands has surged over recent years. A combination of increasing student enrollment, limited new construction, and rising rental prices has left many first-year students scrambling for rooms. According to the Ministry of Education, nearly 100,000 new students enroll in Dutch higher education annually, while purpose-built student housing has only grown by a few thousand units per year.
• Average rents for student rooms have climbed by 6% year on year.
• In popular university cities like Utrecht, Amsterdam, and Groningen, vacancies often drop below 1%.
• Waiting lists and exorbitant broker fees are increasingly common obstacles.
With introduction week approaching and registration deadlines looming, many students face the prospect of sleeping on friends’ couches, commuting long distances, or staying in short-term hostels. NS’s glamping solution aims to reduce stress and logistical hurdles at one of the most critical moments in a student’s academic journey.
Utrecht Centraal is not only the busiest railway station in the Netherlands, but also a central hub for new students arriving from all over the country and abroad. Recognising the challenge, NS has converted an upper floor into a mini campsite:
NS emphasises that participants need only bring their personal essentials—a toothbrush, charger, and a change of clothes. The company handles the rest, ensuring a smooth transition into student life.
To keep the experience manageable and safe, NS limits access to 20 students. Applicants must be:
Registrations opened on July 28 and close on August 1. Given the housing crunch, NS expects a high volume of creative entries.
NS has thought of nearly everything to make glamping both practical and enjoyable:
Participants stay only for introduction week; afterwards, they must secure longer-term accommodation. Still, this temporary solution buys crucial time and peace of mind for new students.
While the glamping scheme is a unique lifeline, most students will need to find more permanent housing solutions. Here are some best practices:
The Dutch government and housing associations (woningcorporaties) are investing in new student complexes and modular housing to address the shortage. Initiatives include:
While these efforts slowly add supply, creative short-term solutions like NS’s glamping project provide immediate relief and highlight the importance of flexible, student-focused policies.
Ready to find your ideal rental in the Netherlands? Explore thousands of verified listings and get personalized support at Luntero—the easiest way to navigate student housing in the Dutch market.