1 year Apartment Contract Possible (student)?

Last activity 20 September 2014 by derFinn

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derFinnNew member21 June 2014 06:13:02

Hey folks,

New to the Expat.com and have tons of questions, however the apartment renting laws are killing me with their clarity. I am hoping that somebody with the same or like-situation as I will be able to give advice.

Background:

Moving to Belgium on a Student Visa to study at Leuven. I am married to an EU citizen and she will study in the Netherlands.

Because our universities are far apart from each other we seek to live in a non-University city such as in Bilzen/Hasselt. During our search for apartments in a University City such as Leuven, it is common to find 1 year apartment leases. My question is: Is it possible to find or even sign up for a 1 year apartment lease in non-student city? ...or do we have to settle for a 3 three year contract (which would most likely not work for us...)

I have read all the general regulations, however non-which are helpful to students.

Thanks!

crisscrossNew member22 June 2014 21:29:22

My experience tells me that it depends on the willingness of the landlord. He/she can be very flexible and give you a 1 yr lease and even let u break it with no penalty or they can be extremely rigid and make u sign a 1 yr lease but make u pay the balance of the yr. Same thing with the 3 yr lease. Simply put keep your fingers crossed and tell your potential landlord your needs and hope they are kind enuff to help you.

derFinnNew member22 June 2014 22:46:26

Thanks Crisscross,

Well I guess I am relieved that landlords have some discretion when agreeing on a length of lease. I know I will regret saying this however when we move out

I hope to be settled by August-I will update this post so all can see my outcome.

derFinnNew member25 July 2014 06:36:40

Hi everyone, Here is an update of our situation as promised.

My wife and I spent two days in Bilzen Belgium and looked for apartments. *Reminder: Both my wife and I are full time grad students.

Long story short, We visited about 5 apartments and called about 20 landlords ranging from Hasselt to Bilzen. The landlords have quite a bit of discretion and power and declined renting their apartments to "two students" regardless of our income or marriage situation.

It was possible to find 1 year rental contracts, HOWEVER, some landlords wanted to then the raise the monthly rent to compensate for the time.

Belgium was a very difficult (and discriminatory) country to find a living situation for student families.

My wife (a German National) and I ended up renting an apartment on the western border of Germany (Relativley renting process and rules...) and we decided to commute to Belgium everyday.

P.S* We have a dog, and Belgians are really afraid of Dogs in apartments. Our German search yielded 4/5 dog friendly apartments.

Plus Germany won the world cup, It's going to be a good year

seriouslythanksMember04 August 2014 04:20:11

Zing!

Thanks for the update! My husband and I will follow your path in about two weeks except we are teachers. Think that will matter?

derFinnNew member20 September 2014 21:50:42

Sorry for late reply...

How did your search turn up?
I would think it would be easier for you and your husband to find an apartment because you can both prove an income. We had problems because we didn't have an "income" per se; though we could afford our living expenses even with proof. (needed for the Belgian Visa.)

Anyways, let us know what your current status is?

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