Housing Deposit

All University College Utrecht students are required to make a deposit towards repair costs of any unreasonable damage which may occur to their room/unit or other property during their stay on campus. This is to safeguard fairness in the event of collective responsibility, and ensure that the minority of residents who actually cause damage can be held individually accountable without impacting others.

For students starting in Fall 2023 the deposit amount is €350 for degree students and €200 for exchange students. In this case, please note that all damage costing over €250 need to be paid separately and will not be deducted from the housing deposit, as this would leave an insufficient balance to cover any further damages that might occur in subsequent years.

For students that have started before Fall 2023 the deposit amount remains €100. In this case please note that all damage costs over €50 need to be paid separately and will not be deducted from the housing deposit, as this would leave an insufficient balance to cover any further damages that might occur in subsequent years.

The housing deposit is not intended for standard maintenance costs, and the landlord is expected to cover any reasonable ‘wear and tear’ to property, or items which need replacing due to their age. In the event of deposits being withheld, there will always be a chance for discussion, which may include students, the Landlord, Housemaster, Student Life Officer, and other relevant parties. A new procedure for reviewing deductions made from the housing deposit is being worked on and more information will follow.  

Each resident’s deposit balance will be returned after the student has graduated and has handed in all keys and the XS card to the buildings. All students (including students leaving campus in December) will get their deposit balance back after the summer, after all units have been checked and all deposits have been processed in September and October. 

Unfortunately there has been a significant delay in handling all deposit refunds and damages from summer 2022 due to various reasons. As of July 2023, we are still processing the final refunds of those who have submitted the refund form before the deadline in mid June.   

The housing deposit is not reimbursed to new students who move to campus before the start of their studies but subsequently withdraw and terminate their enrolment before 1 September.

Procedure for refunding the deposit

If, after the final check, the damage exceeds your deposit amount, you will be charged for the remainder. If there is no damage, or if the damage amounts to less than your deposit, please fill out this form. The refund requests for housing deposits of students of the class of 2023 (winter and summer) and exchange students 2022-2023 will be processed starting in Fall 2023.

Please note that reimbursement of the housing deposit needs to be filed within one academic year after graduation or leaving University College Utrecht. After one year any remaining credit will be transferred to the University College Utrecht Scholarship fund.