Additional costs
If the rent is not including energy costs and local taxes you will have to take care of this yourself. It
is preferable to find a place to live where you pay a rent ‘including’ additional costs but not always
possible.
If the rent is not including energy and local tax (ask the landlord and find out in the contract) and
you pay costs like energy, water, electricity, local tax, Internet and TV yourself, please mind the
following:
• Living with several people in the house you share those costs. Energy companies usually
make a contract with one person – the ‘main tenant’ – so agree (preferably in writing) with
your fellow tenants about the division and the payment of the costs.
• Keep an eye on your energy meters (gas, electricity, water). Write down the digits the
moment you start living in your apartment and compare them with a final account or an
annual check by the energy company.
• Never ignore letters or invoices from companies like Stedin, Evides, CVZ, city hall etc. Most
of the time they are important! Find someone who speaks Dutch to help you translate; if it
is not clear, ask the student counsellor for advice.
A special remark about energy bills: energy is very expensive, so try to be as economical as possible.
Check your energy meters, ask the landlord about the system in his house.
The usual system is that the energy company makes an estimate of the use of energy; this is the
monthly amount you have to pay. Once a year, or at the end of a contract period, there will be a
final account, based on the digits of the energy meters. If you have used less than what you have
paid for, you will get money back; if you have used more, you will have to pay the difference.