Student Housing The Hague Reviews 

I had an extremely unpleasant experience with SHH. The base rent was 870, but I ended up paying close to 1,400 euros a month because of all the extra costs tenants are forced to pay, useless insurance, the TV is leased, etc etc,. There is no flexibility, as the service is as corporate and profit seeking as possible. The short term contract also removes most tenant rights. I also had to pay an unreasonable deregistration fee of 200+euros, even though I deregistered on the day i moved out, and emailed them with proof about it, apparently they expected me to be registered elsewhere before my contract ended?!. They also unreasonably took nearly 500 euros from my deposit, even though we shared the apartment between 3 people and spent hours cleaning before leaving. They weren't even willing to share the actual costs they incurred.

The customer service is also terrible, it's as if the employees are scared by strict and avid employers and landlords, making the service feel as far from human as possible.

Please don't give exploitative landlords and agency your money, they're profiting off of people's desperation in a housing crisis.

The customer care in my experience is very responsive during the opening hours. I am not sure of who exactly handled my booking, but the lady was very nice, answered all of my questions (and I had many) and ultimately helped to guide me through the booking process. If you are her supervisor, please give her a bonus or something.

However, the elephant in the room is the booking process and the organisation itself. It is very strict and the information you can find about it is not all clear or easily accessible. You need to do your homework and to double check all of your information if you are renting through this company. A lot of people pay 85 euros to apply, then spell their name wrong or put one number wrong for their phone number and end up having to pay 85 again.

For me, the administrative fees are quite high, not sure if they are legal. They do offer some explanations as to why, up to you if you find it convincing. This said, you be as lucky as me in having such a kind person handle your booking, then they can be lenient and process any last minute changes to your application.

I think overall this is an expensive option for international students who are desperate for a house, because nobody normally pays 40 euros for internet or has weekly cleaning/laundry that costs 140+ a month. They do this for 2 reasons. Obviously it is a revenue stream, but also to ensure the landlord has their place kept in peak condition to be rented out again.

This company does a lot of 'insurance' in this regard. People are coming into your house weekly & monthly to check things and to clean. You must have liability and home goods insurance to complete a booking. Your guarantors must send 6 months of bank statements or pay a deposit that matches your security deposit if they are from outside the EU. Some of this info could be made more readily available at the start of the booking process in my opinion.

The 1 star reviews calling it a scam are not entirely wrong. While this is a legitimate organisation with real houses, it is designed to take as much money from you as possible within the confines of the law and the conditions of your contract. DO NOT get the 'welcome to NL package'. 1200 Euros is NOT something you should pay to see a contract. Many of the properties listed do not have this offer. It is way too much money.

I cannot say anything about the houses themselves, as this is an issue between tenants and landlords (be they corporate or human). I have heard a lot about how the inspectors will exaggerate the condition of the place so that the deposit can be kept. IDK. I didn't get a place. Someone else got the place before me and I haven't received my 85 euros back as is stated on their website if someone completes their booking before you.

EDIT: got my 85 euros back, customer service rocks, highly responsive.

So:
customer support <3, 5/5 stars. Very understanding and helpful.

SHTH < / 3, 3/5 stars. A wolf that warns you that it will bite you that then bites you.

BE CAREFUL. I’m reading the most recent reviews and feel reflected in my awful experience with them. I booked a room for my daughter, paid the 85 Euros (twice, they told my daughter she made a mistake the first time), then the 1,200 Euros, then a deposit of two months, so another 1,700 Euros. For days my daughter was asking them some details and the date for entering, they diverted her to WhatsApp, then to Telegram, and never really answered.
They only share with you the contract agreement once you’ve paid, and some clauses are not the same as in the initial communications. Quite critically, the notice period for leaving the room for the tenant is 2 months in one of the documents, and then it changes to imposible in the rental agreement. We asked about it and never got a proper answer. Also the dates of the rental agreement were very strange, starting on July 25th and ending on July 6th the year thereafter. We asked about this as well and didn’t get a detailed answer either.
Anyways we paid everything we were asked and arrived to The Hague on August 16th. My daughter kept in chasing them to agree in the date for entering and asking it to be August 18th, They kept not answering so we walked to see if the apartment existed, and at least it was real (we didn’t see the inside).
On Monday 18th I called and I asked for an appointment. They told me they were only giving appointments by email, so I wrote them an email. I received an automatic response saying they would answer in 20 days!!! I decided to go yo their offices, reached the address and COULDN’T FIND THEIR OFFICES. I asked everyone in the building and nobody knew them. I called them again and the lady said she couldn’t transfer the call to her “senior” colleague. I told her I was in their address and couldn’t find them and only when I said I was going to the police station in front of their “ghost” office I was able to talk to a senior representative. She told me the room had been booked by somebody else and was not available and claimed we had been very slow in the process. I complained that we were asking questions and it was difficult and slow to get incomplete answers from them. In addition to it, we paid the two months on August 15th and she told me the room was booked by somebody else in August 11th, to which I asked why they didn’t say anything. She said she was sorry and they would reimburse everything and I could send them an email with my complaints. I said I would do so and I would share my opinion in social media too (she didn’t like this).
Bottom line I found myself with my daughter in the street. At least they have reimbursed everything, thank you. But before doing so they sent a threatening email to my daughter (not to me) explaining we had been late in payments, they were reimbursing based in their good faith only and… they would not accept any aggressive or defamatory statements!! Really!! Were they trying to discourage me from writing this review? When I read the reviews below the behavior and way to operate is the same.

Very disappointing: canned and contradictory information, no customer service.

NOTE: Review sent from different account than contact account.

We really got the runaround with this place. We were aware that they are extremely overpriced for the service that they offer, but we were willing to shell out the EUR 1,200 fee if this place had been able to answer our questions and secure a decent room quickly.

Since we previously weren’t getting anywhere with them online, we had wanted to stop by the office in The Hague and talk to them in person. The website indicates: “Visits by appointment only”.

We reached out via email during office hours to make an appointment and only received a canned response: “Due to the high volume of inquiries, it may take up to 20 business days for us to review your email and respond. For a quicker response, we recommend messaging us on WhatsApp.”

We then reached out via WhatsApp and got the following response: “Thanks for reaching out to Student Housing The Hague. We are currently experiencing some technical issues on WhatsApp and would kindly like to request you to contact us via Telegram instead.”

We then reached out via Telegram to schedule an appointment and got the following canned response: “Unfortunately, we purely operates (sic) online.”

The URL that they referred to via Telegram states: “It would be very inefficient if every person who is looking for housing would come to our office, and, not forget to mention, it would increase the workload whilst we do not get paid for this service. We would not be able to do our work properly as we would never have enough capacity to provide this kind of service to every person, free of charge.”

The concept of pre-sale support and helpful communication is clearly lost on this company.

Do not trust! Listing said 30 sq.m. It turned out the accommodation was only 18.5. In addition, the accommodation they provided me with had large leak from the roof which affected the electricity, water and heating, which meant mechanics drilling and visiting for the next two months. Numerous problems and headaches after having signed the contract. Do not involve yourself with those people. In addition, they work with an agency called Student Housing Hunter, whose only purpose is to inflate the rental price without offering any services in actuality (effectively surrounding the new dutch law for maximum rental price). They target international students who are unaware of the dutch rental law. Do not repeat my mistake to involve myself with this company (or Student Housing Hunter)

I got in touch with them, because I was searching for my son´s room in Rotterdam. I lost 2 days on proceeding, paid 85 EUR, than 1200 EUR (service fee etc.) finally signed the contract, before sending another 1800 EUR we wanted to get answered some questions (which they did not answered clearly) and after this call they CANCELED all with us (as a reason they said that we were agressive - which is not true, my husband is lawyer and asked th right questions, considering all the "services fee" we wanted to make sure all is clear and not scam.(they were not willing to meet us personaly, give keys etc.) I was very dissapointed. Beware. The contract they send is in Dutch, the fees are enormous and in the end you have nothing. Also, I found them on Kamernet, they wanted to continue our communication out of this platform, which is a red flag (according to recommendations on Kamernet). Another red flag is, that they have 2 logos(brands) which is confusing and sending money - they gave us some strange names, not the organisations..
EDIT: as the company replied, I really would like to point - why they did not share here the "aggresive comminication" as there was any. Just regular questions, which they were not able to answer. The company does not allow viewing before you pay /many people want to see before they pay a fortune. Also when you signing the contract, adding further costs during the process of signing on a particular pages (unpredictable without saying upfront, for beding for example, which increasing the price a lot ).
As the housing situation is so bad in Holland and I spent so many hours on the process, I tried to apologise (I was driving while was the call after they cancel the process with us. I could not hear properly from the car, but my husband did not get proper answers. Just some not informed call operator on the other side.
I tried to apologise as I am from abroad and every culture is different (and I am polite).
After I googled all these bad comments in detail (see below) I understood that better to find more reliable and safe accomodation.
They even do not offer, when you pay them "Welcome to NL" fee, assistance, for example contract in English, anything what would help.

This has been the worst renting experience I’ve ever had. The company (Better Beheer / affiliated with student housing) is only interested in squeezing as much money out of tenants as possible while providing the bare minimum in return.

First, I had a blocked sink and requested help. They sent a plumber—someone who works with them—who used a chemical solution to remove the blockage. It left a white stain around the sink. Despite us explaining that the stain came directly from their plumber’s chemicals, we were still charged for it. Later, when they asked the plumber about it, he claimed he “never used chemicals,” which is just ridiculous. It’s funny how they believe their own contractor’s word over the tenant, even when the evidence is right there.

Then came the checkout process, which was just absurd. They pointed out “dirt” that was basically fingerprints on a mirror, a slightly dusty stove, and a toilet that had already been cleaned. It felt like they were just trying to create reasons to take more money.

They even tried to charge €135 for “missing cushions,” which were actually pillow inserts from IKEA worth around €15-20. I told them the cushions had been washed and left to dry. Only after I pushed back did they remove the charge—so if I hadn’t spoken up, they would’ve just taken the money.

Now, the deposit—this is where it gets even worse. You’re supposed to receive it within 14 days after moving out. It’s been two months and still nothing. On May 21st, they claimed it had been paid, but as of today (May 26th), still nothing in my bank account.

During checkout, someone came and inspected the property and confirmed that most things were clean and in order. Yet afterward, I received an email listing new charges for things the inspector didn’t even mention. It honestly feels like a coordinated scam.

Their support is useless. If you call, they just say “I don’t know” and tell you to send an email. When you email, you barely get a response. They send broken links for uploading documents, and when those links expire, they use it as an excuse to charge you. It’s a complete mess.

I honestly don’t know how they sleep at night. This company operates by misleading and overcharging tenants wherever they can. Stay far away if you value your time, money, and peace of mind.

I cannot do much but pay them money. Is this not a scam? Thank you for the waste of hard worked money! Have a great day!

The Prices for the rooms are misleading. Prices are indicated without utilities included (which is fine), but beware of any listings with the "Welcome to NL" label. When trying to make a reservation for a room, the site will collect as much information about you as possible, and there will be some terms and conditions. Given that the site targets international students, i thought it was quite dishonest to not at least offer a translated version for comprehension, even if only the dutch version is legally binding in the end.
The terms and conditions mention some service fees etc, which are all a little annoying, but still fine. The real issue is with the "Welcome to NL" package (I DO NOT feel welcome). Before making a reservation for a room, I tried my best to find any information about the price of this package. Conveniently for Student Housing The Hague, there was no information about an estimated price of the package, because the price apparently varies from contract to contract. The problem is that, to even know what the package will cost, you need to pay 85€ in advance, before signing any contract.
As soon as the amount is paid, all of the sudden, even outside their working hours, an automatic email is sent with the terms and conditions of the "Welcome to NL" package. (This information was not made available to me in any way before that, try looking it up on the website yourselves, you will not find it). The costs were clearly known beforehand and even prepared in an automated email, it was not available on any part of their website though.

The cost of the package was otherworldly: there was a 1200 fee that was to be paid once, and then a roughly 300€ per month fee for their "services" (which include translating their documents, why was that not done beforehand??, help with registration for the city and doctors, which will not be helpful for most humans who know some basic stuff.) When renting a room with the "Welcome to NL" package, this had to be paid. this would have increased my rental price by about 3000€ over 6 months, without informing anyone in the website about a rough estimate if the price. Please stay away. You will lose your 85 € if you don't.

Actual scam. They do not list the end date in an accessible way, but when I selected my prefered end date it was branded as incorrect and the one time payment fee of 85 euros was not returned.

This is an obvious way to get extra money from desperate students, without providing anything whatsoever.

Don't trust the positive reviews, they may well be bots.

Sincerely, no matter how bad the housing situation in the Hague gets, do not opt to get a house with this half-company half-scammers. Especially if you are non-EU citizens, they love to charge you for expenses that they are not supposed to, make anonymous calls to the caps to search the house, come in to the house without notice (which is completely illegal), put in materials for the next tenant even if you have not ended your term with them, and they are especially difficult to communicate with. If there is a problem you are having with the house, they will not respond or will take forever to respond. Overall, their main goal is to exploit and take advantage of students who are clueless or unaware of the housing crisis situation they are in the Netherlands.

Lovely garden at the Governerlaan. SHTH was quick to fix any problems.

I received a nicely furnishied room in a good location in The Hague and the service was great!

They are Veeeeeeeeery helpful!!
And also they answer very fast even outside of the working hours.

The type of company which will NEVER leave you alone when you have a problem..

I definitely recommend, specially for foreigners how don't wet know who to handle Duch bureaucracy. ;)

The housing agency was available for any problem I had so I think it is a comfortable and efficient solution to take for finding house in Rotterdam

As a parent of a first year university student my first concern is always a place where my daughter would stay to spend her freshman year. Studenthousingthehague have provided a "Home Feeling" atmosphere that she felt home away from home. The management has been very professional to the needs and concern of the place plus maintaining a family and friendly relationship. Choosing Studenthousingthehague was a good decision and hope my daughter could stay here for the rest of her unviersity years.

The people working there are serious, friendly and really honest and they always try to find the solution that suits you best.
They offer short and long stay rooms and really care about the tenants and the locations.
I can easily say that I will keep them as a reference point, in case of need!