Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering) for student houses
Letting a house room by room turns one home into several independent households with their own cooking facilities, and for an insurer that is a different property from the family home the policy was originally taken out for.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
We compare the offerings of several insurers
An adviser checks whether the cover suits your situation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
The difference lies in the form of use. A property let room by room to five or six students has more cooking points, more electrical appliances on old circuits, more changes of occupant and less shared responsibility for maintenance than a home with a single household. Insurers therefore assess room letting separately and many private home policies exclude that form of letting.
Whoever lets the rooms insures the buildings: the shell, installations, kitchens and sanitary ware. The occupants insure their own contents. Those possessions are never covered by your policy. What you do have to arrange as landlord is your liability as owner of the building under Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code, for example for a defective staircase or a loose handrail.
If you are letting a whole self-contained home to a single household, read the insurance for a let home.
What does buildings insurance for student houses cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basis
Rebuild value
What it costs to rebuild the premises.
Not the market value
Not the WOZ value (the Dutch property valuation)
Guarantee against underinsurance
Permanently fixed
What is included
Everything permanently attached to the building.
Building and installations
Outbuildings
Boundary fences
Optional
Extensions
What is excluded as standard.
Glass
Garden landscaping
Inherent defect and foundations
What is covered
Situation
Standard
With extension
Fire, smoke and lightning strike
Yes
Yes
Storm from force 7 upwards
Yes
Yes
Water damage from a burst pipe
Yes
Yes
Glass breakage
Sometimes
Yes
Groundwater coming through the floor
No
No
Wear and deferred maintenance
No
No
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Report room letting expressly
Room letting is one of the forms of use asked about separately on the application. State how many rooms you let, whether there are shared or private kitchens, whether there is a communal living room and whether the local authority has granted a conversion or withdrawal permit. If you fail to mention it, the insurer can fall back on Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code after a fire and reduce the payout under Article 7:930 DCC.
Several cooking points on an old installation
Every room with its own hob, kettle, fridge and extension lead loads a consumer unit that was not designed for it. Most fires in room-let properties start with cooking or with the electrics. Have the installation inspected, provide enough circuits with residual current protection and fit interlinked smoke alarms. With room letting, requirements on smoke alarms, self-closing doors and escape routes often appear as a clause on the policy.
Changing occupants and supervision
During the summer months a student house is often largely empty. A leak or a smouldering fire is then only noticed late. Record who has access during that period and how often checks are made. Also watch out for subletting and short-term letting through platforms: if an occupant uses the room as holiday accommodation, the actual situation differs from what your policy states.
What is not included
Not covered are: the contents belonging to your tenants, damage caused by poor maintenance of the roof, gutters or window frames, and damage arising from illegal activities in the property such as cannabis cultivation. Gradual damp damage behind a shower cubicle installed by a tenant and damage caused by inadequate ventilation also remain outside the cover. Loss of rent after a fire is a separate section and is not automatically included in the buildings cover.
What does your premium depend on?
Number of rooms let. The more independently used units in one property, the more sources of ignition and the stricter the assessment.
Cooking facilities per room. Private cooking facilities in the rooms count more heavily than one shared kitchen with extraction.
Smoke alarms and escape route provisions. Interlinked alarms, self-closing doors and a clear escape route are often a clause condition for room letting.
Condition of the electrical installation. The number of circuits, residual current protection and the date of the last inspection determine the risk picture.
Year of construction and floor structure. Timber floors and stairwells in pre-war properties let fire spread faster than concrete floors.
Occupation throughout the year. A property that stands largely empty for months in the summer is rated differently from a continuously occupied house.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Yes. Your buildings insurance covers the building with its kitchens, sanitary ware and installations, but not their possessions. Every occupant needs their own home contents insurance (inboedelverzekering), and personal liability insurance (AVP) is sensible too, because if a tenant damages the property your insurer can recover the cost from them. Include that requirement in the tenancy agreement.
Can room letting go on an ordinary home insurance policy?
Usually not. Many private home insurance policies are written for occupation by the owner or for letting to a single household, and exclude letting room by room. Always ask for written confirmation that room letting has been accepted, with the number of rooms stated. Without that confirmation you run the risk that the cover is disputed after a fire.
What if a tenant causes a fire while cooking?
You claim the damage to the building on your buildings insurance. Your insurer can then recover the amount paid from the tenant who caused the damage. Their liability insurance would normally absorb that. If there was intent, that cover lapses. Report the claim straight away; Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires prompt notification.
Is the rent I lose after damage covered?
Only if loss of rent is insured as a separate section. The buildings cover pays for repairs to the building, not for the months in which the rooms are uninhabitable. Ask about the maximum period under that section and bear in mind that repairing a property with several kitchens and bathrooms usually takes longer than a single-family home.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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