Why are TU/e international students the main target?
TU/e had 13,453 students in 2024, of which 37% were international — roughly 4,978 people spanning over 100 nationalities, according to the university's Key Facts & Figures. New international enrolments then grew 22.6% in 2024–25, even as the national sector's international growth fell, per Eindhoven News.
That combination is what scammers exploit. Thousands of newcomers arrive each August and September with no Dutch address, no BSN, no local network, and a hard deadline before classes start. They search in English, they cannot view a room in person yet, and they do not know which platforms or corporations are real.
Huurteam Eindhoven's data makes the targeting explicit: in 2024, all known victims were international students. This is not a general housing problem that happens to catch foreigners. It is a fraud model built around them.
The language layer matters too. Scammers write their ads in fluent English, mirroring the way a nervous newcomer searches. A Dutch student would spot an off-brand corporation name or an odd payment request; someone in their first week in the country often cannot. That information gap, not gullibility, is the vulnerability being sold against.
How bad is the rental scam problem in Eindhoven?
📷 www.kaboompics.com / Pexels
The trend line is steep. Rental scam reports tracked by Huurteam Eindhoven climbed from 1.4% of all reports in 2022 to 9.3% in 2024, according to Cursor's April 2025 report. In roughly two years, the share of scam complaints grew almost sevenfold.
Prevention helps, but it does not stop everyone. A Huurteam Eindhoven flyer campaign prevented 103 fraud cases. Despite that same campaign, 59 housing seekers still arrived in the Netherlands to find their rented property did not exist, or only suspected fraud after paying.
The scarcity behind this is structural. Dutch student housing faced a national shortage of about 26,500 rooms in 2025, per ABF research for Kences. When rooms are this scarce, students act fast and skip checks — which is exactly the pressure fraud depends on.
What are the 4 fake listing types in Eindhoven?
📷 Valentin Ivantsov / Pexels
Four patterns recur in Eindhoven reports, each with a tell.
1. The cloned corporation. Scammers used the real brand and corporate data of housing corporation Woonbedrijf to deceive renters. Woonbedrijf reported at least 20 victims and filed a complaint, according to NL Times. A real housing corporation never demands a private deposit transfer to secure a viewing.
2. The gift-voucher IBAN. A documented Eindhoven tactic: the "landlord" asks you to send a deposit to what looks like a bank IBAN, but is actually a gift-voucher account, per Cursor. Once loaded, that money is gone and untraceable.
3. The nonexistent room. The address is real, the photos are stolen, the room does not exist. Victims discover this only on arrival — the core of the 59 cases above.
4. The no-viewing rush. The account claims to be abroad, cannot arrange a kijkavond, and needs the deposit today to "hold" the room against other applicants. Manufactured urgency is the common thread across all four.
What ties these together is that they all steer you toward one irreversible action: a transfer before verification. The cloned corporation borrows trust you already have. The gift-voucher IBAN disguises where the money actually lands. The nonexistent room removes anything you could inspect. And the no-viewing rush removes the time you would need to check. Slow the transaction down and every one of them falls apart.
How do I verify an Eindhoven landlord before paying?
Run three checks, in order, before any money moves.
Check ownership at the Kadaster. Anyone can verify who legally owns a Dutch property by paying roughly €3–€3.70 for an ownership extract (Eigendomsinformatie) from the Kadaster, the national land registry. If the name on the extract does not match your "landlord," stop.
Insist on a viewing. A kijkavond or a live video walkthrough of the actual room, not a stock gallery. A landlord who cannot show you the room they want a deposit for is the single biggest red flag.
Never pay before a signed contract. TU/e's official housing page tells students to never transfer money before signing a contract and verifying the landlord, and offers an International housing toolkit. That guidance is free and on the university site. Treat any pressure to skip it as a confession.
What does Dutch law say about deposits and registration?
Two legal facts protect you, and scammers bank on you not knowing them.
Deposit cap. Under the Good Landlordship Act (Wet goed verhuurderschap), in force since 1 July 2023, a landlord may charge a maximum security deposit of two months' bare rent (kale huur) on contracts signed from that date. The borg must be returned within 14 days of the lease ending, or within 30 days if there are deductions, according to Russell Advocaten. Any demand far above two months' rent is illegitimate.
BRP registration is your right. If you stay in Eindhoven longer than 4 months, you must register in the BRP (Basisregistratie Personen) at Gemeente Eindhoven within 5 working days of moving in, per the Expat Housing Network. Registration is required to get a BSN and cannot be blocked by a landlord. A landlord who forbids BRP registration is either running an illegal sublet or does not own the place.
These two rules also give you a script. Ask directly whether the deposit is at or under two months' kale huur, and whether you can register at the Stadskantoor once you move in. A genuine landlord answers both without friction. A scammer stalls, changes the subject, or invents a reason you "can't" register — which tells you what you need to know before any money leaves your account.
Will Eindhoven's housing shortage get better?
Slowly, and prices are already softening. Average room rent in Eindhoven was €500/month in Q3 2025, down 2.6% year-on-year — one of only two cities in Kamernet's national analysis to show a decline, per the Kamernet Q3 2025 report. Rents fell a further 2.8% year-on-year in Q1 2026, while the national median sat at €660/month.
Supply is moving too. Eindhoven city council announced plans in March 2026 to build 5,400 new student homes over eight years, one of the largest single student-housing expansions in the Netherlands, according to NL Times.
Until those rooms exist, the shortage still fuels the fraud. Softer prices do not make a fake listing real — they just make the fake ones look more plausible. A €500 room that undercuts the national median is now believable rather than suspicious, which removes one of the instincts that used to protect newcomers. Cheap alone is no longer a warning sign, so the checks below have to carry more weight than they did a year ago.
One practical habit: search where profiles are visible and messages stay in-app, so a "landlord" can't push you off-platform to a gift-voucher IBAN. Coinquilino is a free room and roommate app from Italy, now available in the Netherlands (full disclosure: Coinquilino is our app). Whatever platform you use, keep money out of it until the Kadaster check and a real viewing are both done.
Is a landlord asking for a deposit before viewing always a scam?
Not always, but treat it as one until proven otherwise. Legitimate Eindhoven landlords and corporations like Woonbedrijf or Vestide do not require a private deposit transfer to arrange a kijkavond. Demand a viewing and a signed contract first.
How much can a landlord legally ask for a deposit in the Netherlands?
A maximum of two months' bare rent (kale huur) for contracts signed on or after 1 July 2023, under the Good Landlordship Act, per Russell Advocaten. It must be returned within 14 days of lease end, or 30 days if deductions apply.
How do I check who really owns an Eindhoven property?
Buy an ownership extract (Eigendomsinformatie) from the Kadaster for about €3–€3.70 and match the registered owner against your landlord's name. A mismatch means walk away.
What is the gift-voucher IBAN scam?
A documented Eindhoven tactic where the scammer gives you an IBAN that looks like a normal bank account but is actually a gift-voucher account, per Cursor. Funds sent there are effectively cash and cannot be recovered.
Does registering with the municipality prove my rental is real?
BRP registration at Gemeente Eindhoven is your legal right within 5 working days of moving in and cannot be blocked by a landlord. A landlord who refuses to allow it is a serious warning sign that the tenancy is not legitimate.
Coming from another Dutch city? Compare tactics in our Groningen rental scams guide, or check realistic budgets in Rotterdam rooms under €700 and Utrecht student room prices.
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This article was produced with the help of AI tools and reviewed by the Coinquilino editorial team.