To qualify for social housing, potential tenants must prove their salaries do not exceed a certain limit. However, the new housing law of Minister Stef Blok exempts PhD candidates from that rule. All they have to present is a proof of registration from an accredited educational institute.

“A breakthrough”, according to director Ardin Mourik-Geluk of Kences, an umbrella organization for student housing corporations. “It could be quite the challenge to figure out the salaries of PhD candidates, especially in the case of foreigners. Now that’s out of the way, we can offer PhD candidates proper homes.”

People renting homes from social housing corporations, including students rooms, cannot earn more than 38,950 per year. PhD-candidate salaries hardly ever exceed that.