On this page, you can find our advice statements.
As a tenants’ organization, we are allowed to provide DUWO with requested or unsolicited advice. This often concerns DUWO’s plans, but can also be about things that have gone wrong or other things that we would like to see done differently. Below are our recent pieces of advice.
Disclaimer: The documents on this page represent only a small part of the advisory process. Each advice is accompanied by conversations and multiple emails for further clarification. If you would like to see more information that is not available here, please feel free to send us an email.
Request for advice
We are always seeking input from our tenants. If you see a topic for advice where you’d like to brainstorm with us, please email us or send us a DM.
2023
Rent increase
The SHO aimed to negotiate the percentages for the rent increase. This involved seeking a financial justification from DUWO regarding the impact of a lower rent increase and an explanation of the feasibility of DUWO’s plans for the upcoming year. However, DUWO did not agree to this, and as a result, the SHO provided a negative recommendation.
2022
Rent increase
The annual rent increase for 2022 has been limited by the Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning to a maximum of 1% following inflation. Due to this limitation, previous plans by DUWO to apply an additional rent increase to selected homes have been abandoned. Because of this restriction, WijWonen has agreed positively.
Letter DUWORevisionAdviceService subscription
Due to DUWO’s new energy contract starting from January 1, 2023, and significantly increased energy costs, it has been decided to calculate the administrative fees in a different manner. The SHO has agreed positively to this policy change.
Priority arrangement
In early 2022, the SHO requested DUWO to revise the priority allocation policy. DUWO updated the postcode table with the most recent information on travel times. It was decided to implement the new regulation starting from December 1, 2022, to minimize inconvenience for prospective tenants.
Work plan 2023
The SHO formulated three recommendations regarding DUWO’s work plan. These recommendations concerned language use, the role of the HO’s, and DUWO’s communication. Provided that questions regarding these matters would be addressed, the SHO provided a positive recommendation. DUWO recognized our points and took our advice seriously.
Fire safety
At the end of 2022, the SHO provided unsolicited advice regarding the counterproductive functioning of fire alarms. DUWO took the advice seriously and promptly requested a meeting with the SHO to devise an action plan.
2021
Rent increase
Due to the rent freeze implemented by the Cabinet this year, there was no rent increase, and therefore no advice was provided.
Contents insurance
WijWonen submitted a request at the beginning of 2021 to modify the contents insurance to better align with the needs of students. This modification was successfully implemented on January 1, 2022.
Energy tax
After a lengthy process, the tenant organizations, DEK, BRES, VBU, Duwoners, and WijWonen, together with DUWO, have signed a settlement agreement regarding the future arrangement of energy tax refunds. This agreement also includes provisions for former tenants who may still be eligible for energy tax refunds.
2020 and older
In the coming period, more advice that WijWonen has provided over the past years will be added to this page. If you can’t wait and would like more information on topics such as previous years’ rent increases, rent pricing policy, or DUWO’s work plan, please send us an email.
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