This is a cleaning chore that has not been completed. Photo Mario Martens. Corridor representatives served as a contact point for tenants and Idealis when needed and bore responsibility for the corridor finances.
Text Luuk Zegers and Mario Martens
‘We saw that recruiting corridor representatives was becoming increasingly difficult’, says Idealis director Bart van As. ‘Furthermore, the role of keeping the corridor’s finances in order with regard to repaying cleaning costs became obsolete as it no longer fit within the current regulations.’
Through this construction, a fifteen-euro advance was added to the service costs, and the corridor representative would manage the account in which the advances were deposited, Van As explains. ‘This gave the representative some leverage: either you perform your cleaning chores or lose the advance. But it adds up quickly if eighteen people deposit fifteen euros each month. We transferred the money into accounts we had no access to, which has sometimes resulted in fraud.’
Mess
When a corridor temporarily lacked a representative, Idealis would sit on the advance. ‘These sums increased rapidly, but the money wasn’t ours, but the tenants. There is quite a large turnover, so if new people come and others go, it becomes a financial mess.’
Van As expects Idealis tenants to collaborate to keep the student house tidy. ‘I don’t believe fifteen euros makes the difference between tidy and chaos. Ultimately, no one wants to live in a mess. Now, they must take responsibility for keeping the corridor neat. To help them, we have suggested various apps they can use to manage their finances, and the caretaker also keeps an eye out.’
Practice
Nothing has really changed for Querine van Rijn (21), who lives in Hoevenstein, since the corridor representatives were abolished. ‘We still have a representative who manages the corridor account and makes a cleaning roster. Tenants still pay the same sum as before but to the corridor account. Formally, the advance is voluntary because it is no longer part of the service charge, but in practice, everything stays as it was. This way, the corridor remains tidy, and everyone sticks to their chores.’
Abolishing the corridor representative has changed things for Julie van den Boogaard (23), who lives in Dijkgraaf. ‘We had a representative who would make the cleaning roster and also ordered the groceries for the corridor. Once the representatives were abolished, these tasks were divided among two people: one who orders the groceries and one who keeps the cleaning roster and reminds everyone of their tasks.’ Everyone contributes ten euros per month to the corridor account for the groceries. ‘And, for the joint meals, we use the wiebetaaltwat app. Thus, we try to keep things tidy, but it is still a student house…’
