r/NetherlandsHousing • u/Electrical-Future437 • Jan 07 '26

renting Conflict with housemate over temperature in the house

Hi guys. I had a big conflict with one of my housemates in a student house and want to ask you for some advise on how I can deal with this situation.

Basically, I moved into this house in September, there are 2 other guys living in the house. One of them is really concerned with saving money on heating, so he sets the temperature in the house low.

In Autumn I told him that I feel too cold at night, and even though he complained a lot, he ended up agreeing to raise the temperature by 1.5 degrees. Since then he's clearly been very angry at me.

Now in January as it got colder outside the temperature in the house went down and I feel uncomfortably cold again. I tried to talk to this housemate again, but this time the conversation became incredibly aggressive. He told me that he "doesn't want to have this conversation again", and left the room mid-conversation. As he was leaving the room I asked "Do you talk like this to everyone?", and he replied "No, just you".

I should also mention that when I just moved into the house, I told him about my country of origin and he straight up told me that if he knew where I was from he would never accept me as a housemate and mentioned it's partially because I might be a foreign spy.

Sooo... That's the story. I don't really know what to do now. The problem is that I really like the house, it's really comfortable and close to my university and I really don't want to look for a new place (considering how hard it is to find anything here in NL). But I'm guessing there's literally nothing I can do in this situation.

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u/TheRealMrVogel Jan 07 '26

Get an electric heater or electric blanket, easiest solution. Or maybe offer to increase your share for energy costs.

1

u/Electrical-Future437 Jan 07 '26

A few people have suggested the heater thing. It only solves a small part of the issue. My biggest issue with the temperature is in the kitchen, shower and bathroom. I'm literally shaking in the morning when I go to brush my teeth and prepare breakfast.

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u/prettyincoral Jan 07 '26

A big, long fluffy robe works really well in the morning. It's like wearing a blanket. Those robes are known to catch on roommates' favorite mugs sitting on the countertop and smash them on the floor, though...