This isn’t a joke, on 1 April the residents of the 80 catered rooms and 69 independent rooms can pick up their keys at the offices of the letting agents Idealis. The planned completion date was 1 May. Corina van Dijk of Idealis explains that when setting the date possible delays to the building work were factored in. The margin was incorporated to prevent any students who had already given notice to leave their previous accommodation finding themselves unable to move in. Since everything has gone according to plan, this margin is unnecessary. Van Dijk explains that if the extra month weren’t free some students might be saddled with rent on two premises. ‘That would be unfortunate,’ says Van Dijk.
The future tenants are happy with the ‘free’ extra month. Food Technology student Sarah Veldman says, ‘I think it’s nice of them. Now we’ll have some money to spare for new furniture. It’s also convenient that we won’t have to move during the Liberation Day festivities because we can move during the Easter Weekend.’ Some work on the details of the complex’s courtyard will be carried out after 1 April. ‘The residences themselves will be completed by then, but the bike sheds will still need a roof,’ says Van Dijk. In the meantime, however, the 149 residents will still be able to park their bikes.