Rent allowance

Specific conditions
 

1. Would you like to apply for rent allowance? You can, as long as you meet certain conditions.  
2. You can obtain rent allowance for a VUB room or studio, or a room from one of our partners. (U-Residence, BRU UPKOT, JET UPKOT or rooms rented out by  Brik.)
    

3. You meet the academic conditions regarding study progress: you are entitled to rent allowance throughout the nominal study duration of the full-time study programme + one extra academic year. Previous years at the VUB or other higher education institutes in the same or a different area of study are counted as well.  

   For example: 

   • A student who enrols in the study programme Sociology, will be entitled to rent allowance for five years. If that student takes six year to complete the programme, they will not be entitled to rent allowance in the last (sixth) year. 
   • A student who enrols in the study programme Psychology and after two years, switches to History, will be entitled to rent allowance for the first two years. After switching, the student will still be entitled to rent allowance for three years, given that the nominal study duration of the History programme is four years and you're entitled to rent allowance for the nominal study duration + one extra academic year. 
   • A student who has graduated from the academic bachelor of Criminological Sciences and who then enrols for the preparatory study programme Psychology (60 credits) followed by the Master's in Psychology (120 credits) will be entitled to a maximum of three years rent allowance at the VUB. The nominal study duration of Psychology is five years. If the student gains the academic bachelor of Criminological Sciences in three years, they are entitled at the VUB to three years rent allowance (nominal study duration + one extra academic year, including previous study years). If this student takes six years to complete the academic bachelor of Criminological Sciences, they will no longer be entitled to rent allowance. 
      
4. You have to enrol for at least 27 credits during the academic year in which you apply for the rent allowance.
    
5. If the student's personal or family income includes cadastral income from property owned but not lived in by them, the indexed cadastral income may not exceed € 1.250 euros nor may it be too high in proportion to the other income. Regarding cadastral income, the same rules are applied as the Flemish government uses when allocating a scholarship. 
    

General conditions

 

The general condition to receive financial support from VUB are:

• The student meets one of the nationality requirements established by the Department of Scholarships of the Flemish Community
• the student is enrolled under a diploma contract (students with a credit or exam contract are not eligible) (*) 
• the student is enrolled at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (**) 
• the student is enrolled in an initial study programme: a bachelor, a first master, a bridging or preparatory programme (***)
• the student proves a financial need, related to the study costs
  
   

(*) Students with a credit contract can be eligible for reduced tuition fee. Starting academic year 2023-2024, students with a credit contract are also eligible for an interest-free loan to pay their tuition fees.

(**) Students in the first year of their studies should have an enrollment of at least 54 credits in order to apply for a social allowance, rent allowance and external grants. 

(***) Students following a teacher training or a second academic degree of the same level or students who have already obtained a Master's degree can only qualify for reduced tuition fee and an interest-free student loan. This interest-free student loan is also available for students who are following an advanced Master's degree. 

Don't agree?

 

We evaluate your request and make a decision based on these conditions. If you do not agree with a decision made by our Financial Support team regarding your request for financial support, you can lodge an appeal.



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