Lefier has evicted four students from their rooms in student flat Acero in the past few weeks, for causing too much of a disturbance, a spokesperson for Lefier says.
It’s unclear what the students have done. ‘Evicting people is a final resort’, says Eefje Keuper with Lefier.
‘If we know exactly who’s causing the disturbance, we first point out their behaviour and try to get them to either stop doing something or start doing something else. It’s our hope that they obey, putting an end to the disturbances. If all else fails, we will evict people.’
Oven out the window
Students have been causing disturbances at Acero for months. There have been reports of loud music and people shouting, as well as residents throwing beer bottles and on one occasion, an oven, out the window. In May, the police handed out sixteen fines of 150 euros because a party had got out of hand.
That same month, the city sent a strongly worded letter to all residents, warning them that any further disturbances would have dire consequences.
Police has access
The disturbances have become so bad that not only have people been evicted, but the police now have full access to the building. ‘Normally, the police first ask the person reporting the disturbance if they’ve been in contract with their neighbours’, says Keuper. ‘But we’re well past that by now. The police have its own access card to the building. We’d like it if they responded directly to the nuisance complaints.’
As of last week, the flat also has a security guard. ‘He’s present in the building at night to address people’s behaviour’, says Keuper. ‘A lot of people smoke in the bicycle storage facility, which sometimes leads to spontaneous parties.’ These parties not only disturb other residents of the flat, but also the people who live near Acero.
Determining the cause
The security guard reports all issues he encounters to Lefier. ‘That will help us immensely to determine who’s causing the trouble. Once we know that, we can properly tackle the cause of the disturbance.’
Keuper regrets the necessity of these rigorous actions. ‘So many students are enjoying living in the building. It’s a small percentage that ruins it for everyone else. It’s mainly small groups throughout the flat, but there are also a few individuals who are causing trouble.’