Residents of several SSH student housing complexes in Utrecht reportedly can enter their buildings only with a digital key on a phone. A physical key is available for €200. Residents said the app sometimes fails, leaving them dependent on neighbours or SSH’s emergency line, including at night. Some students have reported needing many attempts to open the locks, while one resident said people had propped open sliding doors, allowing an unhoused person to enter and sleep and urinate in a stairwell.

Tenant organisation BoKS has proposed physical keys or tags and charging points near entrances. SSH said it sees no need for structural additional measures and that the system offers a good balance of convenience, manageability, future stability and safety. The housing provider said two employees had checked the doors and access system and found them technically functional. The digital-key system was first tested in Rotterdam in 2024 and was later introduced at SSH complexes in Groningen and Utrecht.