Having a house party now and then is part of student life! But we do advise you to come to clear and definite agreements: keep a check on the front door, keep an eye on how things are going during the evening and also have a word with housemates or guests if they are being a nuisance or causing a disturbance.

Keep your party private
We strongly advise you not to sell free tickets to your party, or promote it either on the internet or with flyers. This could attract people with other motives than partying and give them easy access for their intended deed. Keep your party private and perhaps ask your guests for a small contribution. That way, you will know who is coming beforehand and can exclude both those who may be planning to steal and those who are likely to go overboard causing a disturbance (for example by being very loud and smashing things).

Parties and fire safety precautions
The fire brigade has the right to limit the amount of guests and may forbid the party or end it prematurely. So, make sure that you invite a reasonable amount of guests and keep a check on the amount of people present. The fire brigade has a strict rule that if there are 50 or more people going to be at a party, a licence must be applied for. In that case you will need to contact the fire brigade.

Let your neighbours know
Be considerate about those living close to you and let them know in good time that you are having a party. Letting them know doesn't mean that everyone can do what they like during the party, of course. If neighbours ring the police and report being disturbed by noise or anything else, the police will come to verify the complaint and possibly give you a warning. You may risk having your sound system confiscated. The police have the right to terminate a party if complaints continue to be made.

Causing a disturbance. And then?
Let's take it that the situation has got out of hand. People are throwing things out the window and causing a disturbance. The party is no fun any more. What to do? Gather a few housemates and agree to end the party. If that doesn't work, call the police and explain what has happened. Perhaps you could ask the police to end the party.
If visitors throw things out the window or cause a serious disturbance, we will hold all occupants of the unit liable for this. As far as we are concerned, if you take no steps to do anything about it, you share the responsibility for the disturbance.

Consequences
With a view to safety, SSH will absolutely not accept objects being thrown out the window. If someone were to be hit, it could have very serious consequences. If we can prove from which unit objects were thrown, our sanction is to go to court to terminate the rental contract for all tenants. The unit will also be liable for all damages and cleaning costs. The police and the courts of justice also take an extremely poor view of people throwing objects around. So you may be sure that in a case like that the police, accompanied by a public prosecutor will immediately terminate the party.

We hope you can understand the reason for our strict policy on this matter and would like you to know that we are acting in the interest of the safety of all our tenants and their visitors.

We wish you a successful party!