An international student who moved to Amsterdam in 2017 has described the five months she spent living in a cell at the Bijlmerbajes, the former prison near Amstel station.
She could not find a room because she was always about 100th in the queue and many listings were for Dutch speakers only.
The six-tower prison, built in 1978, closed to inmates around 2016, after which asylum seekers and students moved in.
Life in a 10m2 cell
For €550 a month including gas, water and electricity, she had a 10m2 cell with barred windows and a doorless toilet, and shared two showers and a kitchen with eight others.
Smoke set off the fire alarms at 2am almost every other night, and the windows were glued shut.
The lifts broke down at least three times a week, smokers caught in the stairwells were fined €30, and the showers ran freezing cold.
From prison to new neighbourhood
She says she was sad to leave and made lasting friendships there.
The complex closed in 2018 and was demolished to make way for a new neighbourhood with around 1,350 homes, a market and a health centre.
Check out our guide to finding a student room in Amsterdam.