Last updated on 30 April 2025

Imagine you are renting a house, and one day the landlord comes in and tells you that from next month, you will not be able to enter your house with a key anymore. They have found something much more innovative. You will (only) be able to enter your house with your smarthone, where you must have their app installed. Oh yes, and the digital locks will also be logging when you enter and leave your house.

That's the message that all ~2400 residents on the campus of the University of Twente received on 4 December 2025. Oh yes, and because the locks didn't require electricity themselves, these new locks were not only more secure than mechanical locks, but also highly eco-friendly. Here is a quote from the first e-mail:

“Our current lock system is outdated and needs replacement to meet modern safety and management standards. We are introducing a digital lock system, integrating your house key into your phone via the Veste Wonen app. Step by step, we’ll guide you through the process, and you’ll be well-informed in advance about when you’ll switch to a digital key.

The new locks don’t require electricity or batteries, making them low-maintenance and highly eco-friendly. Thanks to the smartphone-based locking mechanism, the system is safer than a physical key. And no more need for spare keys! The rollout of the new lock system will start in February 2025, and you’ll receive more details soon about how it works.”

The students were not amused. They made a petition, got media attention, and at some point they all met at a meeting of the Central Tenants Council Drienerlo to discuss these plans of the housing corporation. Volt city councillor Erik Kemp was invited to give some background information on the pros and cons of these digital locks, based on his expertise in privacy and cyber security and his role in local politics. After the meeting, all attendees supported Erik's initiative to also start a discussion on digital locks in his role as a city councillor.

Our main arguments against these digital locks

We identify two main arguments against these digital locks: 1. It should not be compulsory for anyone renting a house that you can only enter your house with a smartphone. 2. Entering or leaving your house should not be not be turned into a data point, and you should be able to know that that is not happening.

Timeline

2024-12-04: Veste Wonen sends their first e-mail announcing digital locks.

2024-12-18: – UToday – 'Key gate on campus: residents don't want digital locks'. – Security.nl – 'De woningstichting wil de voordeursloten vervangen door een app, mag dat?'.

2025-01-14: Meeting of the Central Tenants Council Drienerlo, mainly about the digital locks. See also: – Tubantia.

2025-01-20: Erik asked questions about the digital locks in the council meeting. See also: – UToday. And the day after. – 1Twente. More elaborate but in Dutch. – Tubantia.

2025-01-27: Our resolution 'Privacy starts at your own house' is approved by the majority of the city council. The announcement of the motion, the short debate, the reply for the city's executive board and the vote can be seen in the city council video archive. See also: – UToday. – Tubantia.

2025-02-04: Member of Parliament Marieke Koekkoek asks parliamentary questions about digital locks. For the answers, see April 10th. See also: – UToday. – Security.nl.

2025-02-13: Veste Wonen sends a new e-mail, also published online: > 1. Tenants will have the choice of a key tag, the digital key in the Veste Wonen app, or both. > 2. Due to concerns from a group of tenants regarding privacy and data, we have asked the supplier not to log information regarding the opening and closing of the lock. None of that data will be stored. > 3. We will introduce the new locking system step by step. We will start this summer with the new buildings on the Boulevard and the short-stay rooms on campus. Based on an interim evaluation, the future steps will be determined. The Central Tenants' Council will remain closely involved.

2025-03-31: Veste Wonen sends a new e-mail.

2025-04-10: Minister Mona Keijzer (BBB) replies to the questions asked by MP Marieke Koekkoek. See the official announcement or the plain answers on Bert Hubert's Open Parliament Data platform.

2025-..–..: Feel free to let us know about any more recent updates on this file!

More on digital locks

Political questions and official answers

2025-02-04 Parliament

Official announcement. Open Parliament Data Platform.

Vragen van het lid Koekkoek (Volt) aan de Minister van Volkshuisvesting en Ruimtelijke Ordening en de Staatssecretaris van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties over digitale sloten in studentenwoningen (ingezonden 4 februari 2025).

Antwoord van Minister Keijzer (Volkshuisvesting en Ruimtelijke Ordening), mede namens de Staatssecretaris van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties (ontvangen 10 april 2025). Zie ook Aanhangsel Handelingen, vergaderjaar 2024–2025, nr. 1406.

Vraag 1

Bent u bekend met de plannen van een woningstichting in Enschede om over te stappen op digitale sloten voor studentenwoningen?

Antwoord 1

Ja.

Vraag 2

Bent u bekend met de zorgen hierover vanuit de studenten en de gemeenteraad van Enschede? Bronnen: UToday, Aangenomen motie Enschede.

Antwoord 2

Ja.

Vraag 3, 4 en 5

Kunt u toelichten hoe u denkt over de plannen om over te stappen op digitale sloten en de mogelijke risico's, waaronder privacyrisico’s, die hierbij spelen?

Deelt u de mening dat het onwenselijk is dat van bewoners wordt geacht dat zij een smartphone met daarop een app zouden moeten gebruiken om hun woning of woongebouw te kunnen betreden?

Deelt u de mening dat het onwenselijk is dat digitaal wordt geregistreerd wanneer bewoners hun woning in- en uitgaan?

Antwoord 3, 4 en 5

De Staatssecretaris van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties en ik hebben geen zeggenschap over de inzet van technologieën door private organisaties, zoals woningcorporaties. Vanzelfsprekend geldt ook voor private organisaties dat zij zich bij de inzet van digitale technologieën moeten houden aan de geldende wet- en regelgeving.

Bij de toepassing van digitale sloten gaat het voornamelijk over de verwerking van persoonsgegevens, waarop de Algemene Verordening Gegevensbescherming (AVG) van toepassing is. Het is echter niet aan het kabinet om onderzoek te doen of in voorkomende gevallen de privacywetgeving wordt geschonden. Dit is aan de Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP), die als onafhankelijke toezichthouder verantwoordelijk en bevoegd is voor het handhaven van de AVG in Nederland.

Daarom kan ik geen appreciatie geven van de situatie in Enschede.

Vraag 6

Beschikt u over een volledig of gedeeltelijk overzicht van woningen en/of woongebouwen in Nederland waar digitale sleutels vereist zijn voor het betreden van de woningen of waar het betreden of verlaten van de woningen digitaal wordt geregistreerd? Zo ja, kunt u dit overzicht met de Tweede Kamer delen?

Antwoord 6

Nee, dit overzicht heb ik niet.

Vraag 7

Hoe oordeelt u over het in gebruik nemen van digitale sleutels, zoals voorgenomen in Enschede, gelet op artikel 8 EVRM en de AVG in het licht van een eerdere uitspraak van de Finse privacytoezichthouder die het bij een soortgelijke praktijk onrechtmatig achtte?

Bronnen: Privacy First, Finlex.

Antwoord 7

Zoals ik aangaf in antwoord op vragen 3–5, is het niet aan mij om een oordeel te geven over de verenigbaarheid van het gebruik van digitale sloten met de AVG. In Nederland is de AP, die onafhankelijk opereert, belast met het toezicht op de naleving van de AVG. Het is aan de toezichthouder om per geval te beoordelen of wordt voldaan aan de wettelijke regels, en zo niet, of en op welke manier daartegen wordt opgetreden. Zij zal daarbij de jurisprudentie van het Hof van Justitie van de Europese Unie betrekken.

Where are digital locks already implemented?

For the Netherlands, our MP Marieke Koekkoek has asked our minister whether they have a full or partial overview of houses or buildings in the Netherlands where digital keys are necessary to enter houses or where entering or leaving a house is digitally registered, and if yes, whether this list can be shared with Parliament.

From our own sources, we have heard that this system might be in use in Nijmegen, Groningen, Utrecht and Amsterdam.

Things individuals can do

The most important thing you can do to make an impact is to become part of a movement. Go to the CBR meetings, join a political movement, let your voice be heard and work together with others. But of course you can also do certain things on an individual level.

In Germany, it's highly encouraged that the first thing you do when moving into a place is changing the lock to your own – and to change it back before moving out. In the Netherlands, this is not very usual, but this is something you might want to consider if for any reason you really don't want the digital lock.

If you think your privacy is still violated, you can start a legal procedure. For more information, see the next chapter.

Legal procedures and existing jurisdiction

As far as we know, there has not been a legal procedure against digital locks in the Netherlands. We did find this legal procedure from Finland (see also this article on that Finnish legal procedure on Security.nl), where the Finnish Data Protection Supervisor ruled in favour of Dutch privacy-activist Michiel Jonker that started the legal procedure. Some points from that procedure: 1. The proposed system in Finland would violate the GDPR. 2. A landlord cannot consent to the processing of personal data on behalf of a tenant. 3. A given consent to process personal data must be revocable at any time. 4. The association of owners had wrongly failed to examine alternatives that do not infringe privacy or do so to a lesser extent. 5. No single digital lock can prevent burglary if the intruder is not entering the house with a key.