© Nick, Galileo resident
Amid flooding and sewage problems in university housing, a group of students has spoken out to highlight their ordeal.
"The majority of tenants didn't have access to hot water – it ended up being over a month."
"We've gone as far as five days without electricity."
"A few minutes later, my room was completely submerged by dirty things, especially poop."
These are just some of the complaints coming from tenants of Galileo apartment building in Belval. Speaking to RTL Today on condition of anonymity, a group of seven students shared what they call inhumane conditions that they have found themselves living in.
All students of the University of Luxembourg as is contractually obliged, the tenants speak on behalf of many others, and have shared emails, images, videos, and contracts to support their claims.
The building, first conceptualised in 2015, is a relatively modern structure. A few minutes away from the University of Luxembourg, what was meant to be convenient, affordable, and accessible accommodation has led to trouble for many.
Individual apartment units are privately owned, though in several contracts RTL Today has reviewed, responsibility of the unit falls not on the owner but on two separate bodies: the rental manager Genimmo, and the property manager, iGest. Under rental agreements, Genimmo is the designated point of contact in the event of any issue.
Not officially a part of the university, the University of Luxembourg lists this apartment block on their website with a disclaimer: "Please note that the University has no partnerships or relationships with these providers and does not endorse their services."
Contacted for comment, the University has confirmed that they are not responsible for the status of privately owned accommodation.
In conversations with RTL Today over email, phone call, messages, and in person, several students have described issues with mould, water heating, plumbing, and flooding.
All names have been changed to protect the identities of the students.
Mould
"I have black dots all over the carpet, and I think there are more if you lift it up", one tenant shared. "But I don't see [what's underneath], so it's not there. It's like the monster under the bed."
RTL Today witnessed mould growth in the bedroom of one tenant. Hidden by his bed, the student had been living in the space for six months before he became aware of the mould, which was also seen in the bathroom. Given the time that had passed and fearing being blamed for it, he decided not to file a complaint.
Mould seen in on the of units / © Loretta Marie Perera
Almost all the students RTL Today spoke to, and more of their neighbours and friends, struggle with mould. Rental managers Genimmo says that humidity or mould problems can result from malfunctions in shared facilities (ventilation, heating, etc.). If this is the case, they say that property manager iGest is responsible, even if the consequences are visible in private properties.
iGest says that mould can have many causes: infiltration, poor ventilation, insufficient heating, overcrowding, or lack of maintenance – and that such situations do not necessarily fall under iGest's responsibility.
Hot water
"It's really difficult to pinpoint when the majority of tenants lost [access to] hot water, because there were shortages for individual units in the months leading up to that", said Sarah, who has lived in the premises since December 2025. "It was sometime in the first or second week of July. I and some other friends would shower at each other's places because there was no hot water [in our own units]."
Michael, who has lived in the apartment block for almost three years, struggled with the lack of hot water for almost 2 months. Beyond the inconvenience of having to boil water daily, this issue affected his health, too.
"It was really hurting me because I have acne, problems with my skin. It was a serious health issue for me to do this over a month and three weeks", he said. "I was sending them emails and they never replied to these emails. But then I contacted my landlord. I sent [my complaints] to him, and then he sent it to them, and then they started to reply."
While the issue had largely been resolved by August, at the end of September multiple students once again reported a lack of hot water.
Power outage
For PhD student Ari, power outages are common.
"There is an issue with the pipes, meaning that sometimes the sink overflows. And in one of my neighbour's rooms, it overflows onto an electrical socket", said Ari. "Then the power goes out, obviously. And it goes out for everything [in proximity], and for all six of our rooms."
For these tenants, that meant no charging outlets, no microwave, no cooking station, no TV, no internet. "Well, basically, no electricity at all, which is quite incapacitating. [Once] it was literally right before I had a very important exam", said Ari. "I could not work. I could not close my [electric] blinds, so I was woken up super early. And after 8pm you can’t see anything in your room, so I had to use a candle, which is obviously a fire hazard."
This isn't a one-off, either: Ari says that in the past months, this has happened three times, with increasing regularity.
"Unfortunately, when it happens on the weekend, getting a technician or an electrician there is more complicated. So we've gone as far as five days without electricity", Ari said. "You can't do anything, you can just try calling people and hope that at some point it gets resolved."
Accessibility aside, this led to fear and frustration as well. "You feel insecure", said Ari. "You're almost trapped in your own room because you can't do anything. It is out of your control."
Bad smell
Patrick, who has lived in a Galileo apartment for 9 months, one day encountered an awful smell.
"I invited two friends over on a Sunday morning for breakfast, and it was okay, but then in the night it started smelling very bad", recalled Patrick. "On Monday it continued to smell even worse. I called the police because I knew this could be a health issue, but they told me that they could only act if there was a body, a dead body. So they couldn't do anything."
The issue was soon resolved by the rental management company, though for Patrick, other issues remain: the toilet lid is broken, and a balcony light is faulty. While it had been recorded that the toilet lid was broken prior to his arrival thereby absolving him from fault, the same does not apply to the balcony light.
"I wasn't even aware that my balcony light was not working, and now I have no incentive to call them because I know I will have to pay for it", he said. “When I moved in, I didn't use it. It was off for months. When I tried to [turn it on], I realised that it's broken. But I knew there was no way to prove anymore that I wasn't the one who broke it."
In a contract viewed by RTL Today, an inventory of all fixtures in the apartment must be drawn up before the tenant moves into the premises, with a 150 euro inventory fee paid for both entry and exit inventories.
Faecal matter
The first sign of trouble came for Zach when he returned from a weekend away to find traces of sediments throughout his bathroom and at its entrance, indicating that there had been dirty water which had by then dried.
The next day he tried to take a shower, but no water would flow. That was just the beginning: within the same day, dirty water emerged from the shower head and soon after, waste water from the toilet began to back up.
Reporting the matter, a repairs company arrived to fix the problem. "They started in my room first and while they were there, faecal matter started to rise. My room was completely submerged by dirty water – and especially with poop."
Even after the immediate issue was resolved, remnants remained.
"That night and the next night, I didn't sleep in my room because of the smell", Zach said. "Later, they sent over a cleaning company who came two days later. The cleaning ladies came two to three times; they were shocked and disgusted."
Remains of faecal matter had gotten stuck under the bed, and under the furniture.
"Obviously it was very unpleasant, along with the smell", said Zach, who says that he has managed to save all his belongings except towels and a bath mat. "I still haven't received a refund for my new towels", he added.
RTL Today has viewed videos demonstrating the extent of the flooding, and the contents of the water.
Who's responsible?
For all the matters made known and reported to RTL Today, confusion between accountability underlines each incident. Speaking to spokespeople from both parties, rental managers Genimmo and property managers iGest, the following has been made clear by Genimmo:
"Management is shared between several stakeholders: The condominium manager (in this case, iGest) is responsible for managing common areas (water boilers, heating system, roof, ventilation, etc.) while the landlord is responsible for the general condition of the rental property."
Contractually, Genimmo acts on behalf of the landlord to manage the relationship with the tenant (lease, rent, complaints), handle technical and administrative requests, and liaise between the tenant and the appropriate parties (landlord or property manager), depending on the nature of the problem.
This distribution of responsibilities can make things far from simple.
Responding to RTL Today, both parties shared their statements on who would be responsible if an issue in a private unit (e.g. a leak in a bathroom) caused a problem for a greater area (e.g. power outage for an entire block of units).
Property manager iGest said, "iGest takes care of the community facilities and common areas, while Genimmo manages the private units and tenant relations. If damage originates in a private unit and affects the common areas, the issue must first be resolved at its source (the private level). However, consequences impacting common areas are handled at the common level and therefore by iGest."
Using the example of the overflow which interfered with an electrical outlet, affecting six rooms, Genimmo said: "This type of incident, related to a shared drain or pipe, clearly falls under the responsibility of the property manager (iGest), as the manager of the collective technical installations. Even if the effects are felt in individual rooms, since the origin of the problem is collective, it is the responsibility of the property manager, who must involve the appropriate service providers."
Students certainly feel the effects of this opaqueness. Speaking on their experience with the overflow which caused the power outage, one tenant said: "[A Genimmo representative] tells me it's supposed to be taken care of by iGest. She also told me that iGest, whenever she does that, typically replies that this is actually a private issue – because it's an electricity problem and therefore not their responsibility. So everyone is sending the hot potato to someone else."
Making their problems known
While problems faced by tenants in some cases are quickly resolved (faecal matter), in some cases after much delay (water heating), and in others still, not at all (balcony light), much of the frustration of these students stem from feelings of helplessness.
"It just feels really terrible that you have to pay full rent, and that if you complain about it, we have no power. Because if we don't pay or if we decide to retaliate, [we fear that] they can just kick us out, and someone else is going to take that room", said Ari.
While most of the students RTL Today spoke to are quick to insist that Genimmo has often responded quickly, in some cases immediately, it is an actual solution to such urgent matters that takes more time.
On the matter of delayed access to hot water, iGest explained, "The replacement quote was received on 30 June and approved on 1 July. However, the delivery time for a tank of this capacity did not allow for full restoration of service before 14 August. Proper operation was therefore dependent on the delivery time of the equipment from the supplier."
While the matter remains resolved at this point, iGest added that "punctual fluctuations can nevertheless occur when simultaneous consumption exceeds production capacity".
For these student tenants, the ongoing frustration lies in the fact that it isn’t one issue sometimes, but many issues – and almost always.
One tenant shared: "[The flooding] happens over and over again. And we have had multiple instances where people move out because of this. Two of my neighbours have moved out because of the flooding. [Another] two of my neighbours have moved out because of the power issue. They just up and leave. And that brings additional costs because you're breaking the contract."
What's next?
For the students, it's better communication and response time that they're after, and what they feel is only fair: reduced rent for utilities that are included in their rental terms, but that they have failed to receive.
"We had a lot of difficulties getting the agency to communicate with us, and there was no feedback or any type of reaction to a petition [we launched], or our request to cut utilities from the rent for that month", said Sarah, who speaks on behalf of her international peers who come from countries within and beyond Europe. "Within the petition there were also a lot of comments, obviously everybody was affected and upset."
Speaking to tenants' rights association Mieterschutz, a spokesperson confirmed that Luxembourgish tenant laws come above any contract. The next step the association recommends is seeking legal help: to start, they have volunteered to review the tenants' contracts to review any inconsistencies or matters that need attention.
Nathaniel Sagman, a tenant organiser who alerted RTL Today to this situation, said that in his experience in Pasadena, California, such ambiguity happens frequently, and often at the disadvantage of students. "It is common for landlords to take advantage of or even harass students, especially those who are not from the country, and not well equipped to understand their rights", Sagman said.
His recommendation is for the students to learn their rights and educate their neighbours. "If one is comfortable with the laws, then one can be firm with their landlord", he said. "But, going past isolated situations, this is a serious and systemic issue, so unfortunately it is not easy to just say, 'what to do'."
He also advises reading about the history of rent strikes and other tenant movements, and trying to get involved with organisations like Mieterschutz. “Then we can start working toward fair housing for everyone, and pushing for stronger tenant protections.”
