A student in Utrecht is entitled to receive the €1,300 compensation paid to people on low incomes who are struggling with the rising cost of energy, a court has ruled.

It is the third ruling by a Dutch court against local councils that excluded students from the compensation scheme because they are not classed as people on low incomes.

In August last year the district court in Arnhem found that Nijmegen city council had made an ‘unjustifiable distinction’ by not paying students the two monthly rebates of €190 in November and December.

And in February a judge in Amsterdam said the city council had discriminated against a student who was not entitled to the €1,300 one-off compensation that the government arranged to give low earners at the end of 2022.

The national students’ union LVSb has called for the government to come up with a nationwide solution and supported students who have taken their municipality to court to claim the compensation.

Chairman Joram van Velzen said: ‘We hear from students who have moved back in with their parents. It’s a shocking situation. People are dependent on the goodwill of their municipal council.’

The local government association VNG has also said the current arrangements are unsatisfactory and open to legal challenges, and urged the cabinet to find a solution.

‘The national government has said students are not eligible for the energy supplement from municipalities. But the exclusion of this group has not been written into the law for this ruling, only in the guidance to municipalities.’

The government temporarily raised the student grant in its annual budget last September and announced €35 million worth of measures to help students in financial hardship, but the grant increase will not take effect until the next academic year.

The case in Utrecht concerned a student living in an apartment block with communal heating, where several houses are supplied by the same shared boiler. Communal heating providers are not always able to identify how much gas and electricity each household consumes, which is the basis for the energy price cap.

Utrecht city council argued that the student could apply for enhanced welfare support if he was struggling to pay his bills, but the court said this was ‘not a reasonable alternative’ because the eligibility criteria are stricter.