mr. dr. J.H.S. (Stefan) van Tongeren

Stefan van Tongeren is an assistant professor in the Department of Legal Methods at the University of Groningen. His research focuses on the right to (access to) housing, public order, and the reintegration of ex-offenders, positioning his work at the intersection of criminal law, administrative law, and private law. In his research, Van Tongeren integrates doctrinal legal research with empirical-legal methods.

Van Tongeren obtained his PhD in 2024 with a study on the housing of ex-offenders in local communities. In his dissertation, Closed Doors and Windows of Opportunity: Ex-Offenders' Search for Housing, he explored the balance between the rights and interests of ex-offenders' and those of their (future) neighbours. Currently, his research focuses on the continuation of housing for individuals serving short prison sentences, as well as a new project examining the criminalisation of homelessness in the Netherlands and beyond.

Van Tongeren is actively involved in the EVICT project, which assessses the impact of the right to housing, and the Expertise Centre for Public Order and Safety, a research institute at the University of Groningen that examines public order and safety in the Netherlands. He is moreover engaged in the European Network for Housing Research (ENHR) and the faculty research programme Public Trust & Public Law (PTPL).

Since September 2022, Van Tongeren has been working at the Groningen Centre for Legal Skills (GCJV), which is dedicated to continuously developing and strengthening skills-based education within the legal bachelor and master programmes. He also teaches various English- and Dutch-taught courses and supervises students in writing their master's theses.