Permanent housing

In the Netherlands, there is a difference between social rental housing and rental housing in the free sector. Rental housing in the free sector can be rented by anyone. Certain conditions apply to social rental housing. For example, you must have a housing permit.

In the Netherlands, there are currently fewer available (rental) properties than the number of house seekers. This makes it difficult to rent housing. Due to the housing shortage, rental prices are very high and it can take a long time to find suitable housing. The housing shortage is a problem across the Netherlands. How difficult it is to find housing can vary by town or village. In general, it is more difficult in (large) cities than in villages.

As a tenant, you must meet certain requirements. Which requirements apply to you depends on what kind of housing you want to rent. For example, different requirements may apply to social housing than to housing in the private sector. Below are a number of requirements you usually have to meet.

Sometimes landlords in the private sector set requirements that they are not legally allowed to set. If you are in doubt about whether the landlord is making these kinds of demands, you can contact Het Juridisch Loket.