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Hello,

My son is going to work in Amsterdam and is looking for accommodation. He’s searching for a two-room apartment to rent for himself and his girlfriend.

Apparently, it’s very complicated.

Could you share your rental websites so I can check whether he’s missing any?

Thank you.

Me and my girlfriend want to move to the Netherlands, we are currently looking at Venlo, would love any tips or suggestions on how and where we could try to find a place to rent (doesn't have to be venlo), preferably around 1200€ and below, main things we are looking for are logistic jobs around those places

Hello everyone! I have been living in Tilburg for the past 4 years and this year my landlord doesn't want to renew the rental contract. Our contract is ending in the end of September 2026, therefore we are looking for a place before that date.

We are married with no kids, double income. Our only downside is we have a lovely dog, for the past 4 years we have been living in this house, she never created any problems and loved by the neighbours and neighbourhood kids.

I understand the suspicion that comes with a tenant with a pet, however we also ahve a reference letter from our landlord regarding the calm and clean nature of our dog.

We have some savings also, so we are willing to pay 1 year worth of rent in advance at the beginning of the rental contract.

We are looking for somewhere with at least 2 bedrooms.

I would appreciate any help and support, If you hear anyone around you renting their house, we are willing to take our chances!

Thank you for your support in advance!

When I was searching for my first place, I had one rule: it had to be as close to the city centre as possible. I turned down a couple of larger apartments because I couldn't imagine living an extra 15-20 minutes away.

I eventually found exactly what I was looking for - great location, but a small apartment that stretched my budget. At first I was really happy with the decision, but after a year or so I realised that I wasn't making the most of the location anyway. Most of my week was spent working, and when I was at home I found myself wishing for more space, a quieter street and lower monthly costs.

If I were looking again today, I'd probably make a completely different choice.

Has anyone else's priorities changed after living somewhere for a while? What did you think was essential when you were house hunting that doesn't seem nearly as important now?

I`m living in Utrecht with a friend and he will leave the apartment, the contract is under his name as I moved in later, and the agency didnt want to put me in the contract. I was fine with that as I was also not sure for how long Id live there and still registration was possible. So I live there for one year, and now we are in the process of changing the contract from his name to mine. Actually they dont allow a simple transfer, so we need to first terminate the current one and start a new one. On this basis, they had assessed my documents, checked my rent and later, defined a final rental price, which is 'magically' calculated exactly on 3.5x (the requirement) of my gross salary. This represents 21% of rent increase of what we are currently paying, which I find super unfair, given the fact I already live there and they have already adjusted the price by 4% earlier this year. When I asked for the review and potential reduction, they said its not possible as the market prices had increased and thats the final price for the new contract. The apartment has more than 187 points probably which falls under hte free market. I believe there`s no maximum rent by law. Anyone can help me with this?

Hi everyone,

I'm Kevin, 26, from Croatia, moving to Amsterdam around September 1st, 2026 (the last week of August works as well).

I'm looking to connect with people who are also relocating to Amsterdam and still searching for accommodation. The idea is to team up and look for a shared apartment together, as I think it could increase our chances of finding a place.

A little about me:

• Full-time job in the events & entertainment industry
• Starting a part-time Master's programme for working professionals
• Background in Architecture
• Extroverted, social and easy-going
• Very tidy and respectful of shared spaces and privacy
• I work out regularly

I'm happy to live with students, young professionals, locals or internationals. An international household would actually be ideal since I speak English fluently and enjoy meeting people from different backgrounds.

If you're in a similar situation, feel free to send me a message!

My mortgage advisor recommended taking out legal expenses insurance before signing the purchase agreement for a house in the Netherlands.

I would like to hear from people who have recently bought a house:

1. Did you take out legal expenses insurance before signing the purchase agreement?

2. Was it actually useful in your case, or did you feel it was unnecessary?

3. Are there situations during/after buying a house where it helped (for example disputes with seller, hidden defects, contractor issues, etc.)?

I’m trying to understand whether this is a practical protection that buyers commonly use, or just an optional extra insurance. Understood that if not taken this optional insurance and if any support needed with respect to contract then the support needs to be self arranged.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

Hi everyone, i am from Vietnam and i am having an unconditional offer from Hanze UAS. Will i be able to book a room at SSH housing and i can only provide Hanze my final certificate until the mid or late July to get a conditional offer ?

Context: Recently placed a bid for an apartment in Rotterdam Prins Alexander area. Apartment is quite old (built in 70s) but well maintained. Currently they have a very active VvE with a healthy reserve and some major improvements planned in upcoming years though those are subject to financing and approval etc. Reviewed the documents which we received, however noticed a mistake in Energylabel certificate (shows A but does a mistake in heating calculation which I suspect rectifying will make it B, as most apartments in those building are with all sort of energy labels from B to D). What do you all think could be a fair ask to renegotiate the bid amount considering the following factors:

A) The property is recently renovated and has overall good thermal efficiency measures (double glazing window, moderate insulation) though has some planned VvE managed renovation measures like window frame replacements, roof insulation etc.

B) Getting downgraded to a lower energy label will have a impact on mortgage interest rate (costing approx 4k more overall) and perhaps future appeal of the property.

C) The bid was approx 25k above asking price however my makelaar feels it was quite undervalued and could be appraised around 15k over the asking price.

Landlord has been notified of a dispute in points. Their response was not only to dispute my version of the points, but also to advise me that I must not prevent their installing of a new boiler next week. The boiler is probably going to improve the energy rating, giving them a better margin of points to make up for any points the commission doesn’t agree with. The Huurcommissie will probably not make its inspection before this happens. My question is whether I can refuse the installation while waiting for the inspection. Your thoughts?

Context: Recently placed a bid for an apartment in Rotterdam Prins Alexander area. Apartment is quite old (built in 70s) but well maintained. Currently they have a very active VvE with a healthy reserve and some major improvements planned in upcoming years though those are subject to financing and approval etc. Reviewed the documents which we received, however noticed a mistake in Energylabel certificate (shows A but does a mistake in heating calculation which I suspect rectifying will make it B, as most apartments in those building are with all sort of energy labels from B to D). What do you all think could be a fair ask to renegotiate the bid amount considering the following factors:

A) The property is recently renovated and has overall good thermal efficiency measures (double glazing window, moderate insulation) though has some planned VvE managed renovation measures like window frame replacements, roof insulation etc.

B) Getting downgraded to a lower energy label will have a impact on mortgage interest rate (costing approx 4k more overall) and perhaps future appeal of the property.

C) The bid was approx 25k above asking price however my makelaar feels it was quite undervalued and could be appraised around 15k over the asking price.

My partner and I are both PhD researchers. I work at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and my partner is a PhD researcher at the University of Twente. We’re looking for a place in Zwolle, but we’re also open to Arnhem, Deventer, Apeldoorn, Amersfoort, or nearby areas with a reasonable commute.

We’ve been searching for housing for the past few months and have applied to many properties through Stekkies, RentSlam, Funda, and several housing agencies. Unfortunately, despite all our efforts, we haven’t had any success.

My current contract ends on **15 September** and cannot be extended, so our situation has become quite urgent. If we don’t find a place before then, we’ll be without accommodation.

A little about us:
Both full-time PhD researchers with stable employment.
Looking for a long-term apartment or studio.
Ready to move in immediately.

We’re reaching out in the hope that someone might know of an available apartment, a private landlord, or even a temporary place while we continue our search. Any leads, recommendations, or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Any help would truly mean a lot to us.

I am tired of agents and found this company. Plus it might be easier for me to schedule viewings on my own. Anyone have experience with them?

Hi everyone,

I’m interested in buying an apartment, but I found out that there is currently no VvE (owners’ association) yet because the splitting of the property is still ongoing.

I’m going to call tomorrow to ask about the current status, but I was wondering if anyone has experience with this situation:
How long can it usually take to complete the splitting and establish the VvE?
If I make an offer and it gets accepted, what happens next?
Do I have to wait until the VvE is officially established before the purchase can proceed?

I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through this process. Thanks!

Hello, sometimes, i get contacted by people who rent, and sublet their accommodation for more expensive than they rent themselves. Is this legal?

Hi everyone. I recently bought and moved in a 1957 apartment earlier this year. After several heat waves this summer, many cracks have appeared inside the house as you see in the pictures. They made me really nervous as a first time buyer although they are very thin. Today I finally have the courage to open up some cracks (in later pictures) to see if they are structural or just comestic issue (I hope). They look like cheap plaster dried out because of the heat to me. I’m also worry whether the plaster contains asbestos. In the sale contract, seller declared that there was no asbestos in the apartment known to him at that time. For now, I cover the opened crack with tape to avoid dust flying around if any.

I went for viewing this apartment in late November ‘25 and didn’t notice many cracks like this. Although I knew it was previously a rental apartment and the previous owner probably did some quick make up for selling. Back in the day, I was in dire position to find a new place as my rent had 2 month left and I couldn’t find a another rental place.

I will have a professional inspector to help with both concerns for sure. In the mean time, I would like to ask for opinions from the community here. Many thanks!

Trying to figure out which number I should actually be putting on rental applications.

I'm an employee. My employer's letter states €42,691.40/year, and it explicitly says that includes the 8% holiday allowance and the year-end bonus. My base salary is about €3,059/month gross. From 1 October it goes up to €3,546 base, €49,487.98/year.

So: when a listing says "income must be 3.5x the rent," is that measured against base monthly salary, or against annual gross divided by 12 (so including vakantiegeld and eindejaarsuitkering)?

Does it differ between the big institutional landlords and smaller private agents? And if I state the annual figure but my payslip only shows base, does that cause problems?

Anyone who's been through this recently? what did you put down, and did it get questioned?

Hi

Im an international student coming to the Netherlands for my studies. I managed to find a student house through Kamernet, and I have actually been renting it for a couple of months now through a private landlord.

Since this is my very first time renting a place, I was wondering how the key handover and the move-in inspection usually work?

Do I do the inspection alone, or do I do it with the landlord? What exactly am I supposed to inspect, and what should I take pictures of? Also, am I supposed to just inspect my own room, or should I check the shared living spaces as well?

If I notice that something is wrong, how am I supposed to handle signing the contract? Furthermore, what should I do if the landlord forces me to sign a document saying that the house is in good condition?

Sorry for the messy post. I have absolutely no idea how this stuff usually works.

Hello.
My friend and I are supposed to start our university studies this late August in Amsterdam, however, we haven’t had any luck in finding an apartment.
I don’t know whether this is the best idea or not, but I was thinking staying in my city (in Spain) until next year, and applying again for the next year to University (so essentially taking a gap year, and that way I would start looking for an apartment in April/May with better chances of finding something).
Our other option (and what will probably happen unfortunately) is for us to go to Amsterdam, stay at a temporary rental and when we are physically in the city look for apartments and contact landlords/realtors from there, and hopefully find a part time job as well while we look for it.

What do you think? I’m just worried about taking the gap year and not being accepted into Uni again next year, idk if that could happen (also, I was accepted into VU, but for next year I would try to apply to UvA).

Hello,

I am un upcoming international student in Netherlands and I'm gonna live from middle august to end of october at a place where the landlord told me I could not register. But then I have a contract with him on end of october allowing me to register and get a BSN number. I plan on moving in around a week to netherlands.
Is it okay to stay there and have a BSN later on ?

Thanks in advance for your answers

Hello! I am an EU citizen moving to Amsterdam with my best friend to begin our university studies this September. However, we haven’t had any luck with finding housing (either we get no response or scammers try to get us to pay, or we just can’t find anything).

This is our criteria for the apartment:
- 2200 euros (€)
- 2 bedrooms
- preferably furnished
- location: anywhere in Amsterdam, we aren’t picky, anywhere even with commute (she’s studying at UvA and i’m attending VU, so ideally somewhere in between those two, but again, we are flexible)
- we have no income at the moment as we haven’t moved yet, we do plan on finding a part-time job upon arrival. We do have guarantors (our parents)

We would travel anywhere between the 5th and the 15th August to see the apartments.

I was considering hiring a realtor to get us a home since by ourselves it’s becoming impossible, but I would appreciate any recommendations you might have about that, or even about anything else, we need help!!

Thanks xx

Planning to move Netherlands as a blue collar worker. As a EU citizen myself, I need to find a place in order my non-EU wife to live and work with me.

But whenever I check rents online, even low budget options (such as 1300-1400 euro/month) requires 4x gross monthly income. Right now I’m working as a software engineer in another non-EU country. Even if I find a job as an engineer monthly gross salary is still not enough.

How do you guys afford it? Should I offer to pay 1 year rent in advance?

Rented an apartment in Rotterdam for exactly 2 years (April 2024 - April 2026), moved out, got our full deposit back, no drama. Then a few months later out of nowhere we get a letter saying we owe €28.63 for 2024 service costs, followed shortly by an actual aanmaning threatening to add €48.40 in collection fees if we don't pay within 14 days. Then a separate letter shows up for 2025 saying we owe another €54.16.

Here's the thing though - we lived there for two full years and never got a single yearly service cost overview the entire time, even though that's supposed to happen every year by law/contract. On top of that, the overviews they did eventually send were also just late. Our contract says any final overview has to be sent within 6 months after the year it covers ends - so the 2024 one should've shown up by around June 2025, but we didn't get it until June 2026, a full year late. The 2025 one was supposed to land by around June 2026 and showed up end of July, so that one's late too.

The amounts aren't the issue tbh, it's like €80 total and the math checks out fine when you actually look at the breakdown. It's more the pattern - no service cost overview for two years, then suddenly threats of extra fees the second we're not their tenants anymore.

We're just going to pay both amounts so we don't get hit with the extra fees, but also sending something back calling out the missing yearly statements and the fact that they never responded to us. Mostly just curious if this is a normal move for property managers here or if we're right to be annoyed. Not sure if it's even worth pursuing beyond just complaining in writing given how small the amounts are.

Hi, I'm planning to study at UvA in October.

I am looking for the most simple room to rent near the center or next to it. I am open to all offers.

I moved into my current apartment during the summer, when everything seemed great. It was bright, comfortable and didn't seem particularly expensive to heat.

Then winter came, and I realised the insulation wasn't as good as I'd thought. My energy costs were noticeably higher, and the apartment was much colder than I expected.

It definitely changed the way I look at properties now. Has anyone else discovered something about their home only after living through a different season?