Hello Going Expat People,
From the 1st of July 2024 there are new rules for rentals in the Netherlands.
A regulation that aims to make the situation of the real estate market less crazy and bring prices back to “normal”, especially in the main cities.
If you want to know what it takes to rent a house in the Netherlands, read my article here, taking into account that the average price could finally fall!
What are the new rental rules?
It was announced a few days ago that the idea and request to change the rules of rentals in the Netherlands, carried out by the last government, has been approved and will be effective from Monday 1 July 2024.
Apartments will fall in ascheme with points/scores. This scheme will impose (at least for most cases) the value to which they can be rented. Surely bitter-sweet for the owners who will no longer be able to raise the prices of rent the way they did until now.
How the price will be built.
There are several aspects that are considered to give the final value of renting an apartment, among the most important:
- The WOZ value of the house;
- The energy class;
- The number and size of rooms;
- The interior of the kitchen, toilet and bathroom (if they were renovated for example);
- The outdoor spaces that belong to the house (balcony, terrace, garden).
The detailed characteristics of each room of the house will be listed, evaluated and made public. On the website of the Huurcommissie in fact, will be possible to find the table and, in any case, the landlord will have the legal obligation to inform the tenant about the points of the apartment for renting.
Under 143 points, the apartment is considered “social house” and therefore the rent cannot be higher than €880 per month.
A score of 186 points, raises the monthly fee to €1,157
The rule for apartments with a score above 186 is different, in the sense that the owner will still decide the monthly cost. This is still making hard for tenats to find good rentals in the Netherlands.
Clearly after a while we’ll see a situation of lower average cost than today and therefore the costs for renting should generally (let me use the conditional) lower to remain competitive.
The rules apply for new contracts from 1 July 2024
And what about old contracts? Homeowners will have to show the points table to tenants by January 2025. If the score is below 143 points, the cost of the monthly rent should be adequate.
If the score is higher than 143 points and the contract is started from maximum 6 months then you can ask for a reduction of the fee.
If the owner refuses to reconsider and adjust the cost of the rental, you can contact Huurcommissie.
It will also be possible to report the owner of the house, in this case, precisely because it is a new law that must be respected.
When will the lease end?
Also in this sense there will be some news, in fact the contracts will have to be permanent and not anymore for a maximum of 2 years.
This is going to reduce the possibility from the owner to renegotiate with exorbitant fees with other tenants, or to make you risk to remain without a roof every now and then.
The cost of the rent may increase from year to year provided it remains within the limits of the maximum price discussed above.
Clearly the owner will keep the right to have the house back in case of need.
What changes for the students?
Also for the rent of rooms, on the Huurcommissie website will be published the tables for the scores.
The size of the room and the common areas will be taken in account. In principle, shared apartments follow the rules that refer to social housing and therefore the price must be adapted as such.
In addition the rooms must be rented with individual contract.
Remember that when you are offered a (sub)rent without the possibility of registration it is an illegal practice and to pay the consequences ( and fines) will be directly you.
To date these are the news related to the Dutch real estate market. Let’s hope it will help other internationals, but also locals, to find their home in the city they like.
If you are looking for an apartment/ room to rent in Rotterdam and other areas of the country, I leave you a couple of useful links.
For room/studio search –
Webisites:
Kamernet, Funda, Huizenvinder.nl
Studenhubs:
