Destination services update: The Netherlands housing market

The demand on the rental market continues to outweigh the current supply levels, therefore the rental market is still severely strained all over The Netherlands.

As the demand continues to be on the rise, we prepared this update to shed some light on the current situation.

Housing budget 2023

Due to the high demand, overbidding is on the rise. The below guide reflects the current housing prices in The Netherlands’ major cities to assist with establishing a budget to plan for an upcoming relocation.

When one is looking for housing, the square meter of the property will be noted on the listing, as well as the total number of rooms. This number will include living rooms, dining rooms bedrooms, however kitchens and bathrooms are not mentioned as a room. For example, a four bedroom property would be listed as 4 (3 bedrooms). This would indicate a living room and 3 bedrooms.

Furnishing guide

Houses to rent are available in three different levels of furnishing:

Furnished

This type of housing is typically fully furnished, and it doesn’t only include your larger items of furniture such as the bed, sofa, dining table and chairs, white goods, but it also includes crockery, cutlery, bed linen, cleaning equipment and the likes – so it is a proverbial plug and play.

Fully furnished options are rather limited and are more expensive than the alternatives that are detailed below, as a fee for furnishing is payable to the landlord.

Semi-furnished

The fittings of such accommodation will include everything in the ‘bare necessities’ category. This means window, wall and floor coverings, light fittings, kitchen appliances and sometimes, but not always a washer and dryer. There is no one size fits all as to what a semi-furnished accommodation will include, this will very much depend on the actual property. This is probably the most common setup when it comes to properties that expats rent.

Unfurnished

As the name suggest, this type of property comes with no furnishing. This means that there are no carpets, curtains, light fixtures, however usually there is a fitted kitchen, where one may find built-in appliances such as a cooker and a fridge or dishwasher.  This type of property is very uncommon for expats to rent due to the high investment needed for the setup of the property.

Rental contract information

There are two types of rental contracts that are generally used in The Netherlands:

Model-A

This is the most usual type of rental contract, which is characterized by a minimum rental period of 12 months, after which an extension for an indefinite period is possible.

Model-B

This is a rental contract with a definite period of 2 years. After this period the contract will be terminated.

According to Dutch Law verbal and/or written agreements are legally binding. Verbal and/or written agreements made by the tenant with third parties should only be made if the tenant is sure that they are willing to rent the property. When making a verbal or written agreement and the tenant has a change of heart afterwards, the contract/offer is already legally binding if it was accepted and as such all further financial responsibilities are borne by the tenant – it is worth keeping this in mind when offering on a property and our consultants guide assignees during the home search process accordingly.

Utilities update

Due to the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, The Netherlands has seen a large increase in utility price such as gas and electricity. As a result, it was not possible to contract a fixed price for gas or energy accounts.

As of 1 January 2023, the Government of the Netherlands have introduced a price cap for gas and electricity for energy bills – this is for private households and for small businesses.

The cap is applicable until 31 December 2023 to all small consumers of energy up to a certain consumption level:

Everyone who consumes more energy than the maximum amount will pay the tariff of their existing energy contract.