25 Dutch renting terms
Glossary of Dutch renting terms
Dutch listings and contracts use words that no phrasebook translates well. Each term keeps its Dutch name, the one you will read in listings, and is explained here in plain English with the 2026 rules.
Types of housing · Start here
Gestoffeerd
What does gestoffeerd mean in a Dutch rental listing?
Gestoffeerd means the home comes with floor covering, curtains or blinds and light fittings, but no furniture. You bring your own bed, sofa and table. It sits between kaal (bare, often without floors) and gemeubileerd (fully furnished), and it is the most common option for long-term Dutch rentals.
In Englishsemi-furnished
Types of housing
What the listing says about the home itself.
AntikraakWhat is antikraak (anti-squat) housing in the Netherlands?Antikraak (anti-squat) means living in an otherwise empty building, such as an office, school or home awaiting sale or demolition, to keep squatters out. You usually sign a loan-for-use contract (bruikleen) with a property-guardian company, not a lease, and pay a usage fee, so you have little or no tenant protection.GemeubileerdWhat does gemeubileerd mean in a Dutch rental listing?Gemeubileerd means furnished: the home comes with floors, curtains and light fittings plus furniture such as a bed, table, chairs, sofa and storage, often with kitchenware. It is the step above gestoffeerd (no furniture). There is no legal definition, so the contract and its inventory list decide exactly what is included.GestoffeerdWhat does gestoffeerd mean in a Dutch rental listing?Gestoffeerd means the home comes with floor covering, curtains or blinds and light fittings, but no furniture. You bring your own bed, sofa and table. It sits between kaal (bare, often without floors) and gemeubileerd (fully furnished), and it is the most common option for long-term Dutch rentals.HospitaWhat does hospita mean when renting a room in the Netherlands?A hospita is a live-in landlord: someone who rents out a room in the home where they live themselves. Under the hospitaregeling (art. 7:232 lid 3 BW), you have no protection against termination during the first nine months. After that, normal tenant protection applies, with one extra ground for the landlord to end the tenancy.MaisonnetteWhat is a maisonnette in a Dutch rental listing?A maisonnette is an apartment spread over two floors, sometimes more, connected by an internal staircase, inside a larger building. It usually has its own front door, reached from a gallery, a stairwell or the street, often above shops or other flats. For rent rules it counts as a self-contained home, like any apartment.Onzelfstandige woonruimteWhat is onzelfstandige woonruimte in a Dutch rental?Onzelfstandige woonruimte means non-self-contained accommodation: a room or unit where you depend on facilities outside it, such as a shared kitchen, toilet, bathroom or front door. Most student rooms and rooms in shared houses are onzelfstandig. Their rent is always regulated by a points system, but you usually cannot get huurtoeslag.
Rent and costs
What you pay each month, and what you get back.
BemiddelingskostenWhat are bemiddelingskosten in a Dutch rental?Bemiddelingskosten are the fees a letting agent (makelaar) charges for finding or arranging a rental. If the agent works for the landlord, for example by listing the home or selecting tenants, the agent may not charge you, the tenant. Only an agent you hire yourself to search for you may send you a bill.BorgWhat is a borg (deposit) in a Dutch rental?Borg, or waarborgsom, is the security deposit you pay at the start of a Dutch tenancy to cover unpaid rent or damage. Since 1 July 2023 it may be at most twice the kale huur, and the landlord must return it within 14 days after you leave, or within 30 days if costs are deducted.G/W/EWhat does g/w/e mean in a Dutch rental listing?G/W/E is short for gas, water, elektriciteit: the utilities. A listing that says excl. g/w/e means you pay them on top of the rent, often through your own energy contract. Incl. g/w/e means they are in the monthly price, usually as an advance that the landlord settles once a year against actual use.HuurtoeslagWhat is huurtoeslag and who can get it in 2026?Huurtoeslag is the Dutch rent allowance: a monthly government contribution to your rent if your income is low, paid by Dienst Toeslagen of the Belastingdienst. You apply yourself. Since 1 January 2026 there is no rent ceiling for eligibility, and the allowance is calculated on your kale huur up to €932.93.Kale huurWhat does kale huur mean in a Dutch rental?Kale huur is the basic rent: what you pay only for the use of the home, without servicekosten (service charges) and without gas, water and electricity. Dutch rent law works with this figure. The deposit cap, the points maximum, the liberalisation threshold and, since 2026, huurtoeslag are all based on the kale huur.ServicekostenWhat are servicekosten in a Dutch rental?Servicekosten are service charges you pay on top of the kale huur for services linked to the home, such as cleaning and lighting of shared areas, a caretaker, shared heating, or the furniture and floor covering. The landlord may only charge costs actually incurred, must send a yearly statement and may not profit from them.WOZ-waardeWhat is the WOZ-waarde and why does it matter for rent?The WOZ-waarde is the official value of a property that the Dutch municipality sets every year under the Wet waardering onroerende zaken. It is used for local taxes, and in the rental points system (woningwaarderingsstelsel) it can count for up to 33% of a home's points, so it helps set the maximum legal rent.
Legal rent
How the maximum legal rent is set.
LiberalisatiegrensWhat is the liberalisatiegrens in Dutch rentals?The liberalisatiegrens is the rent limit that separates regulated Dutch rentals from the free sector. In 2026 it is €1,228.07 a month kale huur, equal to the maximum rent at 186 points. Since 1 July 2024 a home can only start above it if it scores 187 points or more. It is not the huurtoeslag limit of €932.93.MiddenhuurWhat does middenhuur mean for Dutch renters?Middenhuur is the regulated middle segment of the Dutch rental market, created by the Wet betaalbare huur on 1 July 2024. It covers self-contained homes with 144 to 186 points in the woningwaarderingsstelsel. In 2026 the maximum kale huur in this band runs from €939.73 to €1,228.07, and landlords may not charge more than the points allow.WoningwaarderingsstelselWhat is the woningwaarderingsstelsel (WWS points system)?The woningwaarderingsstelsel (WWS, or puntentelling) is the official Dutch points system that sets the maximum legal rent of a regulated home. A home earns points for its size, kitchen, bathroom, energy label, outdoor space, WOZ value and more. Each points total matches a maximum rent in a yearly table: in 2026, 143 points allow €932.93.
Contracts and rights
What your lease allows, and how it ends.
DiplomatenclausuleWhat is a diplomatenclausule in a Dutch lease?A diplomatenclausule is a clause in the lease of an owner's own home, rented out while the owner is away (for example posted abroad), that lets the owner end the tenancy when they come back to live there. It is based on art. 7:274 lid 1 sub b and lid 2 BW and is still allowed after 1 July 2024.HuurbeschermingWhat does huurbescherming mean for tenants in the Netherlands?Huurbescherming is the legal protection of Dutch tenants. A landlord can only end your lease on a ground listed in the law and, if you do not agree, only through a court. It also covers the rent: a points maximum for regulated homes and a cap on yearly increases. Free-sector tenants keep the protection against termination.OnderhuurWhat does onderhuur mean, and is subletting legal in the Netherlands?Onderhuur means subletting: a tenant renting out all or part of their rented home to someone else. If you rent a self-contained home and live there, you may usually sublet part of it unless your contract forbids it. Subletting the whole home needs the landlord's permission and is almost always forbidden in social housing.Tijdelijk huurcontractWhat is a tijdelijk huurcontract and is it still legal?A tijdelijk huurcontract is a fixed-term lease that ends on its end date without the usual protection against termination. Since the Wet vaste huurcontracten of 1 July 2024, landlords may only offer one to specific groups, such as students who move to study, for at most 2 years. For everyone else, the lease runs for an indefinite period.
Paperwork and search
The paperwork and steps of a Dutch rental search.
HospiterenWhat does hospiteren mean when you look for a room?Hospiteren is the way many Dutch shared houses choose a new housemate: the current residents meet candidates, often at a hospiteeravond (an evening of short interviews), and pick who gets the room. It is common for student rooms let by private landlords and some student-housing providers. No law regulates it, but discrimination is forbidden.HuisvestingsvergunningWhat is a huisvestingsvergunning and when do you need one?A huisvestingsvergunning is a housing permit from the municipality that you need before moving into certain homes, usually social rentals and, in some cities, middenhuur homes or homes in designated streets. Without a required permit you may not live there, and the landlord may not let the home to you (Huisvestingswet 2014, art. 8).InschrijfduurWhat does inschrijfduur mean on a Dutch housing waiting list?Inschrijfduur is the time you have been registered as a home seeker on a waiting list for social or student housing. Many homes go to the applicant with the longest inschrijfduur. The clock starts the day you register, not the day you start looking. Each municipality sets its allocation rules in its housing bylaw.Inschrijven bij de gemeenteWhat does inschrijven bij de gemeente mean when you rent?Inschrijven bij de gemeente means registering your address with the municipality in the Basisregistratie Personen (BRP), the Dutch population register. It is a legal duty when you come to live in the Netherlands or move house, with a deadline of 5 days. You need it for a BSN and for huurtoeslag, and not registering can cost up to €325.VerhuurdersverklaringWhat is a verhuurdersverklaring and why do Dutch landlords ask for it?A verhuurdersverklaring is a landlord reference: a written statement from your current or previous landlord confirming that you paid the rent on time, caused no nuisance and left the home in order. Many housing corporations and private landlords ask for one before signing. It has no basis in Dutch rental law: it is a request, not a legal requirement.
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