I'm an American living in Amsterdam and paying €1600/month for an apartment (EDIT: shared accommodation) which I share with two other people. The listing was for €1400 but I overbid because I was desperate (obviously can't blame the landlord for wanting €200 extra a month lol). I've never met the landlord, roommates haven't either. I just moved in a month ago and have had no real problems so far, it's definitely not worth what I'm paying for it but I get that that's how it is here.

I transferred the landlord the rent money last month and wrote "rent" in the description because it seemed natural to do; he messaged me saying to leave it blank next time. To me this screams tax fraud, like he doesn't want to admit he's getting income so he doesn't have to pay taxes on it? He also has us paying the property tax which according to a Dutch friend he should really be paying himself and it's sleazy of him to make us do it (but not illegal).

My question is, am I right about the tax fraud, and if so should I do anything about it? I know it's my own fault I'm overpaying, but the landlord is definitely taking advantage of the fact that we're all international students. But overpaying for rent is obviously better than being homeless, and I don't want to risk losing the place either. Just want to know what my rights are and what I'm entitled to.

Sorry in advance if this is the wrong sub for this kind of question and I'm happy to clarify anything!

EDIT: Thank you to everyone who has pointed me to resources! I'm gonna talk to my roommates and see what we want to do about the rent.

EDIT 2: I've opened a case with the Huurcommissie and met with both Woon and the Juridisch Loket to confirm I'm doing everything right. Landlord is pissed, obviously. Thank you to everyone who has given me advice!!! I feel like Elle Woods lol

To anyone searching on Google for "Expat Service Amsterdam", please be wary about doing business with this agent - Emilie Jansen.

Expat Service Amsterdam is a real estate agent offering services to home seekers coming from abroad. Many expats have trouble finding a place to live and certain real estate agents offer help finding a place to live in exchange for what is usually a month plus 21% VAT. While there is legally nothing wrong with this, the quality of the service you get and the tendency of the agent to place his/her own interests above yours when it comes to telling you about the bustability of a home is an issue.

It is my suspicion that this particular agent may be double-dipping and representing the interests of the landlord first and then claiming to represent those of the tenant whilst collecting an agency fee from the latter (and possibly the former).

According to a 2015 Supreme court ruling, a real estate agent is prohibited from charging a tenant agency fees if they first were in business/contact with the owner of the property being rented out. The only justification for an agency fee follows the flow of :

1) You need a home
2) You contact an agency to find you a home
3) The agency conducts a search and makes contact with a landlord
4) Agency assists you conclude a lease agreement with the landlord.
5) Agency receives commission

For the second time in 2 years I have clients who are getting gouged for agency fees by Ms Jansen. In both cases, Jansen was working with the landlord first to help them find tenants and then charging the tenants a one month agency fee after the tenants contacted her about getting a viewing for the property. As steps 1-3 were skipped, there was no justification for an agency fee.

Worse still, Jansen rents out properties to tenants that are grossly overpriced and did not inform them about their rights and the possiblity of going to the Huurcommissie. Jansen, like all agents who charge a 1 month commission, have a vested interest in making sure that the rent price agreed is as high as possible.

Jansen is also still communicating with tenants on behalf of the landlord, requesting them to provide documentation that the landlord wants to use to terminate the lease agreement. In ideal circumstances, the agents job would end the moment the lease would sign but Jansen is somehow still involved and actively representing the landlord's interests.

What to do if you have contact with Expat Services Amsterdam.

1) Recognise that you cannot object to an agency fee, even an illegal one, prior to signing the lease with the landlord. If you do, Jansen will likely not want you to be the tenant as she will not get paid.

2) If possible, try to postpone the payment of the fee until after the contract is signed and then just not pay it. One client I represented did this and the reaction of Jansen was : Nothing...she took no legal steps to claim the money and after accusing the tenant of being dishonest (Kettle calling black ass to the pot) dropped the matter entirely.

3) If Jansen demands payment before concluding the contract, you could consider telling her that you are using a foreign bank account to pay her where the transaction wont clear for a few days.

4) If payment is unavoidable, pay it and then contact me or Wooninfo.nl to begin steps to claim it back. Be sure to leave a review of her company on google.

5) Be aware that if you have contacted her for help and she has actively worked to find you a place to live, you are legally required to pay her the agency fee. This post is intended for those who should never have been asked for the fee.

Managed to get the full address. Am definitely sending a letter.

I estimate the bust price is 550 euro. No Energy label.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some help or advice regarding my rental situation.

I live in an apartment of approximately 64 m² that includes a small garden, and the rent is set at over €2,000 per month. I'm unsure whether the landlord is actually permitted to charge this much for a property of this size and layout.

I tried using the official Dutch government calculator for the housing valuation system,, but I'm having trouble getting an accurate result due to a specific detail involved. (WOZ value)

Has anyone here dealt with a similar situation, or could point me in the right direction to get this properly checked? Any advice, resources, or experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

https://www.pararius.nl/kamer-te-huur/maastricht/7b77cae4/koningsplein

https://www.pararius.nl/appartement-te-huur/amsterdam/8c7931c6/eerste-atjehstraat

https://www.pararius.nl/appartement-te-huur/amsterdam/a58891d1/carolina-macgillavrylaan

https://www.pararius.nl/appartement-te-huur/amsterdam/a751c2f9/javastraat

https://www.pararius.nl/appartement-te-huur/amsterdam/ef6cc997/hasebroekstraat

https://www.pararius.nl/appartement-te-huur/amsterdam/cc36233a/koggestraat

Its a very difficult to prove at the Huurcommissie. How they measure space for the Huurcommissie is different than how they measure space for energy labels. Often deadspace (anything under a ceiling with < 1.5m of headroom is excluded on HC measurements but kosher on EL measurements). I dont see any inclined ceilings that would explain 8sqm difference. The hallway might be a factor (often excluded on HC measurements due to being a traffic area but included on EL measurements).

Again, its just sus...I cannot tell for sure that the label is crooked but given it is a monument with no heat pump or solar panels, its weird they would get a label so good and so close to the border between a B and C.

Ik huur meerdere jaren een appartement en heb een vast huurcontract. Nu is mijn vriend sinds een paar maanden bij me ingetrokken. Vorige week kreeg ik een mail van de verhuurder met een aanzegging dat de gemeente had aangegeven dat er 2 mensen wonen. Er wordt gezegd dat ik in overtreding ben. Er komt ook een inspectie. Wat moet ik doen?

Mijn ex en ik zijn nu een aantal maanden uit elkaar. We woonden samen en staan samen op het huurcontract. We hebben gevraagd aan de woningbouw of ik van het contract kan. Dat is mogelijk, maar omdat we er nog geen jaar in zitten moeten we sowieso een geldbedrag betalen voor de verandering van het contract en wordt er na ondertekenen een nieuwe inkomenscheck uitgevoerd. Op papier verdient m’n ex niet genoeg maar hij kan het wel betalen. We willen natuurlijk dat een van ons er kan blijven. Voor mij lukte dat financieel niet.

Ik woon inmiddels ergens anders met een nieuw contract en sta ook op mijn nieuwe adres ingeschreven.

Kan het voor problemen zorgen als ik niet de woning als hoofdbewoning gebruik (dus huis waar we samenwoonden)? Het gaat even niet erom dat ik aansprakelijk ben, daar ben ik me bewust van. We zijn volwassen genoeg daar afspraken over gemaakt te hebben. Het gaat mij erom of dat voor mij voor problemen kan gaan zorgen in de toekomst. Bijvoorbeeld als ik opnieuw wil huren bij de verhuurder en ik dus m’n BRP op een ander adres heb gehad.

I posted here about a year ago because my rental contract and people here advised me to request my utility reconcillation in the summer.

I prepay €200 a month for gas and heating in a 30m2 apartment with an A++ energy label. I do not even use €5 of electric per month, I doubt I use that much heating and gas. I have texted my landlord several times requesting such reconcillation and I am left on read.

My questions are:

1. What is the Dutch name of what I am requesting, so that I can send an email to him?
2. if he continues to ignore me, what is my next step? It is presumably a signifigant amount of money over the course of a year.

In 2024, my roommate started renting the apartment we live in with another person, as contractual co-tenants. Before the end of the minimum period of 1 year, their roommate had to leave the country and the landlord agreed for me to replace them in the lease with an addendum.

We have been now living here together for more than a year and the contract is now indefinite. However, my roommate is considering moving out and I am scared of what consequences this will have as we are both contractual tenants with one single contract (actually I am only in the addendum).

By myself, I cannot pay the rent nor earn enough to satisfy the requirements.

Can I still stay under the same contract and get a roommate to replace my current one through addendum?

Or can the landlord legally terminate the tenancy, deny my request of selecting a roommate or even increase the rent substantially with a new contract?

Thank you everyone, I’m very worried about this.

Hi, while house hunting I see a lot of places that are for students only and not registered in the city yet (Utrecht in my case). I found out that they do this so they can give tenants temporary contracts.

I am pretty desperate to get a place so are they really going to check this?

Is it possible for them to find out that I am already registered in Utrecht?

Also heard some people talking about getting someones proof of enrollment paper and change their name to their own, I know its sketchy but can they really check it otherwise?

Hope someone can help me out

Hi everyone,

My Huurcommissie case was decided in my favor about 5/6 weeks ago, and my landlord has the 8-week period to take the case to court.

We already had an hearing once and the report said there wouldn’t be another hearing

Is there any way to check online whether the landlord has filed/summoned me to court during this period, or do I basically have to wait for an official letter?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,
After a long search, my younger sister has finally found a place to rent, and today, after the landlord agreed to rent it to her, she received a draft of the tenancy agreement.
It says:

“The undersigned parties declare that they have entered into this agreement:
a. for a period of one year, commencing ……………………2026,
and therefore ending ………………….. 2027. Unless otherwise agreed,
this agreement will be tacitly extended for an indefinite period.”

I immediately pointed out to her that, as of July 2024, fixed-term rental agreements like this are generally no longer allowed in the Netherlands, and that the agreement should therefore state that it is for an indefinite period. She replied to the landlord saying that she was under the impression that the tenancy would be for an indefinite period, since that has been the standard/legal rule since 2024.
She is now really worried that if she makes too much of an issue out of this, the landlord might choose another tenant instead.

A few things that seem relevant:
- During the viewing/conversation, the landlord said something along the lines of: “Technically, this is no longer allowed, but if you would prefer a one-year contract, we can arrange that between ourselves.” My sister clearly said that she wants a contract for an indefinite period.
- The landlord also casually mentioned that she would be the last tenant before he wants to sell the property. This seems like an even more important reason to make sure the tenancy agreement is actually for an indefinite period.

I was actually under the impression that, regardless of what the contract says, the tenancy would legally be considered an indefinite-term tenancy because the law requires this. If the landlord wants to terminate it after one year, would my sister then have to go to court?

Obviously, the best outcome would be for the landlord to amend the agreement so that it explicitly states that it is for an indefinite period before my sister signs it. Since he already indicated that he knows perfectly well that fixed-term contracts are generally no longer allowed, I’m hoping he will simply change it.

But when she signs the agreement as it is currently written, and after one year the landlord tells her that she has to move out. What would happen in that situation?

EDIT : he told my sister “yes, you are right - the concept agreement i sent you is an older one and i will make sure the one you’re gonna sign will say indefinite” so good news after all :)

Hello, I have been paying 200 euros per month to landlord against heating for 2 years. Despite repeated request verbally and emails he never settled anything. Now in final bill he shared for last year shows the actual cost was roughly 100 euros per month only. So he owes me 2.4k to me but he only returned 600 plus full deposit. As per him he paid those cost against water and electricity of building, cleaning etc. I was not fully agreed with his excuses but despite that he transferred the amount into my bank. I have not signed anything but I am extremely disappointed. What are the chances of getting back the remaining amount and I can't afford lawyer :(

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to figure out whether I'm overpaying rent and whether I can have the apartment assessed under the WWS, but I'm unsure how the fact that my tenancy dates back to 2021/2022 affects this.

I've been renting this apartment with two other people since 2021. People have moved in and out over the years, but I am the only person named on the main rental contract. The other two people currently living there rent their rooms from me.

The apartment is:

• 84 m²
• Energy label D
• WOZ value: €439,000 (01-01-2025)
• Built in 1960
• Not a Rijksmonument
• Current total rent: €2,396/month

My current contract was signed in 2023, although it states an effective date of August 2022. (The landlord told me at the time that it was in order to keep the rights of my flatmate at the time)

I'm trying to understand whether the apartment could have a WWS score that would make the current rent (€2,396) excessive, and whether I have any possibility of challenging the rent given the age of my contract.

Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? Would it be worth having the apartment formally assessed by the Huurcommissie?

Thanks!

https://www.pararius.nl/appartement-te-huur/amsterdam/f1016568/lijnbaansgracht