The Dutch Rental Market Explained: What Renters Need to Know in 2026
If you’re trying to rent a home in the Netherlands right now, you might be asking yourself:
Why does it feel like there are listings everywhere, but nothing I can actually get?
To understand why renting feels so competitive and often frustrating, we need to look beyond prices and into how the market itself is shifting.
Why Rental Supply Is Shrinking in the Netherlands
One of the biggest reasons renting has become more difficult is that fewer homes are being offered as rentals. This is not accidental. On 1 July 2024, the Dutch government introduced the Affordable Rent Act (Wet betaalbare huur). This regulation:
Expanded rent controls into the mid-range rental segment
Limited the maximum rent many private landlords can charge
Reduced long-term profitability for certain rental properties
For renters, the intention is affordability. For landlords, the reality is different.
As a result, many landlords have chosen to:
Sell their properties to owner-occupiers
Withdraw temporarily from the rental market
Renovate or upgrade apartments to move them into a higher rental category later
This creates a quiet but powerful shift: rental homes are leaving the market faster than new ones are added. This is often referred to as the shift from the rental market to the owner-occupied market, and it is one of the main reasons supply keeps tightening year after year.
Supply Exists, But Not Where Renters Are Looking
At the same time, the type of rental homes that do come onto the market no longer matches where most demand is. According to Pararius Rental Report Q4 2025
Around 40% of available rental homes are priced above €2,000
These homes receive only about 21% of total applications
On the other side of the market: the lower-priced rental segment receives the majority of applications that represents a much smaller share of total supply.
In simple terms: Most renters are competing for the same limited group of affordable homes, while higher-priced apartments face significantly less competition.
What Kind of Rental Homes Are Being Offered?
Another important detail for anyone moving to the Netherlands is how homes are delivered. Among new rental listings:
42.6% are unfurnished
25.2% are semi-furnished
32.2% are fully furnished
For renters, this has real consequences:
Unfurnished homes require furniture, time, and longer-term planning
Furnished homes are easier to move into but are often priced higher
Semi-furnished homes are popular, yet limited in availability
This adds another layer of competition. Renters are not only filtered by income and price, but also by readiness and flexibility.
Why This Market Feels Confusing if You’re New Here
If you’re unfamiliar with the Dutch system, the rental market can feel unpredictable or even discouraging. That’s because:
Listings do not reflect actual availability for most budgets
Rules and regulations are rarely explained clearly
Competition is driven by structure, not by effort alone
Many renters assume they are doing something wrong. In reality, they are navigating a market that has fundamentally shifted.
How The Ned|Lon Helps You Navigate the Dutch Rental Market
At The Ned|Lon, our role isn’t just to help you find a rental apartment. It’s to help you understand where you actually stand in the market and how to move strategically.
We guide our clients by:
Setting realistic expectations based on current supply and demand.
Explaining how regulations affect supply and pricing.
Prepare and submit a competitive offer proposal that fit landlord requirements.
Reducing wasted time on homes you were unlikely to secure.
Given the challenging housing market, clarity becomes your strongest advantage.
