Landlord obligations in the Netherlands: what to arrange

Short version: as a landlord in the Netherlands you work under three laws: the Good Landlordship Act (Wet goed verhuurderschap, since 1 July 2023, with parts since 1 January 2024), the Affordable Rent Act (Wet betaalbare huur) and the Fixed-Term Tenancy Act (Wet vaste huurcontracten), both since 1 July 2024. Since 1 January 2026, breaking the good-landlordship rules can cost up to €27,500, rising to €110,000 for a repeat within four years.

According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), individuals owned 529,000 rental homes on 1 January 2025. A home you keep after moving out falls under the same duties as a flat you bought to let, and each section below lists what you arrange and from which date.

What must you put in writing?

Since 1 July 2023 you confirm a verbal lease in writing. The national rules of good landlordship also require you to give the tenant written information on:

• the rights and duties of tenant and landlord;
• the deposit amount, the return deadline and how it is paid back;
• your contact details as landlord;
• the service costs;
• since 1 January 2024, the contact details of the municipal reporting point (meldpunt).

Existing leases had to be updated by 1 July 2024. Since 1 January 2025, every new lease also comes with the points calculation of the home, free-sector homes included.

How much rent and service costs may you charge?

Since 1 July 2024 every home with up to 186 points has a maximum rent. From 1 January 2026 that is €932.93 for social rent (up to 143 points) and €1,228.07 for mid-rent at 186 points. The points total, and with it your maximum rent price under the WWS, depends on factors such as the energy label and the WOZ value (the municipal property valuation).

You raise the rent once a year. In 2026 the caps are 4.1% for social rent (1 July 2026 to 1 July 2027), 6.1% for mid-rent and 4.4% for the free sector (from 1 January 2026). The differences between social rent, mid-rent and the free sector shape your rental income for years after the start.

Service costs follow the actual costs, with no profit. You send a yearly itemised overview within 6 months after the calendar year (article 7:259(2) of the Dutch Civil Code), which means by 1 July. The tenant can take it to the Huurcommissie (the rent tribunal) for 24 months after that deadline. If you start a Huurcommissie case yourself, the fee is €500, refunded if you win.

How much deposit may you ask?

For leases from 1 July 2023 the deposit is capped at two months’ bare rent (kale huur, rent without service costs). Older leases have a three-month cap through case law.

When the lease ends, you return the deposit within 14 days, or within 30 days if you offset costs. You may only offset:

• rent arrears;
• service costs;
• damage the tenant caused;
• the energy performance fee (energieprestatievergoeding).

Administration costs are off limits, and you itemise every deduction in writing.

How do you select a tenant within the rules?

Discrimination and intimidation are banned. Since 1 July 2023 you select transparently and tell rejected applicants why. Since 1 January 2024 you also need a written selection procedure that you publish.

If you hire a letting agent, you pay the agent, and the agent may not charge the tenant as well. If you let to a migrant worker, the lease stays separate from the employment contract and you give the information in a language the tenant understands.

Can you still offer a fixed-term lease?

Since the Fixed-Term Tenancy Act took effect on 1 July 2024, an open-ended lease is the norm. The Rijksoverheid rules on open-ended leases allow a fixed-term lease of up to 2 years only for these tenants:

• students moving to another municipality for their studies;
• tenants rehoused during a renovation;
• people leaving a shelter or in a social emergency;
• second-chance tenants;
• young people aged 16 to 27 taking over the lease of a deceased parent or carer;
• separated parents renting near their children;
• workers on the Wadden islands;
• status holders housed through the COA (the asylum reception agency).

You announce the end 1 to 3 months in advance. If the lease carries on past its end date, it becomes open-ended. Fixed-term leases signed before 1 July 2024 stay valid.

What does your municipality regulate?

Since 1 January 2024 every municipality has a reporting point where tenants can raise complaints about landlords, and since 1 January 2025 municipalities also enforce the rent rules. In designated areas a municipality may require a landlord licence (verhuurvergunning) with extra conditions. If you were fined in the previous 8 years, the municipality can refuse that licence, and as a last resort it can take over management of the home.

If you buy a home to let, the buy-to-let protection (opkoopbescherming) also counts: it has existed since 2022 and about 70 municipalities use it.

How does the tax office treat your rental home?

A rented-out home falls in box 3. According to the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax office), 2026 brings:

• a tax-free allowance of €59,357 (€118,714 for tax partners);
• a deemed return of 6.00% on other assets, rented homes included;
• a rate of 36%, with the option to prove your actual return instead (tegenbewijs).

The home counts at its WOZ value times the vacancy ratio (leegwaarderatio). That ratio is 73% when the annual rent is below 1% of the WOZ value and rises to 100% at 5% or more (table for 2023 to 2026). If you buy a home you will not live in yourself, transfer tax has been 8% since 1 January 2026, down from 10.4%.

Which plans should you follow?

These proposals are not law and have no confirmed start date:

• Energy label: rental homes with label E, F or G would need at least label D by 1 January 2029 (draft decree sent to parliament on 10 July 2026).
• Suitable Leases Act (Wet passende huurcontracten): fixed-term leases for all students and labour migrants, and short stay capped at 30 days (consultation from 2 July to 28 August 2026).
• Box 3 on actual returns: passed by the Tweede Kamer on 12 February 2026; the Eerste Kamer vote has been postponed.
• Transfer tax: a cut to 7% has been proposed and is not final.

Until a proposal becomes law, you run your rental under the rules in force today.