If you have to move out because of renovation, your landlord may owe you a contribution towards removal and refurbishment costs. For self-contained accommodation, the statutory minimum contribution is €7,926 from 28 February 2026. The conditions, the date of the move and the type of accommodation are decisive; not every building project entitles you to this amount.
Nederlands: Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands: Verhuiskostenvergoeding bij renovatie en sloop in 2026
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The payment is intended to absorb the financial consequences of a necessary move. It must be distinguished from a voluntary buy-out sum to end the tenancy and from compensation for, for example, damaged belongings.
When is moving out necessary
Look at the works and their consequences for normal living. Can essential facilities be used while the work is being carried out? Is it safe to stay? And does your personal situation make staying in the home during that period unreasonable? A general announcement that residents “can simply stay” need not lead to the same outcome for every home or every resident.
If you move solely out of personal preference while the renovation does not make it necessary, no statutory entitlement arises as a matter of course. Ask in advance for a written position on the need to move, and set your arguments against the schedule and the work plan.
How much is the payment
The Dutch government publishes the current removal allowance. For qualifying self-contained accommodation, the minimum from 28 February 2026 is €7,926. For the preceding period from 28 February 2025 up to and including 27 February 2026, it was €7,673. If you move at a later date, check the current amount again.
The same statutory minimum does not apply to a rented room. A social plan may also contain additional arrangements. Read such a plan together with the individual agreement; a project brochure is not always the complete scheme that applies to your situation.
Temporary decant home or guest accommodation
A payment may also be relevant when you move temporarily. Moving out and back during a single renovation project does not automatically give rise to two full minimum contributions. Check which scheme applies and what has been agreed about returning.
A short stay in fully furnished guest accommodation may call for a different assessment than moving your household to a temporary decant home. What matters, among other things, is what you actually have to take with you and arrange. So do not let the word “temporary” alone decide your entitlement.
Payment in money or help with moving
The landlord may offer to organise the removal work or the refurbishment. Make clear which services are included and whether they replace a cash payment. Have it recorded what happens in the event of delay, damage or work that is not carried out.
Do not sign a general full and final discharge while your rights or costs are still uncertain. An arrangement on removal costs need not automatically settle all claims for damage caused by the works or other shortcomings as well. State precisely which matters have been settled.
How to support your request
Keep the renovation proposal, correspondence about the need to move, moving dates and arrangements about temporary housing. Draw up an overview of the costs and distinguish the statutory contribution from any additional damage. Ask the landlord for a specific payment date.
If there is a dispute about the project itself, also read renovation of the rented home. If the matter is mainly a voluntary termination in exchange for payment, see a buy-out offer from the landlord.
The need to move is the first question
Do not start with the amount of the payment, but with the reason why you have to leave. Which works make staying impossible or unreasonable? How long will essential facilities be unavailable, and could a temporary measure in the home offer a solution? Set the works against your specific situation. A general preference to avoid construction noise is not the same justification as the absence of a usable home.
Ask the landlord to confirm in writing whether he considers the move necessary. If you disagree on this, gather the work plan, the schedule and the facilities offered. Do not move solely on the basis of an unclear telephone conversation on the assumption that a particular payment has thereby been promised. A clear agreement in advance can prevent an evidential problem afterwards.
A mixed project of maintenance and improvement
Where renovation and maintenance are combined in one project, it must be examined what makes leaving necessary. Have the works broken down. A landlord may call a project “maintenance” while substantial improvement is also being carried out, but the reverse can happen too. The actual works and their consequences matter more than the name on the brochure.
Ask for each intervention whether you have to leave the home for it and why. If only an optional improvement causes the move, different questions may arise than with a necessary project carried out by the landlord. Have the legal classification assessed before you sign a waiver. The article on renovation of the rented home helps you to structure the elements of the plan.
The moving date and the current minimum amount
The applicable amount is adjusted periodically. Keep proof of the relevant moving date and consult the rules belonging to that period. The minimum of €7,926 mentioned in this article applies from 28 February 2026 to qualifying self-contained accommodation. Do not adopt this amount without checking for a move in a later year.
A statutory minimum contribution is not simply a claim for reimbursement of the removal invoice alone. Above all, you must show that you fall within the scheme. For an additional damages claim on top of the contribution, the specific heads of loss and the legal basis are separately relevant. The Dutch government explains the amount and the conditions of application.
Staying elsewhere or actually relocating the household
The words “guest accommodation” or “decant home” do not by themselves decide the payment. Describe what you actually have to do: are you only taking clothes to a furnished place to stay, or do furniture, appliances and the household have to be moved and later brought back? The furnishing and availability of the accommodation offered are also relevant to the assessment.
Ask in advance for an inventory list and the conditions of the temporary stay. Note which of your own belongings cannot stay in place and who will pack or store them. Then have it assessed which legal consequences attach to this specific situation. A short duration does not automatically exclude every claim, but nor does it automatically give you a right to the full minimum contribution. Avoid drawing conclusions solely from the number of nights spent elsewhere.
Help with moving is not automatically the same as payment
An offer of a removal company, floor coverings or painting can be of real practical value. Have it written down exactly what will be provided, on which date and with which quality arrangements. Check whether the landlord is offering this in addition to, or instead of, a cash payment. According to the government’s guidance, within the applicable minimum contribution scheme you are not simply obliged to accept an offer in kind in place of the cash payment.
Also consider what happens if the help is not fully provided. Who pays for necessary extra storage or a second appointment with the removal company? A rough valuation of services by the landlord does not prove that your situation has been fully resolved. Record your choice and any set-off clearly, so that no dispute arises afterwards about an alleged full buy-out.
Reading a social plan alongside your individual agreement
A social plan may provide for extra support, assistance with moving or other payments. Check which residents and homes the plan applies to and which version is in force. A summary on a website need not show all the conditions. Ask for the full text and the annexes that are relevant to your address.
Pay attention to how the various amounts relate to each other. Is an amount a statutory contribution, an additional project payment or an advance payment? Will certain items be set off later? Also note the conditions for returning and the consequences of choosing a different permanent home. An adviser can help determine which rights follow directly from the law and which additional rights arise from the specific arrangements.
Do not make payment and handover unnecessarily dependent on each other
Discuss when you need the money and at what point the contribution will be paid out. Moving often involves expenses before the old home has been finally handed back. A clear payment arrangement prevents you from having to pay necessary costs up front without certainty about how they will be settled.
Ask whether an advance payment is possible and what conditions apply to it. When the final account is drawn up, check whether the landlord wants to set off other items, such as alleged damage or rent arrears. Such counterclaims must be assessed on their own legal basis. An arrangement on the contribution need not automatically mean that you accept every other settlement. Keep the supporting documents and amounts separate for each subject.
Example of a clearly defined request
A request might read: “According to the renovation plan of [date], I must leave my home for [period] because of [works]. I ask you to confirm in writing which removal and refurbishment contribution applies to my situation, when it will be paid and which temporary housing and return arrangements apply. My request concerns this contribution; any other damage has not yet been settled by it.”
This is a sample text that must be adapted to the arrangements and facts. Enclose the plan and the correspondence about leaving. If the landlord disputes the need to move, state specifically which facility is lacking and why the alternative offered is inadequate. For a voluntary departure in exchange for a negotiable sum, the landlord’s buy-out offer is the appropriate separate topic.
Removal allowance when the rented home is demolished
A removal allowance may also be relevant when you have to move because the rented home is being demolished. The Dutch government expressly names demolition as a possible ground for the payment. In addition, have it established how your tenancy agreement will be wound up. An announcement of a demolition project does not in itself settle the departure date, replacement home and financial arrangements.
If you are leaving permanently, ask about the accommodation offered, the new rent, the start date and any double housing costs. Record whether a return after the new build has been agreed and on what conditions. Keep the demolition notice, the social plan and the personal offer together. Have it stated separately which amount relates to the removal contribution and which additional costs or claims are being settled. Do not terminate the tenancy yourself merely because you are asked to, without understanding the consequences for your position. That way the departure arrangement can be assessed before you hand in the keys.
Frequently asked questions about removal costs
Do I always receive €7,926 in the event of renovation
No. The amount is tied to the applicable statutory scheme, type of accommodation and period. The need to move is an important condition.
Do I have to prove every euro of the minimum with invoices
A statutory minimum contribution is not the same as reimbursement of proven invoices only. You do still need to prove the conditions and the need to move.
Can I receive more than the minimum
That is possible, for example through additional arrangements or a separate damages claim. A higher amount is not automatically owed.
Does the same scheme apply to maintenance only
Not necessarily. The classification of the project and the reason for the move must be assessed.
Do I receive two payments if I move out and back
Not automatically. For a single renovation project with a temporary stay in a decant home, the applicable scheme usually involves one contribution. Check the temporary agreement and any additional arrangements on specific extra costs. The move out and the move back are not automatically two separate claims.
May the landlord offer only a removal company
An offer in kind can be made, but within the applicable minimum contribution scheme it does not automatically replace your entitlement to money. Discuss what you choose and record it in writing. The same statutory minimum does not apply to room rentals; have the specific situation assessed.
Do I lose my entitlement if I arrange boxes and transport myself
Not for that reason alone. Whether a statutory entitlement exists depends on the conditions of the scheme, including the necessity of the move. Do keep proof of the move and of the arrangements made. Any additional costs still require their own supporting evidence.
Does a payment also apply if I move somewhere else permanently
That requires an assessment of the reason for leaving and the applicable termination or renovation arrangement. A permanent move may be arranged differently from a temporary stay followed by a return. So do not sign a general termination without checking what happens to the contribution and other claims.
Help with assessing your payment
Arslan Advocaten can compare the renovation plan and the arrangement offered with your statutory position before you agree or move.
