Renting in the Netherlands? Since 1 July 2024 an open-ended contract is the rule again for residential property, the deposit is capped at two months’ basic rent for contracts signed on or after 1 July 2023, and your landlord cannot evict you without a court order. These rules are mandatory law and apply regardless of your nationality. Send us your contract and we will tell you what your landlord may and may not do.
Dutch tenancy law gives tenants strong protection, and most of it cannot be contracted away. That is the part international tenants are least aware of: a clause you signed is not automatically valid. We advise and litigate for tenants and for landlords, in residential property as well as in retail and other business premises.
Your contract: fixed term or open-ended?
The Fixed Rental Contracts Act (Wet vaste huurcontracten) entered into force on 1 July 2024. Since then, article 7:271(1) of the Dutch Civil Code provides that a lease entered into for a fixed period does not end merely because that period expires. In practice: an end date in your contract does not by itself mean you have to leave. You keep full rent protection, and your landlord can only terminate on one of the statutory grounds in article 7:274.
A genuinely temporary lease is still possible under article 7:271(2), but only for two years or less and only for categories of tenants designated by government decree, such as students renting temporarily in another municipality, people housed elsewhere during renovation, or tenants coming out of social shelter. Being an expat or a knowledge migrant is not one of those categories. Separate regimes exist for target-group contracts (articles 7:274c to 7:274f), for use that is short-term by its very nature (article 7:232(2)) and for letting under the Vacant Property Act.
| Contract signed | What applies |
|---|---|
| Before 1 July 2024 | Old regime: a fixed-term lease of up to two years (self-contained) or five years (a room) ends after correct notification. |
| On or after 1 July 2024 | Open-ended is the rule. Fixed term only under a statutory exception, and then two years at most. |
Notification is not termination
If your lease does fall under an exception, everything depends on the notification. Under article 7:271(2) the landlord must inform you in writing, no earlier than three months and no later than one month before the end date, of the day on which the lease ends. It is a window, not a deadline: notifying too early does not count either. If the landlord fails to do this, the lease continues for an indefinite period. A notification simply confirms that a permitted fixed-term lease ends on the agreed day; a termination ends a running lease and is only possible on the statutory grounds.
Your deposit
| Contract signed | Maximum deposit |
|---|---|
| On or after 1 July 2023 | Two months’ basic rent (article 7:261b(2) Dutch Civil Code) |
| Before 1 July 2023 | The Dutch government refers to a maximum of three months’ basic rent, based on case law |
Basic rent is the rent excluding service charges and any energy performance fee. The statutory maximum is mandatory law under article 7:265, so a higher amount in your contract is in principle invalid even if you signed it. There is no separate category for expats, furnished homes or short contracts. Source: Dutch government on the rental deposit.
At the end of the tenancy the deposit must, as a rule, be settled within a short period and with a specification of anything withheld. Normal wear and tear is not a valid deduction. Read more: How much deposit can a landlord ask for? and Getting your deposit back at the end of the lease.
Is your rent too high?
If you believe the rent was too high from the start, you can ask the Rent Tribunal (Huurcommissie) to assess the initial rent under article 7:249. The deadline depends on your contract date:
- Fixed-term contract signed before 1 July 2024: assessment is possible during the term and up to six months after it ends.
- Fixed-term contract signed on or after 1 July 2024: only within six months. That extension lapsed with the Fixed Rental Contracts Act.
The Rent Tribunal applies the housing valuation system (points for surface area, facilities, energy label and property value). Since the Affordable Rent Act of 1 July 2024 that system covers far more homes than before. Source: Huurcommissie on assessing the initial rent. Put the deadline in your calendar on the day you sign: the first six months tend to disappear into moving, registering and starting work.
Service charges
Service charges are usually an advance payment, not a fixed price. Your landlord must give you an itemised statement of the actual costs no later than six months after the end of each calendar year (article 7:259(2)). If that statement does not arrive, or does not add up, you can ask the Rent Tribunal to assess what you actually owe (article 7:260). There is no standard “normal” amount; what counts is which items were agreed, whether they may be charged at all, and what they actually cost.
Defects, damp and mould
Your landlord must remedy defects that reduce your enjoyment of the property. Report every defect in writing and keep the proof: a temporary rent reduction can in principle only be granted from the date you reported it, not from the date the defect arose. Do not withhold rent on your own initiative, however justified it feels: that creates arrears, and arrears are the most common ground for termination and eviction.
Eviction
A landlord cannot evict you. Terminating a lease of built immovable property for a tenant’s breach requires a court decision under article 7:231(1), and the actual eviction is carried out by a bailiff. Changing the locks, cutting off utilities or putting your belongings outside is in principle unlawful, and you can claim restoration of your tenancy, often in summary proceedings. If you have been served with a summons, the deadlines are short: get advice the same week.
Business premises
Retail and hospitality premises (article 7:290) and offices and other business space (article 7:230a) follow entirely different rules on term, termination protection and eviction. Contracts here may lawfully depart from the statutory scheme far more widely than in residential letting, so the contract itself carries much more weight. We assist tenants and landlords with defects, rent reviews, transfer of the lease, subletting and arrears.
How we work
We review a rental contract within a few working days as a rule, and tell you which clauses conflict with mandatory law and are therefore in principle void. The first consultation is free of charge and confidential. We speak Dutch, English, Turkish and Polish, and we have offices in Rotterdam, The Hague, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven and Tilburg.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have the same rights as a Dutch tenant?
Yes. Dutch residential tenancy law is mandatory law and applies regardless of your nationality or residence status. A higher deposit or a weaker contract because you come from abroad is in principle invalid.
My contract has an end date. Do I have to leave?
Not automatically. Since 1 July 2024 a fixed-term lease does not end merely because the term expires. Only a permitted fixed-term lease, with correct and timely notification, ends on the agreed day.
How much deposit may my landlord ask?
For contracts signed on or after 1 July 2023, no more than two months’ basic rent (article 7:261b(2)). For older contracts the Dutch government refers to a maximum of three months’ basic rent.
Can my landlord evict me if I miss a rent payment?
Not without a court decision. A court weighs the seriousness of the breach against your interest in keeping the home. There is no statutory rule that three months’ arrears always justifies termination.
Can I still challenge my rent after six months?
The initial-rent assessment closes after six months, but a later rent increase can still be challenged separately. Ask us which route is still open in your case.
Can my rent simply be increased?
No. A rent increase is bound by rules, and in the regulated segment by a statutory maximum percentage. The caps for 2026 are:
| Segment | Maximum increase 2026 | From |
|---|---|---|
| Social housing / regulated | 4.1% | 1 July 2026 |
| Mid-market rent | 6.1% | 1 January 2026 |
| Liberalised (free) sector | 4.4% | 1 January 2026 |
These percentages are set anew each year, so check that you are not reading a lapsed year. The formal requirements matter just as much: the proposal must reach you in writing, at least two months before the proposed commencement date (Article 7:252(1) Dutch Civil Code), normally no more than once every twelve months, and it must state the old rent, the new rent and the basis for the increase. If you disagree, the Rent Tribunal is the route in the regulated segment. A landlord who implements an increase without meeting the formal requirements is in a weak position.
What may the landlord withhold from your deposit?
Only amounts you demonstrably owe: unpaid rent, damage that goes beyond normal wear and tear, and repair or cleaning costs that are for your account under the contract. Anything withheld beyond that is in principle unjustified. The hinge is the distinction between wear and damage.
| May be withheld (in principle) | May not be withheld (in principle) |
|---|---|
| Outstanding rent instalments | Wallpaper or paint faded over time |
| Holes in walls or doors | Fine hairline cracks in plasterwork |
| Broken sanitary fittings | Floor covering worn after years of use |
| Your own alterations not removed | Limescale after normal cleaning |
| Documented cleaning costs after a dirty handover | “Administration” or “handling” fees |
A landlord who withholds something must specify and substantiate it — with photographs, a quotation or an invoice. A round figure without explanation rarely survives before the subdistrict court. And without evidence of the condition at the start of the tenancy, it becomes difficult for the landlord to show that a defect was caused by you.
A deposit and the last month’s rent are not the same thing. A landlord may in principle set off an established rent debt against the deposit; a tenant may not unilaterally decide to “use up” the deposit on the final month. If you do, you are formally in default for that month — with collection costs, statutory interest and, in the worst case, termination proceedings as the risk.
Rent arrears and eviction, step by step
Every stage leaves room for a defence, and the earlier you act the more room there is.
| Stage | What happens | Your room to act |
|---|---|---|
| Reminder | the landlord demands payment | propose a payment arrangement |
| Collection agency / bailiff | costs are added to the claim | have the level of collection costs checked |
| Summons | termination and eviction are claimed | file a defence; the deadlines are short |
| Judgment | the court terminates the lease or dismisses the claim | argue for a longer period before eviction |
| Service and eviction | the bailiff carries it out | enforcement dispute in exceptional cases |
The often-quoted “three months’ arrears” is not a statutory threshold — it appears in no article of the law. It is a rule of thumb from case law applied to the test in Article 6:265(1) DCC: every breach gives a right to terminate unless the breach, given its particular nature or minor significance, does not justify termination with its consequences. The Supreme Court requires all circumstances to be weighed. So there is no rule that three months always justifies termination, nor that less than three months never does.
When do you need a tenancy lawyer?
| Situation | Why now |
|---|---|
| You have been summoned for termination or eviction | the deadlines are short and missing them cannot be repaired |
| The landlord is keeping the whole deposit | have the substantiation checked before you agree |
| Your contract contains a penalty or termination clause you do not understand | many such clauses are void in principle |
| Rent arrears have built up | before the summons there is still room to arrange something |
| You rent out or rent business premises | a different regime, with different deadlines |
| You are leaving the country with a deposit outstanding | collecting from abroad is considerably harder |
Costs. Always ask in advance about the fee structure and about government-funded legal aid. In a dispute over a deposit of a few thousand euros, the cost of assistance must be proportionate to what is at stake — that is a conversation for the start, not the end.
Checklist for a deposit dispute
- Do you have the tenancy agreement, including the deposit clause?
- Is there a handover report or photographs of the condition at the start?
- Do you have dated photographs of the final handover?
- Is the deposit higher than the statutory maximum for residential property?
- Has the landlord specified and substantiated the deduction in writing?
- Has the statutory repayment period expired?
- Have you put the landlord in default in writing, with a clear deadline?
- Are you disputing the service-charge statement as well, or only the deposit?
- Is there still rent outstanding that the landlord could set off?
- Are you still in the Netherlands, or will collection have to run from abroad?
Get in touch
Send us your rental contract, the letter you received, or both. Contact us for a free and non-binding first assessment. Also see our Dutch tenancy law page and our step-by-step plan for expats with rental problems.
This page is published under the responsibility of Ömür Arslan, tenancy lawyer at Arslan Advocaten, registered in the Netherlands Bar’s register of legal practice areas for tenancy law and social security law. Last updated: 13 September 2026. Dutch tenancy law has changed substantially in recent years; which rules apply to you depends on the date your contract was signed. Have your own contract assessed before drawing conclusions from general information, including this page.