Renting and buying
In the KNM theme Wonen (living), DUO asks about basic facts of housing in the Netherlands. You need to know the difference between renting and buying, and which person or organisation fits which situation.
A common exam fact is sociale huurwoning (social housing). In the example exam, DUO asks what that is. The correct idea is that it is a home with a maximum rent price. This is a fact question, not a question about your opinion.
Another common housing fact is who helps when you want to buy a home. In the example exam, DUO asks who can help a couple buy a house. The correct answer is makelaar (estate agent). This fits a typical KNM pattern: one correct institution or professional, with wrong options from the wrong scope.
Dutch example:
Erik woont in een sociale huurwoning. Wat is dat?
English meaning: Erik lives in social housing. What is that?
Een woning met een maximum huurprijs.
English meaning: A home with a maximum rent price.
Dutch example:
Job en Kelly willen een huis kopen. Wie kan ze daarbij helpen?
English meaning: Job and Kelly want to buy a house. Who can help them with that?
Een makelaar.
English meaning: An estate agent.
For the exam, focus on the function of the word. If DUO shows a house, an apartment block, or a Te Koop sign, the picture gives context. The answer still comes from your civic knowledge, not from guessing from the photo.
Registering with the gemeente
When you live in the Netherlands, the gemeente (municipality) is one of the key public bodies in daily life. For KNM, you should recognise that local government is the place for local matters connected to where you live.
The exam after July 2025 tests knowledge of how Dutch society works. That means DUO is more likely to ask which institution fits a situation than to ask what you personally should do step by step. So for this topic, you should connect housing and local life with the gemeente as the local authority.
This matters because KNM often uses distractors with the wrong institution. A housing or neighbourhood situation can be placed next to other real institutions, but only one answer fits the local role. Learning the name and role together helps you choose faster.
A good study habit is to group words by role: gemeente for local government, makelaar for buying a home, and landlord or rent terms for renting. That matches the way KNM questions are built.
Waste, energy and the neighbourhood
Living in the Netherlands also means dealing with waste, energy use, and shared neighbourhood space. In KNM, these topics belong to everyday life in your own living environment, so DUO can test them as practical knowledge.
The exam often frames a question with a person and a simple situation. Then you answer with one fact, one place, or one institution. A known example from the exam is about returning a can with statiegeld (deposit refund). The correct answer is that you return it at a supermarket.
Dutch example:
Wouter heeft een leeg blikje met statiegeld. Waar kan hij dit blikje inleveren?
English meaning: Wouter has an empty can with a deposit refund. Where can he return this can?
Bij een supermarkt.
English meaning: At a supermarket.
This shows how DUO tests daily living. The photo may show the can, but the real task is to know the place. The same logic can appear with neighbourhood topics: the image gives the setting, and you choose the fact that matches life in the Netherlands.
For energy and neighbourhood questions, keep your preparation simple. Learn the everyday Dutch words, connect them to a place or function, and expect short multiple-choice questions with three options.
What the KNM exam asks about this
The KNM exam is a computer test from DUO with 40 multiple-choice questions. You get 45 minutes, and each question has exactly three options: A, B, or C.
Questions are grouped by theme, and Wonen is one of the official themes. The live exam uses a picture with visible Dutch text and an optional read-aloud button. The audio is only support. KNM does not test listening here.
For this topic, DUO tends to ask fact questions such as:
- what a housing term means
- who helps with buying a home
- which institution or place fits a daily-life situation
- where you go with a simple housing or neighbourhood task
The most useful exam skill is matching the right role to the right situation. A makelaar helps with buying. A gemeente is local government. A supermarket is the place to return a can with statiegeld.
Expect short Dutch question types like these:
Wat is ...?
English meaning: What is ...?
Wie kan ... helpen?
English meaning: Who can help ...?
Waar kan hij dit ... inleveren?
English meaning: Where can he return this ...?
When you practise, don't only memorise one answer. Also study why the other two answers are wrong. That is how DUO builds many KNM questions: one correct institution, place, or rule, plus two believable but incorrect options.
Kort samengevat
For this KNM topic, learn the basic housing facts that connect to daily life. Know the difference between renting and buying, recognise sociale huurwoning, connect local living matters to the gemeente, and remember simple neighbourhood facts such as returning statiegeld at a supermarket.
That is the level DUO asks for: clear knowledge of how life in the Netherlands works. If you want to train this faster, practise short KNM questions in the app until you can spot the right institution, place, or housing term without translating every word.