Types of rental contract: permanent, temporary and the rules since the fixed-contract law
Permanent tenancy agreements are now the standard legal format for renting a home in the Netherlands. Under legislation introduced on 1 July 2024, both housing corporations (woningcorporaties) and private landlords must offer an indefinite contract (onbepaalde tijd) right away. The government ended general fixed-term leases to give renters long-term stability in their homes.
Temporary contracts (tijdelijk huurcontract) of up to two years are now permitted only under strict legal exceptions. Landlords cannot offer them to standard applicants on the open market. You can only be offered a temporary lease if you fall into one of the following four groups:
- Students renting in a different municipality from where they permanently live
- Tenants moving temporarily while their primary home undergoes major renovation
- Status holders who move directly from a COA asylum reception centre while waiting for permanent housing
- Divorced parents who need temporary housing close to their children
Another specific form is intermediate rental (tussenhuur), also known as the diplomat clause (diplomatenclausule). Property owners who work abroad or take extended trips can lease their home temporarily on the condition that you vacate when they return. You cannot cancel a diplomat-clause lease before the agreed end date. By contrast, if you hold a permitted temporary lease of two years or less under standard rules, you may terminate the contract early whenever you choose.
Landlords with permitted temporary leases must inform you in writing between one and three months before the end date that your tenancy is expiring. If the landlord fails to send this written notice on time, or if they offer you an extension, your lease automatically transforms into a permanent contract. You can review the full statutory criteria directly on Rijksoverheid.
What a rental contract must contain
Dutch law requires your landlord to draw up a written tenancy agreement rather than relying on a handshake. While oral agreements are legally valid, landlords have been legally obligated since 1 July 2023 to provide written documentation. A written text prevents disputes about payment amounts, maintenance duties, and house rules.
Your agreement should record several essential points before you transfer funds or collect the keys:
- The bare rent (kale huur), which covers the use of the property alone
- The advance payment for service charges, listed entirely separately
- The security deposit (borg) and the official payment due date
- The valuation points (puntentelling) assigned to the property
Signatures confirm every clause. When moving in, you and the landlord must write down the property's physical state in an inspection report (opnamestaat). This document lists any pre-existing damage, room conditions, and utility meter readings. You are legally required to leave the home in that same documented condition when you eventually move out. If you rent an unself-contained unit (onzelfstandige woning), such as an individual bedroom in a shared flat, your contract must also outline specific agreements. These cover the use of shared bathrooms and kitchens, cleaning rotations, guest rules, and whether private doors can be locked.
Make sure your agreement specifies both basic rent and additional costs as separate line items. Government rules on contract contents are set out on Rijksoverheid.
Rent, the points system and the Affordable Rent Act
The rent you pay is determined by an official points system called the woningwaarderingsstelsel (WWS). Every rental property receives a score based on surface area, energy efficiency, kitchen fittings, sanitary installations, and official property value (WOZ-waarde). Since the Affordable Rent Act (Wet betaalbare huur) took effect on 1 July 2024, maximum price controls apply to middle-income rentals as well as social housing.
From 1 January 2025, residential leases fall into three distinct tiers determined by their point valuation and starting rent:
- Social sector: properties with up to 143 points, where the maximum initial bare rent is €900.07 per month
- Middle-rent sector (middenhuur): properties with 144 to 186 points, where starting bare rent ranges from €900.08 to €1,184.82 per month
- Free sector (vrije sector): properties with 187 points or more, where initial bare rent starts above €1,184.82
If you sign a standard tenancy agreement for an indefinite period, you have up to six months after the contract starts to ask the rent tribunal to inspect the property and recalculate your rent. The rent tribunal (Huurcommissie) issues a legally binding ruling. If your landlord overcharged you based on the official points, the Huurcommissie lowers your rent retroactively to your first day of occupancy. Tenants with a valid temporary contract of two years or shorter have an even longer window. They can submit a claim up to six months after their lease ends. You can verify your property points using the official calculators on the Huurcommissie website.
Service costs and the charges for gas, water and electricity
Your monthly payment is split into base rent and an advance for additional services. Base rent pays solely for the bare walls and roof of the property. Service costs (servicekosten) cover extra supplies and labour provided by the landlord, including hallway lighting, shared stairwell cleaning, lift maintenance, window washing, and administrative management. If you do not hold individual utility meters in your own name, heating, water, and electricity are also collected as an advance within the monthly service fee.
All-in rental contracts that merge bare rent and service charges into one flat amount are illegal under Dutch law. Your landlord must state the exact sum allocated to bare rent and the exact sum allocated to service costs separately in the contract text. Every month, you pay an estimated advance based on anticipated usage.
Your landlord cannot keep service fees as profit.
By 1 July each year, the landlord must provide a detailed written annual statement (eindafrekening) showing the actual expenses incurred during the previous calendar year. This statement lists the real bills paid for energy, communal maintenance, and minor repairs. If your total monthly advance payments exceeded the actual bills, the landlord must refund the difference to your bank account. If actual costs ran higher than the advances, you must pay the outstanding balance. Tenants who disagree with the calculation or do not receive their statement can request an assessment from the Huurcommissie.
Rent increases: the rules and how to object
Landlords may raise your rent only once every twelve months, with most adjustments taking effect on 1 July. The government strictly caps the annual percentage by which rents can rise. For free-sector housing, the maximum annual rent increase is capped by national law until 1 May 2029, with the cap set at 4.4% for 2026. A landlord cannot demand more than this statutory ceiling, even if your written agreement specifies a higher formula.
Social housing rent adjustments follow distinct rules based on your household income from two years prior. For adjustments from 1 July 2026, the basic increase is capped at 4.1% for monthly rents of €350 or higher, or €25 for rents below €350. Households with higher incomes face larger adjustments, determined through data provided by the Tax Administration (Belastingdienst):
- Single-person household earning between €59,504 and €70,149: up to €50 monthly increase
- Single-person household earning over €70,149: up to €100 monthly increase
- Multi-person household earning between €68,858 and €93,531: up to €50 monthly increase
- Multi-person household earning over €93,531: up to €100 monthly increase
For social rentals, the landlord must notify you in writing at least two months in advance. The notification letter must list your current rent, the proposed new figure, the percentage increase, and instructions on how to lodge an objection. If your landlord proposes an unlawful increase or skips the two-month notice window, you do not have to accept it. You can lodge an objection with the Huurcommissie within four months of the effective date.
Giving notice, tenant protection and where to turn
Statutory tenant protection means a landlord cannot cancel your lease or force you to vacate without a formal court order. If you hold a permanent lease, your contract continues indefinitely until you choose to leave or a subdistrict court judge (kantonrechter) dissolves the agreement. Landlords cannot end your tenancy simply because you refused a rent increase, complained about repair delays, or challenged your service costs.
You have legal protection.
If you want to leave your rental property, you must give written notice via a registered letter (aangetekende brief) or by email with a confirmed receipt from the landlord. Your notice period matches your payment frequency, which is almost always one calendar month. You do not need to provide any justification when ending your contract.
Evictions require a court order. A landlord who wants you to leave must serve formal notice citing legal grounds defined in the Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek), such as severe payment arrears or proven structural anti-social behaviour. If you refuse to leave, the contract stays fully in force. The landlord cannot change the locks, remove your belongings, or cut off your utilities. Only an independent judge has the authority to terminate the tenancy and order an eviction. The Huurcommissie evaluates rent amounts and maintenance disputes, but it has no jurisdiction over evictions. Read more on eviction rules via Volkshuisvesting Nederland or consult Het Juridisch Loket for free legal guidance.
What the KNM exam asks about this
The civic integration examination tests your functional knowledge of living in Dutch housing and managing official disputes. In the KNM section (Kennis van de Nederlandse Maatschappij), questions under the Housing (Wonen) theme present everyday scenarios involving landlords, rental payments, and neighbour relations. You might read about a landlord who raises rent unexpectedly, fails to complete essential repairs, or demands that a tenant move out within a week. It may ask whether you know that tenants enjoy legal protection against eviction, that notice periods generally run for one month, and that an independent body, the Huurcommissie, handles rent disputes.