Many expats who come to the Netherlands only look at furnished homes for housing. After all, when you arrive in a new country, you immediately want a bed to sleep in. What many people forget, however, is the possibility of using furniture rentals in their new homes. This suddenly makes unfurnished homes an interesting option and significantly increases your chances of finding a home.
Renting furniture is the ideal solution for expats. You can rent furniture temporarily, for example while you’re waiting for your container from abroad, or you can rent long-term, which is a great solution whether or not you already know how long you’ll be staying in the Netherlands. In many cases, choosing an unfurnished home and renting furniture is often cheaper than choosing a furnished home.
By renting products, you also contribute to a circular economy. After all, you’re ensuring that the furniture you use are used again later, after they’re refurbished, by another expat staying in the Netherlands - that way the circle is complete.
A circular economy is a model of production and consumption in which existing materials and products are shared, rented, reused, repaired, refurbished and recycled for as long as possible to create more value. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended. This is a stark contrast to the traditional, linear economic disposable model, which is based on large quantities of cheap and easily accessible materials. These materials often end up in the incinerator, which is not compatible with, for example, the internationally-recognised UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Another way to contribute to a circular economy is to buy or rent products from a local source. Choosing local production can help to reduce CO2 emissions in a variety of ways. For instance, it can save on shipping and material costs. Additionally, if you buy or rent second-hand products, you are taking it a step further and ensuring that items are used as much as possible before being discarded into a landfill.
The housing market in the Netherlands is overheated, which means that there is much more demand than supply. This situation is already stressful for those who already live in the Netherlands who are searching for a new home - and it is even more stressful for those who have just arrived in the country.
Therefore, renting furniture can be an excellent solution because it gives you much more choice when looking for a home in the Netherlands. You can opt for unfurnished options and have more say in the type of furniture you want to have.
Also, rented furniture can give you the chance to try things out before making a commitment. Many furniture rental companies can deliver your furniture on the day of your arrival (if you plan in advance) and they can collect it again when you decide to leave.
In practical terms, you get to rent a furnished home but without all the extra costs that real estate agents charge. The furniture is delivered on the day of arrival and collected again when you leave or, for example, when your container arrives from abroad.