International tenants more likely to lose rental deposits in the Netherlands
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By Simone Jacobs
According to the renter’s rights group !WOON, not getting the deposit back at the end of a rental agreement has become an increasingly common problem for tenants in the Netherlands, especially among internationals.
Rental deposit disputes growing in the Netherlands
More and more private landlords in the Netherlands are not refunding security deposits or are only partially refunding deposits once a tenant moves out at the end of a rental term. “International tenants, in particular, seem to be frequent victims of this,” said the !WOON report.
In Amsterdam alone, 203 tenants reported an unreturned or partial refund of a deposit last year. There were an additional 20 reports from other municipalities. According to Dutch law, a landlord has 14 days to return a deposit after a lease ends.
If a renter doesn’t get their deposit back in this time frame, it is up to them to take legal action. “In our opinion, this is a clear omission in the Good Landlordship Act - which is otherwise very helpful in our work.”
Several Dutch landlords withhold deposits without valid reason
Since July 1, 2023, the Good Landlordship Act has provided guidelines for landlords and protections for tenants, for example, by preventing landlords from demanding security deposits more than twice the basic rent.
This means that if you rent a home for 1.400 euros per month, your deposit should not exceed 2.800 euros. Despite this, unreasonably high deposits are being requested more often, the !WOON report gives an example of a landlord demanding an 8.600 euro deposit.
Reports show that in some cases, even when a tenant does recover their deposit, it is not the full amount. Some landlords will try to keep a chunk of the deposit by claiming charges such as repairs for minor damages or cleaning fees.
This can happen to tenants, especially international tenants, who do not know their rental rights. For example, renters are allowed to have an independent service inspect the property when moving in and out to objectively identify any damages before and after the rental period and prevent deposit disputes. Many tenants are also unaware that they can have any disputes reviewed by the Rental Committee.
In 2025, !WOON was contacted by tenants nearly 80.000 times. 30 percent of concerns were about maintenance issues, while 25 percent were about rent or service costs.
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training.Read more