Shady rental market practices affect 1 in 3 young people in the Netherlands

New research has shown that 31 percent of young people searching for rental housing in the Netherlands have experienced dubious practices, whether it's paying for a house viewing, exorbitant deposits, key deposits, high agency fees, or illegal terms in rental contracts.

Dodgy practices used on Dutch rental market

Based on survey of 23.000 members by RTL Nieuwspanel and LINDA.meiden, one in four people aged 18 to 35 are currently searching for a rental home in the Netherlands - and 31 percent of those looking say they have come across questionable practices. With the housing shortage, finding a rental home can be very difficult and can result in some house hunters becoming desperate; some parties on the rental market have started taking advantage of this. 

One such example is asking house hunters to pay to view a rental property. "Paying for a viewing is an improper practice," Gert Jan Bakker, who works for the reporting centre at the !WOON Foundation in Amsterdam, told RTL Nieuws. "If someone places an ad offering a property for rent and someone is interested, you can't charge for it. A viewing simply has to be arranged."

One in five young renters has been asked to pay for more than two months’ basic rent as a rental security deposit, which is not allowed. Other issues include fake ads, charging a fee before receiving the keys, or brokerage fees. According to Bakker, a tenant only needs to pay a reasonable deposit and rent. "If you have to pay for anything else, that's always questionable,” said Bakker. “So be wary if someone asks you for money while searching. That's a red flag."

Search for rental home in the Netherlands can take years

As more sneaky manoeuvres pop up and more landlords sell off their rental homes, the search for somewhere to live in the Netherlands can take a long time. Indeed, 60 percent of all house hunters in the Netherlands have been looking for a rental home for more than a year, a large portion of whom have been searching for five years or longer.

Young people in particular struggle to find affordable housing - over a third live with parents or friends. 77 percent indicated that they are on a waiting list for housing but are not yet eligible, while 54 percent said they couldn’t find anything within their budget, and 35 percent were unable to find a property that meets their needs. 

Many also do not have hope that the situation will improve: only 7 percent of survey respondents think the housing shortage will decrease under the next government, while over a third believe it will actually get worse. The majority also think that politicians have not been prioritising the housing crisis enough.