Why Hospitaverhuur Is Gaining Attention in the Netherlands

If you have recently arrived in the Netherlands, one of the first things you probably discovered before unpacking your suitcase was the housing problem. Rents keep rising. Viewings can go on for weeks. Finding a place to live can be super hard for those searching for housing in the Netherlands, which is exactly why more people are turning to hospitaverhuur.

But a shift in how people live is gaining attention. Hospitaverhuur is the Dutch term for renting out your spare room to a lodger. Expats are more likely to be drawn to room rentals, as they tend to live in larger, more expensive cities. In fact, Hospitaverhuur is becoming a real option for many.

The Numbers Behind This Trend

The numbers are in:

• First-time buyers squeeze: First-time buyers and renters renting homes in the private sector pay the highest average housing cost, around one-third of their income, compared to long-term homeowners who spend just 15% to 17% of their income on housing costs.
• High affordability criteria: Here comes the biggest hurdle. To sign your name on the dotted line, you typically need to prove you have a gross monthly income of three to four times the rent, which can make renting a one-bedroom flat out of reach. This can lead expats to find flatshares, or rent a room from the landlord living in the property.
• Less affordable rental properties: In 2024, the Netherlands introduced rent caps for some mid-tier properties (Wet betaalbare huur). For investors, some properties became unprofitable. As a result, over 65,000 properties classed as rental properties were sold last year, meaning fewer properties to rent. The remaining higher-tier properties that are not rent-controlled have seen rapid rent increases; in larger cities such as Amsterdam, a 2-bedroom apartment can easily cost €2,500/month.

Fewer rentals, higher prices, and strict income rules. You can see why people are looking for other solutions.

Read Also: Resources for Finding a House or Room in The Netherlands

What is Hospitaverhuur?

Simply put, hospitaverhuur means renting one room in your home to a lodger while you live there too. You might own the place, or you might rent a two-bed apartment and sublet the spare room. Either way, you earn a bit of extra income and share your space.

Estimates indicate that roughly 37,000 people in the Netherlands currently rent out a spare room. This provides housing for about 43,000 lodgers. However, national demand drastically exceeds this limited supply. At the time of checking, Kamernet.nl has only 211 rooms for rent in Amsterdam, while 2,270 people are actively looking. If you’re an international student looking for somewhere to live on a limited budget, your options are more limited. Hospi Housing’s 2026 annual report, published on 27 August 2026, shows a clear pattern. While the regular rental market is still tight, renting a room with a landlord present is becoming more popular.

The Modern Live-In Landlord

Whether you rent a 2-bed apartment and sublet a room or you own a property and rent out a room, the appeal of earning some money and sharing your home with a lodger is appealing. According to the report mentioned earlier, landlords have more varied backgrounds and reasons for renting a spare room to a lodger. In 2025, 45% of new registrations for renting a spare room to a lodger were people under 40. That’s up from 21% in 2022. Also, 44% of those renting a room to a lodger are men.

Gemeente Rules Are Confusing

Here’s where it can get frustrating. If you have a spare room, the steps to get approval depend on which gemeente you are in, and the process can get typically Dutch bureaucratic. A review of all 342 Dutch municipalities by the Geef Tijdelijk Thuis partnership found a patchwork of local policies. In 53% of municipalities, people can rent out a spare room without a special permit. In the other 47%, it is not that simple. Some places ban it outright.

Amsterdam’s guide on Hospitaverhuur says you must have lived in the home yourself, in the same household, for at least one year before taking in a lodger. Others note that safety and quality requirements apply, but don’t specify what those requirements are. Useful details are often tucked away in dense housing rules.

On top of that, local authorities look at housing impact in different ways. One place counts people in the home. Another looks at room numbers; some focus on the household as a group.

With no single national method, many potential renters who want to rent a spare room to a lodger drop the idea early. Supporters are now pushing for a standard national baseline, a single rule that lets any homeowner rent one room to one person without needing a permit.

Mortgage Approval

Another hefty roadblock can await would-be renter-outers. About three out of four homeowners say they need clear sign-off from a mortgage lender before they can take in a lodger. In the past, lenders have often said no. That’s because Dutch rental rules give tenants strong cover. If a homeowner misses payments and the bank is forced to sell the property, it’s currently not possible to terminate a rental agreement with a lodger. The person buying the property is unlikely to pay market value for a property with a tenant he can’t terminate, meaning the mortgage lender might lose money, another reason many mortgage lenders don’t allow homeowners to rent out their spare room.

Read Also: Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid As A Tenant in the Netherlands

What Could Change Everything

On July 7, 2026, a bill to rent a spare room to a lodger was submitted to the House of Representatives. The plan is for it to start on January 1, 2027. If it passes, a rental agreement for a spare room to a lodger could end legally when the home is sold. That change should remove the risk mortgage lenders worry about. Even so, progress has slowed right before the vote. Mortgage lenders are waiting for the new law to pass so they can adjust their rules. This may help people looking for places to live in the Netherlands.

What This Could Mean For You

As renting a spare room to lodgers grows beyond a small idea and becomes a common option in the Netherlands, people want a more even standard. For people coming from abroad, renting a spare room to a lodger can feel like a real opportunity. It can be a quicker, more affordable way to settle in. Still, for this to expand, several steps are needed. The Dutch government is still debating the Hospitaverhuur bill. Municipalities are being encouraged to adopt a model that does not rely on permits. For those looking for places to live in the Netherlands, the idea is well worth a look.