Regulations when renting out your property

There is a lot involved in renting out a studio, apartment, and/or house in the Netherlands. Various rules apply when renting out a property. These include regulations regarding the rental price, the rental contract, property maintenance, and taxes on rental income. Below, you will find the rules for renting out a residential property.

1. Rental Price
For the rental price, a distinction can be made between the "private sector" and the "social sector." For social housing, the rent is determined based on a points system. This points system takes into account everything related to your home, including furniture and other items in the house. Points are awarded for factors such as the WOZ value (property tax value), surface area, kitchen, heating, energy label, sanitary facilities, and living environment. All these points are added together to determine the rental price. With enough points, the property falls under the private sector. Rental properties in the private sector are exempt from the points system.

Once a year, the tenant must receive a service cost overview, no later than six months after the end of the year.

2. Rental Contract
Found a tenant? It's now important to properly document everything in the rental agreement. There are different types of contracts, such as fixed-term, indefinite term, diplomatic clause, etc. Each contract comes with different rights and obligations for both the tenant and the landlord.

3. Proper Maintenance of the Property
As a landlord, you are required to offer the rental property in a good state of repair. It's also essential to carry out necessary repairs. Minor repairs, such as fixing a lock or replacing a light bulb, are not the landlord’s responsibility. The tenant is responsible for these. All other maintenance costs are to be covered by the landlord. This includes tasks like maintaining the central heating system or repairing roof leaks. Of course, the tenant is responsible for any damage they cause themselves.

In case of property improvements, it is sometimes possible to increase the rent. However, there are rules governing this, and consultation with the tenant is required.