Why are rents rising in the Netherlands?

By how much did rents rise in 2026?

Rents for homes in the Netherlands were an average of 4.4 percent higher in July 2026 than in July 2025. That is the lowest annual rise since 2023, but it is still a substantial increase on the rent you were already paying. In 2025 rents rose by an average of 4.9 percent, and in 2024 by 5.4 percent. CBS publishes these figures in September, based on the rent tenants actually paid in July. Provisional figures for the previous year can still be revised when new data comes in.

Not all rental homes rise at the same rate. CBS breaks the 4.4 percent down by type of home and by landlord. Rents for social housing rose by an average of 4.3 percent, and rents in the free sector by 4.5 percent. Within social housing the gap between kinds of landlords was widest: homes owned by housing corporations became 4.4 percent more expensive on average, while those of other landlords rose by 4.1 percent. Housing corporations own roughly two thirds of all rental homes in the Netherlands, mostly social housing. That explains why the national average sits so close to the corporation figure.

If you put the CBS figures for several decades side by side, you can see that the rent increase moves with the economy. In 2021, the year of the lockdown, rent rose by only 0.8 percent on average. In 2022 that was 3.0 percent and in 2023 it was 2.0 percent. From 2024 the increase climbed to 5.4 percent. That pattern matters: the government sets a maximum every year that follows economic developments, so a falling rate of inflation generally also means a lower maximum increase.

• Rents for existing homes, July 2026 versus July 2025: 4.4 percent on average (CBS)
• Social housing 4.3 percent on average; free sector 4.5 percent on average (CBS)
• Social housing from housing corporations 4.4 percent; from other landlords 4.1 percent (CBS)
• Previous year 4.9 percent, 2024 5.4 percent, and in 2021 no more than 0.8 percent (CBS)

How much comes from tenant turnover rather than the annual increase?

A large part of the 4.4 percent has nothing to do with the increase existing tenants receive. When a home is handed over to a new tenant, the rent may jump in one step far beyond the regular maximum increase; such a jump is called rent harmonisation. CBS calls its effect the effect of tenant turnover and measures it separately. If you leave them out, the increase on existing contracts in 2026 comes to 3.8 percent. The effect of tenant turnover is therefore 0.6 percentage points, the difference between 3.8 and the 4.4 percent for all rents.

That effect is smaller than a year earlier: in 2025 it was 0.8 percentage points, and in 2024 also 0.7 percentage points. Because the effect of tenant turnover varies from year to year, the distinction matters for reading the headline number. If you come across a 4.4 percent rent increase in the news without reading that it covers all rents, you may assume your own rent went up by 4.4 percent. For existing contracts the average increase in 2026 was 3.8 percent; what an individual tenant receives depends on their contract and on the rules for their segment.

The longer-term picture shows that harmonisation structurally contributes to rent increases. Between 2016 and 2023 there was an effect of between 0.4 and 0.7 percentage points every year from tenant turnover. That means part of the increase existing tenants see is already built into the rent new tenants accept. Someone moving into a home therefore pays more than those who were still living there when the previous tenant left.

• CBS measures the effect of tenant turnover separately and names it in the publication alongside these figures
• Without tenant turnover, the increase on existing contracts in 2026 was 3.8 percent
• The effect of turnover was 0.6 percentage points, against 0.8 percentage points in 2025
• Between 2016 and 2023 the effect was between 0.4 and 0.7 percentage points every year

How many homes are in short supply, and how does it work out?

The increase in your rent is connected to the tightness of the housing market. The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations calculates the statistical housing shortage for this: the gap between the number of people looking for a home and the number of homes actually available. For 2026 that calculation counts about 8.5 million households and 8.34 million homes. Of those households, 7.88 million live independently in a home. The remaining 619 thousand households share a home or live in a special form of housing, and of those the ministry estimates that about 359 thousand are still looking for an independent home.

A second component comes on top. People starting out who want to live independently, such as young people and migrants, are counted, while households leaving the housing market, such as families moving into a nursing home, are subtracted. Net, that adds about 68 thousand housing seekers in 2026. Together, demand and shortage amount to a total demand of 427 thousand homes.

Of the 8.34 million homes, about 464 thousand are unavailable or not permanently occupied. Of those, 113 thousand are vacant temporarily, because the home is being renovated or the new tenant is still to move in. More than 308 thousand homes are used as a second home or are occupied by an institutional household, such as in a supported-living arrangement. Only 43 thousand homes have been vacant for more than a year and are therefore genuinely available. So in 2026 there are about 427 thousand housing seekers and 43 thousand available homes, which puts the statistical housing shortage at 384 thousand homes. That is a shortage of 4.6 percent of the total stock.

The shortage has fallen slightly for the second year running: it was 4.9 percent in 2024, 4.8 percent in 2025 and 4.6 percent in 2026. Even so, it remains a shortage of 384 thousand homes, and the ministry aims for 2 percent as the level of a certain balance. Reaching that currently requires about 213 thousand extra homes. ABF Research expects around 100 thousand homes to be completed in 2027, after which the pace eases to a little over 90 thousand a year, while an estimated 168 thousand homes disappear through demolition and merging. On those assumptions ABF expects the shortage to sit just under 2 percent in 2041, with a balanced level reached around 2034 at a building rate of 100 thousand homes a year.

• Statistical housing shortage in 2026: 384 thousand homes, or 4.6 percent of the housing stock
• Behind that figure: about 427 thousand housing seekers and 43 thousand genuinely available homes
• The ministry aims for a shortage of 2 percent, which currently requires about 213 thousand extra homes
• ABF expects the shortage to sit just under 2 percent in 2041, and a balanced level around 2034

Where in the Netherlands are rents rising fastest?

The national 4.4 percent is an average that hides the differences between regions. At provincial level, rents rose fastest in 2026 in Overijssel and Noord-Brabant, at 4.6 percent. In Overijssel, tenant turnover had the largest effect on rent development of all provinces: 0.9 percentage points. In Noord-Brabant that effect was 0.8 percentage points. Of all provinces, rents rose least in Fryslân, at 4.0 percent, where tenant turnover had an effect of 0.5 percentage points.

The four largest cities also diverge. Rotterdam saw the biggest increase of the four, at an average of 4.7 percent, of which 0.7 percentage points can be attributed to tenant turnover. Without those turnovers the increase in Rotterdam was 4.0 percent. Utrecht saw 4.5 percent, The Hague 4.4 percent and Amsterdam 4.3 percent. Turnover also contributes considerably to the total in the other three cities: 0.7 percentage points in Utrecht, 0.6 in The Hague and 0.7 in Amsterdam. Average rent growth in the cities is therefore high, but the increase a long-term tenant sees on their own contract is on the low side in Amsterdam, Utrecht and The Hague, at 3.6 to 3.8 percent.

That gap between the total and the increase without turnover also explains why the national average comes out clearly above what your own contract does. You are not locked into 4.4 percent; that is a statistic covering all rental relationships. Your own rent follows what is agreed in your lease and, in social housing, the annual rules. It also means the story about rent rising in a specific home or a specific city is not automatically the same thing as the national headline figure for you as a tenant.

• At provincial level rents rose fastest in Overijssel and Noord-Brabant, at 4.6 percent
• Of all provinces Fryslân rose least: 4.0 percent, with 0.5 percentage points from tenant turnover
• Of the four largest cities Rotterdam rose most: 4.7 percent, of which 0.7 percentage points from tenant turnover
• Amsterdam rose least of the four largest cities: 4.3 percent

What does the increase mean for what you pay?

The national CBS figures are about the change between two moments in time, not about the amount you pay. If average rent now shows a 4.4 percent increase, that does not mean every contract has gone up by 4.4 percent. Social housing has followed a different rule since 1 July 2026 than the free sector, and both differ from the national average.

In the free sector, a statutory maximum for the annual rent increase applies until 1 May 2029. For 2026 (from 1 January 2026 up to and including 31 December 2026) that maximum is 4.4 percent; the percentage is set again each year. The maximum only applies if your landlord agreed the rent increase with you in the lease. In social housing, the maximum increase since 1 July 2026 is 4.1 percent, or, depending on your current rent or income, an amount of 25 to 100 euros. The rest of the increase in the average therefore comes mainly from harmonisation when tenants turn over, not from the increase existing tenants receive.

You cannot do much about the macroeconomic side of the housing shortage yourself, but you can do something about your own situation. Check whether your municipality applies allocation rules, an urgency procedure, or a lottery. Also verify that your current rent is correct: if a landlord applies a rent that is too high, you can object to it and, if you cannot agree with your landlord, take the case to the Huurcommissie. It works in both segments.

There is a dedicated guide to the details of the increase itself. You can read more about the maximum percentages per segment, the income thresholds, the deadlines for objecting, and what the Huurcommissie actually assesses in the guide on rent increases in 2026. That guide is the place to check the legal side of your own contract, while this article explains why the national percentage exists.

• In the free sector a statutory maximum applies until 1 May 2029; for 2026 it is 4.4 percent
• In social housing the maximum increase since 1 July 2026 is 4.1 percent or an amount of 25 to 100 euros
• A landlord may ask a deposit of at most 2 months' basic rent, so a demand for three months is a warning sign
• For maximum percentages, income thresholds and objection deadlines: read the guide on rent increases in 2026