Housing labour migrants and room tenants: the challenges in 2026

01Why is housing so difficult in 2026?

The starting point is scarcity. According to the letter to parliament of 1 July 2026 on the Primos forecast, the statistical housing shortage is falling for the second year running, from 4.8% in 2025 to 4.6% in 2026. The government is sticking to a building rate of 100,000 homes a year. That is a decline, but the market remains tight.

For housing providers this means few suitable buildings, high purchase and rental prices, and competition with other home seekers. At the same time, municipalities and national government are adding rules to protect residents. Those rules are also politically debated: the government points to abuses such as underpayment, poor housing and dependence on the employer, and, in the proposed Act on suitable rental contracts, also to the flexibility landlords need to keep homes available for rent. Below you can read what applies, topic by topic.

This article is not legal advice. Rules differ per municipality and change over time. If in doubt, consult a lawyer or your municipality.

02Which permits do you need to rent out rooms?

Converting an ordinary home into rooms requires a permit in many municipalities. Article 21 of the Housing Act 2014 (Huisvestingswet 2014) lets the municipal council designate, in a housing bylaw, for which homes and areas a permit is needed for, among other things:

• converting a self-contained dwelling into non-self-contained accommodation (rooms);
• creating homes: rebuilding a property into two or more self-contained dwellings;
• withdrawing or merging residential space.

A conversion permit can be made temporary in the bylaw. The use must also fit the municipal environment plan (omgevingsplan), and the municipality can require a landlord licence under the Good Landlordship Act. Each municipality decides for itself whether and where it uses these instruments.

What you can do: before buying or renting a property, ask the municipality which permits are required, and keep the permits for each address in one place, with their expiry dates.

03How does registration in the BRP work?

Anyone staying in the Netherlands for longer than four months must register at their residential address in the Personal Records Database (BRP). For shorter stays, the Non-Residents Records (RNI) apply. According to the VNG, a municipality can impose an administrative fine or an order subject to a penalty for incorrect registrations.

Correct registration matters for the municipality, for benefits and taxes, and for residents themselves. According to the Dutch government, employers of labour migrants have a duty of care for correct registration, and since July 2025 labour migrants can update their temporary address themselves through MyRNI.

What you can do: at check-in, record whether someone is staying shorter or longer than four months, and point residents to their registration duty on arrival, in their own language.

04May housing be linked to the employment contract?

This is one of the most debated topics. In 2020 the task force for the protection of labour migrants (known as the Roemer task force) issued recommendations, which the government supported. What has since become law and what is still a proposal:

At present an employer may deduct up to 25% of the gross minimum wage for housing, and only if the worker is given certified accommodation. The government intends to abolish this option from 1 July 2028, together with the new rental law. As its reason, the government says employers often deduct the maximum even when the quality of the accommodation does not justify it. It is not yet law.

What you can do: keep rent and wages administratively separate now, with a separate rental agreement for each resident. That way you are prepared for any outcome.

05How many residents may live in one property?

There is no single national figure for every situation. Maximum occupancy follows from the permit, the environment plan, fire safety requirements and any quality mark. With a landlord licence for labour migrant housing, a municipality can set conditions on the number of people per room, sanitary facilities and facilities for cooking and storing food. The VNG gives one person per bedroom as an example and advises municipalities to use the SNF and AKF standards.

The proposed Act on suitable rental contracts also states that a temporary rental contract would only be allowed if every resident has their own bedroom of at least 5.5 m². That too is still a proposal.

What you can do: record for each property how many beds are permitted and how many are occupied. See also the SNF standard explained.

06What if neighbours complain about nuisance?

More residents in one building means more risk of noise, waste and parking pressure. Municipalities can act against serious and repeated residential nuisance under Article 151d of the Municipalities Act (the Residential Nuisance Act). In the policy rules of Amersfoort (2024), for example, the approach runs from a report via a warning to a behavioural order. That order can also be imposed on the landlord if the landlord does not act, or acts wrongly, against the nuisance.

What you can do: provide house rules in the residents' language, appoint one contact person for neighbours, and log complaints and what you did about them. That lets you show that you are making an effort.

07How do you deal with high turnover and short stays?

Labour migrants and students often stay for months, not years. That means a lot of administration: check-in and check-out, deposits, keys, registration and the condition of the room. Short-stay rental currently falls outside tenant protection. The proposed Act on suitable rental contracts would limit short stay to a maximum of 30 days and allow a temporary rental contract of up to 2 years for labour migrants, while keeping tenant protection. The consultation ran from 2 July to 28 August 2026; it is not yet law.

What you can do: use a fixed check-in and check-out routine, with photos of the room and meter readings. Then the condition of the room at departure is on record.

08How do you bridge the language barrier?

For labour migrants, the law requires information on rental rights and obligations to be given in a language the resident prefers. In practice language goes further: house rules, ventilating and heating, waste, and how to report a fault. Misunderstandings lead to damage, mould and nuisance.

What you can do: write short, translated instructions with pictograms, and make sure residents can report faults without speaking Dutch.

09Maintenance, inspections and energy costs: what should you watch?

A building with many residents wears faster. Municipalities can attach conditions on timely maintenance to a landlord licence, and quality marks work with periodic inspections. Damp is a known risk: many people, showers and laundry drying in small rooms. Read more in preventing mould in worker housing.

Energy is also a cost item. If you charge service costs for energy, they may only be the costs actually incurred, and you provide a full breakdown every year. Plug-in electric heaters can raise consumption considerably; see what a plug-in heater costs. eyesonrooms measures temperature and humidity in each room and flags mould risk, a likely plug-in heater or a room that is too cold.

What you can do: plan inspections with photos, record meter readings, and check room by room where damp or consumption stands out.

10How strictly are the rules enforced?

Since 1 July 2023 municipalities supervise good landlordship, and since 1 January 2024 every municipality must have a reporting point for complaints about undesirable landlord behaviour. A municipality can impose an administrative fine and, in the most extreme case, take over the management of a property. The Dutch government warns that your details are made public when a fine or a management takeover is imposed. The government is also creating 135 extra jobs at the Netherlands Labour Authority to supervise labour agencies and the new licensing system.

For the rules themselves, see our article on the Good Landlordship Act.

11Frequently asked questions

12Sources

• Minister for Housing: letter to parliament on the Primos forecast 2026 (1 July 2026, Dutch)
• Housing Act 2014, Article 21 (wetten.overheid.nl, Dutch)
• VNG: Enforcing incorrect BRP registrations (2025, Dutch)
• Dutch government: Improving the position of labour migrants (Dutch)
• Dutch government: Employers may no longer deduct rent from a labour migrant's minimum wage (10 September 2026, Dutch)
• Dutch government: Consultation starts on the proposed Act on suitable rental contracts (2 July 2026, Dutch)
• VNG: How the Good Landlordship Act protects labour migrants (Dutch)
• Municipality of Amersfoort: Policy rules on the Residential Nuisance Act (2024, Dutch)

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