Migrant worker housing in Eindhoven

01Which rules apply in Eindhoven to housing labour migrants?

Eindhoven has no separate ordinance that deals only with labour migrants. The rules sit in three municipal documents, and which one applies depends on the type of housing:

Policy rules on room occupancy and splitting homes 2026 (Beleidsregels kamerbewoning en woningsplitsing): for an existing home in which you let rooms to people who do not form one household. Adopted by the executive on 11 November 2025, in force from 1 January 2026.
Short-stay policy framework (Beleidskader short stay initiatieven): for temporary lodging of 14 days to 6 months, often in a larger building. Adopted by the council on 20 September 2023.
Buy-to-let protection (opkoopbescherming): decides whether a recently bought, lower-priced home may be let at all.

National rules also apply, such as fire safety under the Bbl, the Good Landlordship Act and registration in the BRP. We explain those in our article on renting group housing; this page is only about what Eindhoven regulates itself.

eyesonrooms does not let or broker housing. This article summarises public municipal documents (as of October 2026) and is not legal advice. Check the current rules with the municipality and consult a lawyer for your own situation.

02When do you need a permit for room occupancy?

According to the municipality, using a home for room occupancy conflicts with the environment plan. You then need an environmental permit for an activity that deviates from the plan. The municipal page on room rental (March 2026) sets out a few clear limits:

Two people who do not form a joint household may live in a home without a permit. From three people a permit is needed.
A room is meant for one person. The policy rules say "in principle": a guest may stay, but structural double occupancy is not allowed.
Sharing bills, or one resident being the main tenant, does not turn a group into a household.

For employers this means that an ordinary family house with four or six workers needs a permit in Eindhoven, and the classic model of two people per bedroom does not fit these rules. An application costs fees under the 2026 fee ordinance, even if the permit is refused. The decision period is 8 weeks, which can be extended once by 6 weeks.

03Where does Eindhoven refuse room occupancy: locked areas and the 30-metre rule

The 2026 policy rules divide the city into three kinds of area.

Locked areas (op-slotgebieden). In Woensel-West, Limbeek-Noord and Limbeek-Zuid, Doornakkers-Oost and Doornakkers-West, Bennekel-Oost, Hemelrijken and the Gildebuurt a permit is refused. For the original locked areas (not Hemelrijken and the Gildebuurt) a transitional scheme runs until 1 January 2027 for buildings that have been let as rooms for a very long time, for example demonstrably since 12 December 2007. A building regarded as a nuisance property does not qualify.

Rest of the city. Here the 30-metre rule applies. The municipality draws a circle with a 30-metre radius around the centre point of every legal room-let building or legally split home. If your building falls wholly or partly inside the circle, or the circle touches it, the application is refused. There are exceptions, including buildings in a block of flats and a flat above a shop.

City centre. Inside the area around the 18 Septemberplein, the Vestdijk and the Emmasingel, among others, the 30-metre rule does not apply. There the municipality mainly assesses liveability, housing quality and parking.

A liveability test applies everywhere. An area coordinator writes an advice and a liveability committee of civil servants checks it. A negative advice means refusal.

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04What does Eindhoven require for rooms and management?

If you get a permit, the building must meet housing-quality requirements. The main ones from the 2026 policy rules:

Requirement	What the rules ask
Average room size	at least 10 m² if there is a shared living room (min. 7.5 m²) and kitchen (min. 5 m²), or a kitchen-living room of min. 12.5 m²; otherwise at least 14 m²
Occupancy	in principle one person per room
Daylight	enough daylight under the Bbl, at least one habitable space per room via the façade or a sloping roof
Noise	a measure at the shared front door, sound-dampening stair covering
Compensation	a damage compensation agreement with the municipality

The tenancy agreement must include house rules on good neighbourliness, noise, litter, drug dealing and violence. The municipality also recommends living rules that are written into the permit: introduce yourself to the neighbours and give a number reachable 24 hours a day, inspect the building at least once a year, know your tenants and point out their duty to register, and make sure they know the waste rules. If permit conditions are not met, the permit can be withdrawn.

Note: new-build, conversion of a non-residential building, complexes of at least 8 homes and company homes fall outside these policy rules. The municipality assesses those applications differently.

05What does Eindhoven's short-stay framework ask?

For larger locations the short-stay policy framework (in force since 27 October 2023) is the key document. Short stay there means temporary housing of at least 14 days and at most 6 months, as a lodging function, not a residential function. An extension to 12 months is meant only for (international) students and PhD candidates, not for labour migrants.

Locations: preference for campus and office sites and places not primarily meant for living, such as around the railway zone, the airport and the motorway. Business parks are judged case by case. The rural area is explicitly not preferred. No initiatives are accepted in the locked areas.
Size: initiatives with at least 50 places are preferred.
Space: for non-self-contained units at least 15 m² of usable floor area per person and one person per bedroom of at least 5.5 m²; a self-contained unit is at least 25 m².
Facilities: one shower and toilet per eight residents and at least 120 litres of fridge and freezer space per four residents.
Management: always a manager; with 100 people or more, at least one manager is continuously available or on site.
Quality mark: the operator holds the SNF or AKF mark or is a member of ABU, NBBU, SNA or an equivalent body, and the housing meets at least the SNF requirements.
Distance: at least 30 metres from other short stay and from room-let or split buildings, except where only lodging is allowed.
Contract: if the employment contract ends, the resident can stay at least one more month.

The framework is an assessment tool: a good score gives no right to cooperation. Users who are not registered pay tourist tax at the hotel rate. Read more about the format in our article on short stay.

06May you let a recently bought home in Eindhoven to staff?

Eindhoven has buy-to-let protection. According to the municipal page (updated August 2026) it applies to existing homes bought after 1 April 2022, with a WOZ value below €355,000, in the neighbourhoods shown on the Open Data Portal map. New-build homes have been excluded since 2024.

Letting without a permit is then not allowed, not even to an employer who houses staff there. The municipality says it usually grants a rental permit only in exceptional cases, for example letting to close family or a home that is inseparable from business premises. The application fee is €281 (2026 fee ordinance).

What you can do: for every home you want to rent for staff, ask for the purchase date and the WOZ value, and check on the map whether the address is in a designated neighbourhood.

07How does Eindhoven fit into regional agreements, and how is it enforced?

Eindhoven works together in the Stedelijk Gebied Eindhoven (SGE), with Best, Helmond, Veldhoven and Son en Breugel among others. The SGE framework of November 2020 counted more than 20,000 labour migrants working for employers in the region and aimed for 4,000 additional decent housing places in 2021 to 2024. It asks every location to keep a night register and appoint a manager, and gives employers a responsibility of their own.

Eindhoven's revised housing programme 2026-2030 (in force since April 2026) expects about 23,500 labour migrants to live (or want to live) in Eindhoven by 2030, and adds that the real number is probably higher because not everyone registers. The 2023 short-stay framework states that the municipality "for now" does not introduce a permit requirement under the Good Landlordship Act for letting to labour migrants. Check whether that is still the case.

A case from June 2021 shows that Eindhoven enforces. About 90 labour migrants lived in a former hotel. The municipality refused a permit because the use conflicted with the zoning plan, and imposed an order subject to a penalty on the tenant and the owner to end the residential use. The argument that the residents were hotel guests did not convince the municipality.

08Frequently asked questions

How many labour migrants may live in one home in Eindhoven?

Two people who do not form a household may live together without a permit. From three, an environmental permit for room occupancy is needed, and then in principle one person per room applies. The 30-metre rule and the locked areas can rule out a permit.

May two workers share a bedroom in Eindhoven?

Not structurally in room occupancy of an ordinary home: the 2026 policy rules assume one person per room. The short-stay framework also asks for one person per bedroom.

How long may short stay last in Eindhoven?

Under the 2023 framework at least 14 days and at most 6 months. An extension to 12 months is meant only for students and PhD candidates, not for labour migrants.

Does Eindhoven have a rental permit for housing labour migrants?

The 2023 short-stay framework says the municipality does not choose that for now. Buy-to-let protection can, however, require a rental permit for recently bought homes. Check the current rules with the municipality.

Housing labour migrants in Eindhoven: the local rules