Housing migrant workers in Rotterdam: the rules in 2026

01How many labour migrants live in Rotterdam?

On 1 January 2025, 42,263 EU citizens from Central, Eastern and Southern Europe were registered in the Rotterdam BRP, 6.3% of the population. The highest share lives in Carnisse (27.7%), followed by Tarwewijk, Oud-Charlois and Oud-Mathenesse (progress report 'More grip on labour migration', March 2025). In a letter to the House of Representatives of 8 April 2025, the Rotterdam alderman estimated the real number at around 80,000, almost half of them not registered in the BRP. According to that letter, most of them do not work in the city itself but in the surrounding municipalities.

The municipality sees overcrowding and abuses in those neighbourhoods. In 2024 the building and housing inspectorate made 207 home visits and found abuses in 61 dwellings, and 387 reports of possible overcrowding came in. The hotline for unwanted landlord behaviour received 383 reports.

That explains why Rotterdam tightly regulates the use of ordinary dwellings by groups. The national basics (zoning plan, Good Landlordship Act, fire safety, BRP registration) are in our article on renting group housing; here we cover what Rotterdam adds.

eyesonrooms does not let or broker housing. This is a summary, not legal advice. Check the current rules with Rotterdam municipality and consult a lawyer for your own situation.

02When do you need a room-occupancy permit in Rotterdam?

The rules are in the Housing Stock Composition Ordinance 2025 (Verordening samenstelling woningvoorraad 2025). It has applied since 1 July 2025 and runs until 30 June 2029. Under article 2.2.2, a room-occupancy permit (vergunning voor kamerbewoning) is needed if a dwelling is occupied by:

• three or more room occupants;
• one multi-person household plus two or more room occupants; or
• more than one multi-person household.

A family counts as one person, every other occupant separately. Without a permit, a dwelling may therefore be let to at most two people who do not form a household. The threshold of three has applied since 1 July 2021; before that it was four.

For the permit, the municipality checks among other things (article 2.2.3):

• at least 18 m² of usable floor area per person on average;
• with four or more room occupants: 50 metres distance from another dwelling with such a permit;
• no permit has been revoked at the address in the past 24 months;
• the dwelling is not in one of the excluded neighbourhoods (see below).

For a permit for exactly three room occupants, the first three criteria do not apply.

03Can four or more workers share one dwelling in Rotterdam?

This is the biggest difference from other cities. Article 2.2.4 attaches to every room-occupancy permit the condition that it is used only for room occupancy by students. The explanatory notes say all residents must be students, shown by proof of enrolment in a Dutch secondary vocational, higher vocational or university programme. Only a permit for three room occupants is exempt from that condition.

As we read the text, this means for an employer or staffing agency: in an ordinary Rotterdam dwelling you can, with a permit, house at most three workers as room occupants. Four or more workers in one dwelling does not fit within this scheme. The ordinance does not mention workers or labour migrants separately, so have this reading confirmed for your own property by the municipality or a lawyer.

For larger groups you therefore need housing that does not fall under room letting in dwellings, such as an environmental permit for a purpose-built or converted location. Make sure the location meets the SNF standard; see renting SNF-certified housing.

04In which Rotterdam neighbourhoods is room occupancy not possible?

Annex 2 of the ordinance names seven neighbourhoods where the municipality grants no room-occupancy permits:

• Bergpolder
• Carnisse
• Kralingen Oost
• Kralingen West
• Oud Mathenesse
• Struisenburg
• Tarwewijk

Carnisse, Tarwewijk and Oud-Mathenesse are also the neighbourhoods with the highest share of registered EU citizens. If you rent a dwelling there to house three or more unrelated workers, you will not get a permit.

Splitting a dwelling (woningvorming) is also restricted: the smallest new home must be at least 50 m², and in parts of Charlois (Oud Charlois, Carnisse, Tarwewijk) and Feijenoord (including Afrikaanderwijk, Hillesluis, Bloemhof) at least 85 m² (article 2.3.2).

Under annex 3, fines for converting to room occupancy or splitting without a permit start at €4,000 and rise to €21,750 from the fourth offence within four years.

05Does Rotterdam have buy-to-let protection?

Yes, in 16 neighbourhoods, including Bergpolder, Blijdorp, Bloemhof, Carnisse, Groot IJsselmonde, Het Lage Land, Hillegersberg-Zuid, Hillesluis, Kralingen-Oost and -West, Middelland, Nieuwe Westen, Oud Mathenesse, Oud-Charlois, Rubroek and Tarwewijk (article 2.6.1). It covers dwellings with a WOZ value below €450,000 transferred after 1 January 2022. Whoever buys such a dwelling may not let it without a permit.

The permit is only granted in the exceptions of article 2.6.3, such as letting to first- or second-degree family, temporary letting after living there yourself for at least twelve months, or a dwelling that belongs to a shop or business premises. Letting to your own employees is not among them. The executive can grant an exemption in special cases.

If your company rents a dwelling from an owner in one of these neighbourhoods, ask when the owner bought it and whether there is a permit. Fines for letting without a permit start at €4,000.

06Which permits apply per street and per landlord?

Permit streets. Under the Act on special measures for inner-city problems (the 'Rotterdam Act'), the Housing Market Access Ordinance (Verordening toegang woningmarkt) has applied since 1 December 2025. In 25 designated streets, including Wolphaertsbocht, Mijnsherenlaan, Dordtselaan, Charloisse Hoofd, Slinge and Boezemstraat, anyone moving into a rented dwelling or room needs a housing permit. The municipality can refuse it based on police records of nuisance or crime. A landlord letting without that permit risks a fine of €4,000 to €25,750. For a room, the owner must also hold the room-occupancy permit.

Carnisse landlord licence lapsed. From 1 January 2024, private landlords in Carnisse needed a landlord licence under the Good Landlordship Act. Rotterdam deliberately did not introduce a separate licence for accommodation for labour migrants. On 1 October 2026 the city council decided to withdraw the Landlord Ordinance 2023; according to the official register it lapsed on 10 October 2026. The national good-landlordship rules still apply, such as a separate tenancy agreement alongside the employment contract. See the Good Landlordship Act explained.

Short lets. Tourist rental is limited to 60 nights a year. According to the explanatory notes to the ordinance, short lets to people not registered in Rotterdam, such as labour migrants and expats, also need a registration number.

07What does Rotterdam expect from employers?

Rotterdam mainly asks employers and staffing agencies for proper registration. In 2024 the municipality organised group registrations in the BRP; according to the progress report, 'interest from employers was limited'. Nationally, the municipality argues for registering agency workers in the BRP rather than the RNI (the register of non-residents), and for a mandatory declaration of the residential address.

In June 2024 the Rotterdam Coalition for Good Employment was set up, covering housing, language and training among other things. In 2025 the municipality started 'Rotterdams Goed Wonen' in five pilot neighbourhoods: Tarwewijk, Hillesluis, Bloemhof, Carnisse and Pendrecht-Zuidwijk.

In practice: make sure workers staying four months or longer are registered in the BRP at their real address, keep track of who lives where, and expect the municipality to make home visits after reports.

Checklist for Rotterdam

1. Count the residents: from three room occupants a permit is needed.
2. Groups of four or more workers in an ordinary dwelling do not fit the text; have this confirmed.
3. Check whether the dwelling is in one of the seven closed neighbourhoods or 25 permit streets.
4. Check 18 m² per person.
5. For a purchased dwelling in one of the 16 neighbourhoods, ask about buy-to-let protection.
6. Arrange BRP registration at the real address.

08Frequently asked questions

09Sources

• Rotterdam Housing Stock Composition Ordinance 2025 (valid until 30 June 2029, in Dutch)
• Rotterdam Housing Market Access Ordinance (in force from 1 December 2025, in Dutch)
• Rotterdam Landlord Ordinance 2023 (lapsed 10 October 2026, in Dutch)
• Rotterdam city council decisions of 1 October 2026 (4 October 2026, in Dutch)
• Rotterdam municipality: progress report on labour migration 2024 (April 2025, in Dutch)
• Ministry of Social Affairs: how Rotterdam applies the Good Landlordship Act (26 October 2023, in Dutch)
• Letter from the Rotterdam and Westland aldermen to the House (8 April 2025, in Dutch)

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