Renting housing for staff in the Netherlands: the complete guide

01Renting housing for staff: how does it work?

When you rent housing for staff, your company is the tenant. You sign a lease with the owner, and your employees live in the property. In Dutch this is often called personeelshuisvesting huren, zakelijk huren or renting a bedrijfswoning. It is usually a family house, a large house with several bedrooms, or several rooms in one building.

So there are two layers of agreements. The first layer is the contract between the owner and your company. The second layer is the arrangement between your company and the people who live there. Extra rules apply to that second layer when the residents are labour migrants. You will find those rules further down.

One thing to know in advance: a house suitable for one family is not automatically suitable for six colleagues. The municipality, fire safety and a quality mark such as SNF together determine how many people may live there. Check this before you sign, not afterwards.

This article is a summary, not legal advice. Rules differ per municipality and change over time. Consult a lawyer about your own contract and situation.

02Which type of house suits your staff?

The choice starts with how many people need housing, and for how long. Three common options:

• Renting a family house for staff. Suitable for a small group. Note: converting it to room occupancy may require a permit (see below).
• Renting a large house. More bedrooms, but also more requirements for sanitary facilities, kitchen and fire safety. For groups this is often called group housing; see the rules for group housing.
• Renting several rooms in a building or complex. Useful when numbers change, but check who is responsible for the shared areas.

How many people may live there? There is no single national figure for every situation. When a municipality requires a rental permit for housing labour migrants, it can set conditions on the number of people per bedroom. The VNG (Association of Netherlands Municipalities) gives one person per bedroom as an example and advises municipalities to use the SNF and AKF standards for kitchen, bathroom and laundry. If you want to work with SNF-certified housing, the SNF standard also determines occupancy; see the SNF standard explained and renting SNF-certified housing.

Is it for short periods, such as a season? Then also read short stay and flexible rental for staff, because new rules are being prepared.

03What should you check before renting a house?

Most problems arise because something was not checked in advance. Go through these points before you sign:

1. Zoning (omgevingsplan). Does use as a home for your group fit within the municipality's rules? Ask the municipality.
2. Conversion permit. Under article 21 of the Housing Act 2014 (Huisvestingswet), a municipal council can require a permit in its housing bylaw for converting a self-contained home into non-self-contained accommodation (rooms). Such a permit can also be granted for a limited period. Each municipality decides whether and where to use this.
3. Rental permit. Under the Good Landlordship Act (Wet goed verhuurderschap), a municipality can require a permit for letting to labour migrants, with conditions on occupancy and quality.
4. Fire safety. Smoke alarms, escape routes, extinguishers. The more residents, the more this matters. See fire safety in room rental.
5. Energy label. According to RVO, the owner must have a valid energy label when an existing home is newly let, and the new tenant receives a copy. Since 29 May 2026 this also applies when a lease is extended or renewed.
6. Condition and inventory. Make a handover report with photos and meter readings. Record the furniture and appliances in the house.
7. Gas, water and electricity (GWL). Agree whether the energy contracts are in the owner's name or your company's. See furnished rental with utilities included.

Large cities often have extra rules, such as quotas per street or stricter conditions for room occupancy. Do not assume that what is allowed in one municipality is also allowed in the next. Ask what applies at each address, and keep the answer in your file.

04What belongs in the lease between owner and company?

The contract between the owner and your company is the foundation. Record at least:

• The purpose: that the house is used to accommodate your employees, and the maximum number of residents.
• Permission for occupancy or subletting by the residents. Without that permission, letting the house to others may breach the contract.
• Term and notice. Does the term match your assignments? What happens if a client drops out?
• Maintenance: who carries out and pays for which repairs, and how quickly. Think of the boiler; see boiler problems in rented housing.
• Costs: rent, deposit, utilities, internet, municipal charges, and how they are settled.
• Handover at the end: the condition in which the house must be returned, and how wear and tear is assessed.
• Access: when the owner may visit or inspect the house.

Which tenancy rules apply to this contract, for example on rent protection and rent levels, depends on what you agree and how the house is used. Legally this is not straightforward. So have a draft contract reviewed by a lawyer before you sign.

For information: the Permanent Rental Contracts Act (Wet vaste huurcontracten) has applied since 1 July 2024. Since then, leases for residential accommodation are in principle for an indefinite period. Fixed-term contracts of up to two years are only allowed for certain groups, such as students and people renting temporarily because of work or renovation. Fixed-term contracts signed before 1 July 2024 run until their end date.

05Which rules apply to the residents?

If labour migrants live in the house, extra rules from the Good Landlordship Act have applied since 1 July 2023:

• Separate tenancy agreement. The tenancy agreement must be separate from the employment contract. According to the VNG, the aim is that losing a job does not automatically mean losing a home.
• Language. Residents receive information about their rights and obligations in a language they understand well.

More about deposits, service charges and the municipal reporting point can be found in the Good Landlordship Act explained.

Registration in the BRP. Anyone who comes to live in the Netherlands for more than four months must register as a resident in the Personal Records Database (BRP), within five days of arrival. For a shorter stay, a person can register as a non-resident. Record at check-in how long someone will stay, and remind residents of their duty to register.

Short stay and fixed-term contracts. Short stay currently falls outside rent protection. The government wants to change that. The draft Appropriate Rental Contracts Bill (wetsvoorstel passende huurcontracten) limits short stay to a maximum of 30 days and allows a fixed-term contract of up to two years for labour migrants, with rent protection. A condition in the draft: every resident has their own bedroom of at least 5.5 m². The public consultation ran from 2 July to 28 August 2026. As of October 2026 it is not yet law.

06What does staff housing cost, and can you deduct rent from wages?

Rents vary widely by region, type of house and contract, so we do not give amounts. Do make a complete budget per house. Besides the rent, do not forget these items:

Deduction from wages. At present an employer may deduct up to 25% of the gross statutory minimum wage for housing, and only if the employee is given certified housing. On 10 September 2026 the government announced that it wants to abolish this option from 1 July 2028, together with the planned new tenancy law. The reason it gives is that employers often deduct the maximum, even when the quality of the housing does not justify it. As of October 2026 this is a plan, not law. Also check what your own collective labour agreement (cao) says.

Do you pass energy costs on to residents? Then read passing on energy costs to tenants. Plug-in electric heaters can push up the bill considerably; see what a plug-in heater costs.

07Checklist: renting staff housing in 10 steps

Want an overview of the options first? See renting staff housing.

08How do you manage the houses after renting?

After signing, the real work begins. Houses with many residents wear faster, and problems such as damp and cold often only show once there is already damage. Three habits help:

• Regular inspections at check-in, check-out and in between, with photos. See check-in and check-out inspections.
• Keeping an eye on humidity and temperature. Many people, showers and drying laundry in a small space create a mould risk. See preventing mould.
• A simple reporting route for residents, also when they do not speak Dutch.

eyesonrooms does not rent out housing itself, but helps with the management afterwards. With the housing management software you keep track of residents, beds, contracts and inspections with photos per house. Sensors measure temperature and humidity per room and flag mould risk, a likely plug-in heater or a room that is too cold. Residents report faults via a QR code in five languages. Read more on housing management software.

09Frequently asked questions

10Sources

• Rijksoverheid: Employer may no longer deduct rent from a labour migrant's minimum wage (10 September 2026, Dutch)
• Rijksoverheid: Consultation on the Appropriate Rental Contracts Bill (2 July 2026, Dutch)
• Volkshuisvesting Nederland: Permanent rental contracts the norm (1 July 2024, Dutch)
• VNG: How the Good Landlordship Act protects labour migrants (Dutch)
• Housing Act 2014 (Huisvestingswet), article 21 (wetten.overheid.nl)
• RVO: Energy label for homes (consulted October 2026, Dutch)
• Rijksoverheid: Registering in the Personal Records Database (BRP, Dutch)
• Volkshuisvesting Nederland: Strengthening the rental position of labour migrants (2026, Dutch)

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