The documents Dutch landlords ask for, and how to get them

The four documents you always need

Identification: passport, ID card or residence permit. Landlords check your right to live in the Netherlands before anything else.

The werkgeversverklaring, an employer statement filled in by your employer on a standard form. It states your contract type, your salary and whether your position is permanent. It must be less than three months old, and the salary on it must match your payslips exactly.

Your last three payslips (loonstroken), and three months of bank statements (bankafschriften) showing that salary actually arriving.

The income requirement

Free-sector landlords, the segment open to internationals, expect a gross monthly income of three to four times the rent. On a flat at 1,500 euros, that means 4,500 to 6,000 euros gross per month.

If your income falls short, a guarantor (borgsteller) is the usual answer. Some landlords accept a parent abroad, others require a guarantor resident in the Netherlands. Ask before you apply, not after.

If you are self-employed

There is no employer statement and no payslips. Landlords instead ask for your tax statements (jaaropgaven) covering one to three years, your most recent profit and loss account, and sometimes an income statement from your accountant.

Two documents worth having ready

An uittreksel BRP, an extract from the population register, issued by your municipality (gemeente). Not every landlord asks for it, but those who do usually want it the same week.

A verhuurdersverklaring, a statement from your current landlord confirming two years of on-time payments, also under three months old. If you are renting abroad, ask for it before you leave: it is far harder to obtain from another country.

What a landlord may not ask

The deposit is capped by law at two months of base rent (kale huur). That limit comes from article 7:261b of the Dutch Civil Code, introduced by the Wet goed verhuurderschap on 1 July 2023. It is mandatory law: a landlord cannot contract around it.

Since the Wet betaalbare huur of 1 July 2024, landlords must also hand you a points calculation (puntentelling) with every new contract. Those points set a maximum legal rent for the property.

If you have just arrived

On your first application you will have no Dutch rental history, no BSN and no BRP extract. This is normal, and landlords who rent to internationals know it.

What replaces it is your Dutch employment contract, which shows both the length and the level of your income. Bring it to every viewing.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Article 7:261b Dutch Civil Code (deposit cap)
• Wet betaalbare huur, Volkshuisvesting Nederland
• Werkgeversverklaring, Huurwoningen.nl

General information, checked against the sources listed. It does not replace advice from the competent office.