People looking to rent property in the non-rent controlled sector in the Netherlands faced even higher prices in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the latest quarterly report from housing platform Pararius. 

Rents in the last three months of 2023 were up an average of 8.5% on the same period in 2022, but there were widespread regional variations. The number of empty properties coming on the market also fell by nearly 16%, Pararius said. 

Eindhoven was the only one of the five big Dutch cities where rents for new contracts were lower in Q4, but this was by just 1.4%. 

In Amsterdam, rents rose by an average of 6% but in parts of Noord new tenants were paying 25% more than their predecessors, the Pararius figures show. Just 3,000 free sector properties came up for rent in the capital during the period. 

In the city centre, new tenants now pay over €30 per square metre for a flat – or €2,100 for an average apartment of 70 square metres. That is a 20% rise on 2019. 

The biggest percentual increase in the big 5 cities was Rotterdam where new tenants are paying almost 10% more for a home, or nearly €20 per square metre. 

At the same time, 8% of the homes now being offered for sale are former rental properties, indicating that increased government regulation of the rental sector is reducing supply.

“The shift from rental to owner-occupied housing has been felt in the market for some time and is further reducing availability in the rental sector,” Pararius director Jasper de Groot said. 

The government has already agreed to scrap two year rental contracts in most situations and is planning to increase rent controls to cover almost all of the market. This, plus increased taxes on property ownership, has been encouraging landlords to sell up.