5 Best Websites To Find Apartments or Rooms in the Netherlands
Sooner or later, you will be looking for a place when moving to the Netherlands. While the property market is vast, you need to know what websites have the best home listings.
The best Dutch websites to find apartments and rooms are:
- Best overall: Funda.nl
- Best for expats: Pararius.com
- Best for renting rooms: Kamernet.nl
Other real estate websites in the Netherlands include Directwonen.nl, Huis-huren.nl and Huurwoningen.nl.
The rental market is pretty competitive in the Netherlands, so you need to act fast. We have selected the most popular websites where you can find properties for rent, including apartments, houses, and rooms. However, not all of them are free.
Thus, you might need to pay a monthly fee to do the search or contact the landlord. They all have similar features, where you can see apartments within a certain location or budget. PS: be aware that you must have liability insurance when renting in the Netherlands.
How much is the rent in the Netherlands? See all current numbers in the dedicated article.
Best websites to rent an apartment or house in the Netherlands
1. Funda.nl
Funda.nl is the number one place to start your search for housing in the Netherlands. It’s a real estate website with more than 20 years of history. Besides, it’s one of the largest websites in the Netherlands, bringing over 5 million visitors every month.
We chose Fulda.nl as the best overall rental website because it has the most traffic, the most listings, a nice user interface, and design. Besides, it’s pretty simple to navigate.
Besides, their website operates fully in English too. Fulda is good not only for rental properties but also if you want to purchase one.
You can contact the agency or owner directly on the website.
Funda.nl is a much larger website for finding homes and apartments than Pararius.nl. For example, for Amsterdam, it shows 1,185 listings compared to only 552 on Pararius.nl.
On Fulda.nl, you can apply a wide range of filters, including:
- price
- number of bedrooms
- size
- date of publishing
- neighborhood
- availability timeframe
- type of rental agreement
- and much more
Pros:
- Largest real estate website in the country
- English version
- High-quality pictures
- A comprehensive description of the property
- Properties for rent & purchase
- A large number of filters
- Attractive user interface
- Easy to search and navigate
- Direct contact
Cons:
- No private listings
What are the cheapest places to buy or rent a house in the Netherlands?
2. Pararius.com
Pararius.com is one of the largest independent websites where you can find apartments for rent in the Netherlands. It connects landlords and future tenants. The significant advantage of this platform is that it’s multilingual, including English. The disadvantage, however, is that most listings are from real estate agencies.
Pararius.com has listings in almost all Dutch cities.
If you’re only interested in high quality, furnished apartments for an extra price, Pararius.com is a good option. They provide apartments for expats and executives in the Netherlands.
If you are specifically looking to rent from the landlord, you better search somewhere else.
You can apply the following filters to the apartments:
- price
- number of bedrooms
- size
- furnishings
Keep in mind that use of this website isn’t free, and you will pay agent or mediation fees.
Mediation fees are the fees a real estate agent charges for the mediation between you and the owner/landlord of a property and the services that come with it.
It’s the best rental platform for expats in the Netherlands.
Pros:
- Largest database of apartments and homes for rent
- Attractive user interface
- Easy to search and navigate
Cons:
- Mediation fees
- No private listings
If you are renting in the Netherlands, don’t forget to take out home insurance which will cover damages in your house.
3. Directwonen.nl
Directwonen.nl is the oldest property website in the Netherlands, with over 30 years in business. The website is also available in English.
Be aware that some listings are blocked for free accounts and accessible only with the paid version. The pricing ranges from 9,95 EUR for a 2-week plan to 29,95 EUR for 3 months.
On Directwonen.nl, you can apply the following filters:
- price
- number of bedrooms
- size
- type of property
- furnishing
- availability
Pros:
- English version
- High quality pictures
- Various property types, from houses to rooms
- Direct contact
Cons:
- Messy interface
- Short descriptions
- No private listings
- Mandatory fees to see “Smart” listings
4. Huis-huren.nl
Huis-huren.nl is a simple but rich on listings rental website in the Netherlands. Currently, over 13,000 properties are available only in Amsterdam. The website has listings in more than 40 Dutch cities. You can choose between renting with a real estate agent or directly from a landlord.
On Huis-huren.nl, you can apply a few filters, including:
- rent price
- location
- radius
- home type
- bedroom number
- size
Pros:
- Wide range of properties
- Listings from landlords
- Various property types, from houses to rooms
Cons:
- No English version
- Not user friendly
- Long and hard to read descriptions
5. Huurwoningen.nl
Huurwoningen.nl is another Dutch website where you can find apartments, houses, or rooms for rent. It has only the Dutch language available.
However, the number of listed homes is significantly lower than on other platforms. So, in Amsterdam, only 263 apartments are available for rent.
On Huurwoningen.nl, you can apply only a few filters, including:
- location
- price
- bedroom number
- size
- furnishing
Overall, it’s a pretty simple website that doesn’t have anything to stand out.
Other websites to search for apartments in the Netherlands:
Best website to rent a room in the Netherlands
Renting a private room isn’t less common than renting an entire apartment in the Netherlands. In the end, Dutch housing is expensive, and not everyone can afford the whole flat.
Especially students and singles tend to rent rooms in the Netherlands.
When you will be searching for a room, you will see the word Kamer, which means room in Dutch. That said, the best website to find a suitable room or studio is Kamer.nl.
A room usually means a bedroom. So you will share common areas like the kitchen, bathroom, and toilet with others.
Also read: How much does a house cost in the Netherlands?
Kamer.nl
Kamer.nl is the most popular website for shared housing in the Netherlands. Not only students but also single adults use this opportunity to spend less money on rent; particularly in major Dutch cities like Amsterdam, Hague, and Rotterdam, renting a room makes sense.
However, Kamer.nl isn’t a free rental website; you will need to pay 21 EUR for 15 days or 34 EUR per month for the membership. After you have successfully found a room, you can cancel the subscription.
Pros:
- English version
- Over 18 years in business
- Wide range of rooms, studios, and even apartments
- Detailed descriptions
- Over 343,508 members
- Attractive user interface
- 100% guarantee of finding a place to live
Cons:
- Subscription fee
Renting in the Netherlands
In essence, what do you need to know about renting in the Netherlands?
Renting with the agency vs landlord
Firstly, you can rent a place in several ways. The most common route is to use the help of a real estate agent. On most property websites, you will see listings from real estate agents. Therefore, you will need to communicate with the professionals and pay fees upon signing a rental agreement.
The fee can range from the fixed price of several hundred euros to an entire month of rent.
Renting from a landlord
Alternatively and preferably, you want to find a home rented directly by a landlord. This way, you can get to know them beforehand and avoid paying any agent fees. The disadvantage of this route is that competition for an apartment from an owner is usually higher than those advertised by agents.
You should always meet the potential landlord personally and don’t sign any agreement online.
Types of rented apartments
Generally, you will come across these types of apartments in the Netherlands:
- Unfurnished (ongemeubileerd)
- Semi-furnished (gestoffeerd)
- Furnished (gemeubileerd)
Unfurnished is pretty self-explanatory and means no furniture at all. It might don’t have a built-in kitchen too.
The rental prices for unfurnished apartments are the lowest. So you will be able to save money, but you also must commit to buying furniture and staying there long enough time so that the investment makes sense.
Semi-furnished (gestoffeerd) apartment, on the other hand, might come with a kitchen, washing machine, and some other pieces of furniture. But don’t expect it to be a lot.
Furnished homes are suitable for moving in and living. This is the best option for expats and students who plan to stay undefined period of time. However, you will pay the most for the apartment with the furniture.
Utilities in the Netherlands
Generally, you will see only two types of homes regarding utilities and services. These are inclusive and exclusive. Inclusive, as you might guess, includes service charges in the rent. It’s less common for regular apartments and more predominant in housing for expats.
Exclusive means you will pay for all charges and services like city taxes, water, internet, gas, and electricity. Check out the best internet providers in the Netherlands in the dedicated article.
Also read our guide about rental contacts in the Netherlands and how to terminate it when needed.
