House (Hu)renting!

House renting has 4 different phases: searching, moving in, living, moving out.

Searching: Decide if you want a furnished house or an unfurnished house. A furnished house will have everything in the house (fridge, TV, washing m/c, sofa, dining table, cot and mattress, bathroom carpet etc) and you will most likely not have to buy anything. Unfurnished house will have just the walls, the fixtures, kitchen platform etc. You will have to do the furnishing yourself including flooring and painting. Furnishing yourself will cost you about € 3,000 in total assuming at least a few of your furnishing are ‘used’ (second hand). Rent for a furnished house is about € 250 to € 350 more expensive than unfurnished.The options to go about finding a house is:

  • to approach a private house rental agency (Rotsvast, Kempen etc). They will charge about 50% to 100% of 1 month’s rent as their commission depending on the length of your stay and negotiation skills.
  • contact the house owner directly. This is tough because you need to contact of the house owner.  But it is the most cost effective since you do not have to pay the commission
  • http://www.funda.nl/makelaars/ is good for searching unfurnished houses. They charge very nominal fees and there is no commission.
  • you can also register with a housing agency like VB&T for unfurnished homes. They have a nominal registration fee. They will show from their own set of houses.
  • http://www.actyswoenen.nl has a lot of good houses. You need to register to see the houses

Getting a good house is difficult here. So if you find one that suits you, book it immediately. Most 2 bedroom houses are only a 1.5 size meaning the second room can accommodate only single cot.

It is safe to move into a house that is already vacant. I believe by law, the owner is not allowed to force a tenant out. Hence if the tenant does not vacate on time, you will have to manage the situation. But this could lead to losses for yourself for rent, temporary stay etc.

‘Het Goed’ is a good shop for second hand goods like furniture, electrical items etc.

For people working in Amsterdam area, Almeer city is considered economical. Amstelveen is popular due to the huge Indian population in that city.

Legal tip: When renting directly from the owner, it is advisable to check if the person you are dealing with is really the owner. You can check this by paying € 3 at Kadaster. The procedure is below:-
1)Click www.kadaster.nl
2) Select Particulier
3)Select producten en diensten
4)Select Kadastraal Bericht Eigendom
5)Select nu kopen
6)Enter the postcode and house no of the apartment you wish to verify
7)Select Kadastraal bericht eigendom
8)Click Naar Winkelwegen and pay online
9) A PDF will open with all the details

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Moving in: You are expected to leave the house exactly the way it was when you rented it…except normal wear and tear. Any existing damage in the house must be documented and signed before moving in. Hence house inspection together with the owner/agent is a very important activity before/just after moving in. If you notice some damage after moving in and you think it is not documented, immediately notify the agency/owner in phone and also in email and pictures. Keep the communication for your records.

Living: The Dutch are one of the cleanest when it comes to their accommodation. They spend a lot of time in cleaning and keeping things spic and span. Especially because of the Indian cooking using oil, turmeric, masala etc leaving the house as clean as it was before renting demands extra effort. Some of the cleaning liquids found in the market are:

> Wall cleaning – Dasty
> Kitchen cleaning – Mr. Muscle
> Wooden floor cleaning – Andy houd and laminaat. Also, Blokker shop has a manual cleaning stick that makes convenient to clean floors.
> Window cleaning – Glassex
> Toilet cleaning – Harpic
> Drain clog removing – HG, vloeibare onstopper
> HG has a lot of products to remove moss etc. These products are available in Praxis or Gamma

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Moving out:  In most cases, irrespective of the date you give notice of your moving out, you need to pay rent till the end of the next month. Keys return date/time is considered as your vacating. Hence if you want to extend your stay a couple of days, it should be arranged with your owner/agency in advance. Most likely they will NOT oblige! I’m not sure if it is true, but I believe the owner is not legally allowed to ask you to leave until you leave and hence if you decide to extend your stay even at the last minute, you can do so. You are expected to leave the house exactly the way it was when you rented it…except normal wear and tear. This means a lot of cleaning towards the end.

Disclaimer: The is my best effort and no responsibility will be taken for any inaccuracy

25 thoughts on “House (Hu)renting!

  1. Sriram

    Hi Madhu, Many thanks for your time and effort . I have recently moved into the Netherlands. I have been advised by my employer to rent a place from where I can comfortably travel to Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam. My wife is keen on staying in a place where we might have some good Indian company. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

    Kind regards
    Sriram

    Reply
    1. admin

      Hi Sriram, I have a friend staying in Leiden. He recently moved there and likes it there. I live in Eindhoven which is 150kms away. So if you want to hear from the people who live in that area, I would suggest you to join facebook group “Indians in Netherlands” and post your question for suggestions.

      Reply
  2. Ashi

    Hi Madhu,

    I’m planning to come to Enidhoven to work for an year. Could you please suggest a place which is cheaper for long term stay around High tech city. I plan to buy a bicycle to commute.

    Thanks,

    Ashi

    Reply
    1. admin

      Hi Ashi, centrum is a good area and close enough to cycle to HTC. Somewhere along Hoogstraat would be ideal.

      Reply
  3. vinod

    Hi Madhu,

    My work will be in Rijswijk and my daughter will be studying in American school of Hague. Please advise the best place to stay with all the necessary things like medical stores, supermarket, restaurants, train station nearby.

    Reply
    1. admin

      Hi Vinod, I live about 150kms away. I have very little idea of there. But there are plenty of Indians in the hague. I suggest you join indians in the hague facebook group.

      Reply
  4. Nahush

    Hey Madhu!
    I’ve received an admit from TU Eindhoven for Master’s in Construction Engineering and Management and am not sure if I should be taking it up or not. Since you’ve been at Eindhoven for quite sometime now, what do you think I should do. I’m really concerned about the living expenses there and the availability of part time jobs. By the way do you have any idea about the construction sector there (The Netherlands in general)?

    Reply
    1. Madhu

      I suggest to connect with a student in TU/E via facebook. I have no idea on this one.

      Reply
  5. Chandra Sekhar

    Hello Madhu,

    I have a question on house hunting.
    i found a house through House Hunting and i transferred the money( 1 month rent as deposit, 1 month rent and brokerage fee) to house hunting bank account.
    Yesterday, when i went to collect the keys, the house is not cleaned and furniture is in worst condition, so i decided not to collect the keys until it is cleaned and replacing the things.

    If the owner is not willing to replace the things, can i ask for refund?? i have not yet signed on the agrement.
    Now, i am loosing interest also in that house, please let me know the possibility.

    Thanks,
    Chandra Sekhar

    Reply
    1. Madhu

      Best is to seek legal help. There should be free legal help in your city. Try “Juridisch locket” of your city

      Reply
  6. Pankaj SIngh

    Hi Madhu,

    I am moving to NL in Jan 2016 and My office is located in Hoofddrop. What would be the cheap and best place to live. I am coming with my wife and a 3 year old kid . It is mandatory to have a seperate room for kid?

    Appreciate your help.

    Thanks,
    Pankaj SIngh

    Reply
  7. Sharan

    Hi Pankaj,

    Good to know that you’re moving to Netherlands in January. I’ll be relocating to Eindhoven in the same month.

    Just wanted to check if you have already started the VISA process. If yes, may I know whether the birth certificate is still mandatory?

    Thanks,
    Sharan

    Reply
    1. Pankaj Singh

      yes . Kids BC is necessary. My delayed is delayed to April due to lengthy process. I am coming to NL around 20 APR 2016.

      Reply
  8. Mohan

    Hi Madhu,

    Great efforts and time for this blog. Truly appreciate it!
    Am planning to arrive in Netherlands by December 1 2015. I have my company located in Purmerend.
    Can you please suggest / recommend some rental sites for furnished house/apartment in and around Purmerend.
    It would be of great help if you can share info of any friends in this region who can help me right away.

    Regards,
    Mohan.

    Reply
  9. Archana

    Hi!grt and informative blog!thnks for that!
    Quick clarification. My husbNd,I nd my 4 yr old daughter would be arriving in NL in December 2015. We had zeroed in on Arnhem city nd hilversum based on my husband’s wrk place(which is ambers foot) nd school for my daughter. But I’m also wondering which is bttr in terms of Indian community? Arnhem or hilversum?does hilversum have an Indian community??thanks in advance

    Reply
  10. Jaysn

    Hello,
    I am living in germany since 9 years. And i am shifting to amsterdam for work.
    Is there a website that can help me to find pg with indians. As this facebook groups are not accepting new request i am waiting since 2 weeks.
    Thanks in advance

    Reply
    1. Madhu

      Try changing your facebook location to Amsterdam already and resend. Sometimes admins can be strict to avoid spammers.

      Reply
  11. ChetanaH

    Hi Madhu!
    Chetana here from Namma Bengalooru.
    Kudos to you on your efforts, time, energy, in creating this website! Kindly accept my heartfelt wishes and gratitude 🙂

    Could you possibly guide us?
    1. The more I dig into NL house renting, the more confused I find myself in. My son shall be studying in ISE (we have initiated the process and hopeful about it) and the husband shall be working in HT-C. Since both are in opposite directions (approx 9.5 – 13 km, considering cycling and transport distance respectively) I might have to drop and pick him up. So my best guess is to be closer to school, say 3-4 kms radius from school towards the city centre.
    What do you say? Will this be feasible for me to shop mainly for Indian grocery, stationary and such stuffs?
    2. I have checked ‘Indians in Eindhoven’ page on FB, I see that many people have advertised property for rent. How does this work?
    Highly appreciate any little help!

    Reply
  12. Lenin Kumar

    Hi,

    I am planning to move into netherlands by the later half of the year. I am coming there through my company. And planning to moving there with my family. My doubt is that while renting an apartment if it is mandatory to rent a 2 bedroom apartment if we have one child older than 3. Thanks in advance.

    Lenin

    Reply
    1. Madhu

      Not mandatory to rent a 2 bedroom for a 3 member family. Single is allowed

      Reply

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