Rents rose by average 4.4% this year; Lower increase than last year

Rents in the Netherlands increased in July of this year, though the increase was smaller than in the previous two years, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported. On average, rental prices for homes rose by 4.4 percent compared to the same month last year.

The central government announces the maximum allowable rent increase annually on July 1st. Many landlords implement this percentage-based increase that same month. Rents increased by 4.9 percent in July 2025, and by 5.4 percent in July 2024.

Tenants in the private rental sector faced the steepest price hikes this year. Since July, they have been paying an average of 4.5 percent more per month than a year ago. This suggests that landlords in the private sector exceeded the maximum rent increase. However, according to CBS chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen, that is not the case.

“When a tenant in a private-sector home moves out, and the property becomes vacant, the landlord is not bound by the annual maximum increase of 4.4 percent. They are free to ask for 10 percent more rent. For this reason, the actual average rent increase is almost always higher than the permitted increase.”

This holds true for this year as well, with the rent increase for tenants who did not move coming in at 3.8 percent.

Rents also increased for social housing. Most homes in this sector are owned by housing corporations. They raised rents by an average of 4.4 percent. Other landlords of social housing charged a more modest increase of 4.1 percent.

Of the Netherlands’ four largest cities, Rotterdam saw the highest average increase in rents at 4.7 percent. In Amsterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague, rent hikes ranged between 4.3 and 4.5 percent.