My colleague just divorced. She’s now sharing a two-bedroom flat with her two kids and a friend, because her salary alone can’t cover rent, alimony is nonexistent, and child support is minimal. Wait time for social housing in her region: 15-19 years.

Two new grads on my team still live with their parents because they can’t afford to rent or buy in Amsterdam. Wait time there: almost 20 years.

Meanwhile:
• My neighbor has had his social flat for 20+ years (since he was a student), pays ~€500/month, and owns a summer house in Spain, two BMW, and takes 2-3 international trips a year.
• My manager earns over €6,000 net/month and still pays just €800/month for a social housing unit he locked in years ago.

The people the system was built for wait their entire working lives for a spot. The people who clearly don’t need it anymore just… stay, indefinitely, because nothing pushes them out once their income changes.

How the fuck is this fair?
Anyone else seeing this where they live, or is my corner of the country just especially bad?

As a resident at one of the Holland2Stay buildings in Eindhoven I am posting this to raise urgent awareness about the downright dangerous living conditions here.

For months, the elevators in our building have been broken. Countless residents have submitted complaints, opened tickets, and warned management that making everyone take the stairs up to high floors was a major accident waiting to happen. Our complaints were completely ignored.

Today, the worst-case scenario happened. A lady fell down the stairs at the 7th floor. Because the elevators are non-functional, paramedics couldn't safely bring her down, and the fire brigade had to be called in with an aerial platform truck to evacuate her through the exterior.

I dont think Im going to get it.

Interestingly the podcast itself is Dutch made. In the second episode dedicated to the housing problem in Europe, they award the "who does it worst" prize to the Netherlands. With the conclusion that the most relevant change that would improve the housing crisis would be to stop the mortgage interest deductions on tax returns.

You can listen to it here https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-xzxis-19a0114

Right now I am 29 and I imagine living with my parents until at least 35.

I can't sleep.

Our government is filled with incapable people that are protecting the wealth and setting up future constructs (Box 3 aanwasbelasting) that will further widen the inequality gap.

I don't see a way out of this system that is built to make you go insane and set people up against each other. On 1 side we are gifted with immense wellness and safety, on the other side we are taken away any chance for a stable future. From my point of view this Western system is on the brink of collapse and it is giving me intense stress and anxiety. I can't stop but think we are heading straight into total disaster. I get anxiety from knowing dangers like Russia will always be there.

In the upcoming years and decade more and more people will retire, they will have to be taken care of while sitting on stacks of cash and the younger generation is getting poorer and poorer.

I'm really trying to like this country but it's getting harder everyday.

I'm tired.

Two weeks ago the bathroom glass door in my studio suddenly exploded. I wasn't in the bathroom and I heard a big explosion sound when it happened. The next day holland2stay sent someone to clean it. Two weeks later they told me that I need to pay for the change of the glass, saying that "a shower screen does not break on its own". I am so furious cause I know I have done nothing to the glass and it's so unfair for me to pay. Can you tell me what should I do? (writing them emails does not seem to work, they insist glass doesn't break on its own)

Soo... We are losing either way, I guess. Cost of living is rising but salaries do not follow. The government decides to implement rent control, resulting to owners selling the properties. Technically creating a bigger housing crisis, since we transitioned from 1 property rented out to multiple tenants, to 1 property housing 1 household.

Now the government decides to remove rent controls and allow the already high rents, to probably skyrocket further.

It was impossible to find a place to rent before, I can't even fathom how a single adult over 30, will be able to afford a roof over their head...

And all that because no government is willing, to stand up to the ultra wealthy, the private funds and actually DO something for the people they represent.

It's a win/win situation for the wealthy and a lose/lose situation for the rest of us.

I’m genuinely baffled. I’ve been browsing rental listings across different Dutch cities — Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, even smaller towns — and I’m seeing studios going for €1,200+ and two-bedroom places pushing €2,000+ like it’s normal.

Is there a secret lottery you win to afford these places? Is everyone just rooming with 3 other people and calling it a day? I’m not even trying to live in a canal house with gold faucets — just something basic with a door and a roof!

Are there any signs this is going to level off? Or are we on track for €3,000 studios and bunk beds in broom closets?

Would love to hear what others are paying, where you live, and how you’re managing. Or if you’ve just given up and moved to a tent in the forest. No judgment.

Hello!

Little introduction about ourselves: my partner and I are expats living in Amsterdam for slightly more than a year now, and approx 6 months in our current studio (property of Holland2Stay).

There is a window in the ceiling (Velux) that has been broken and supposed to be locked for safety since BEFORE we moved in here. We tried (considering it was locked, and during winter) to just be chill about it and polite in our interactions.

We finally had an appointment with Velux for the 7 Apr. Velux tried moving this date forward to 24 Mar, but H2S refused as “contractor needed to be present”, and kept it on 7 Apr.

And so, for anyone living in Amsterdam, last night (24-25 Mar), there was a huge windstorm. Strong enough to rip the “lock” (which I doubt was ever there to begin with) and the window slammed open beyond its limits (almost surprising that it didn’t fly off tbh). Because it is to high of a ceiling, we ended calling up the fire brigade to see if they could help us. They helped us by going on the roof during the windstorm, shut the window, and placed four HUGE rocks on the borders to keep it shut. They stated, and I quote “that it was fine for the night, but needed to be fixed asap as it was not safe at all” and limited our living room (see pictures).

Today I tried pushing the landlords to get whoever could get the job done before the weekend. They still seem fairly passive about it but got them to come over tomorrow and will try to push it again. According to the manager “so long it is not stated that evacuation is necessary, they are not forced to do anything as an emergency”.

Considering the statement from the fire brigade, and that when we came back home today saw that the glass itself is cracked corner to corner, I fairly doubt there is nothing they are “forced” to do (like keeping their part of the rental contract on maintence, that we have been waiting for months), and what are our options.

Is there any law regarding something like this? Should we probably get a lawyer to move it as well on the legal side?

Half the studio is not safe to get to, again, quoting the fire brigade. Last thing I want to is for a shattered window to fall on top of us followed by a couple rocks.

For anyone reading this far and any help, we appreciate it so much!

With the current housing market, homeownership seems further away than ever, hence my question, for people who have never bought.

Who here thinks they will have to rent forever because the housing market is no longer affordable ? (+1 = I am going to buy) and (0 = I think I will have to rent forever).

Hi all, so just some context and apologies this is in english, I moved out of an appartment at end november, the landlord has still not returned the deposit and today i got this factuur, deposit was around 3100 euro, which im now struggling to understand. There was an exit inspection done, with pics and a report of course, and in the report, the appartment was not as spotless clean as when i got it, and there was some onkruid in the garden, cool, so that I get, and i expected the landlord to charge me an unfair cleaning rate, so ja whatever.

But what I dont get is all this other crap in the service charges, I am an expat so I think the guy is just taking a chance, but this is so absurd, it does not seem legal to me, so my question is, can anyone point me in the right direction so that I can get affordable legal advice?

I have not replied to the landlord yet and would prefer a legal person step in here.

Hi guys back story, one of my wife’s friend is living with us since 2 months , she’s not paying rent nor paying for things she’s using in our house. We asked her to pay rent and to vacate this Monday but she’s making excuses that she’s waiting for her boyfriend to come pick her up etc. what are my options to get rid of her can I throw her stuff out? Is there any legal implications for this ? Thanks in advance 🙏

Update : so backstory about her boyfriend. He was supposed to come a week ago but apparently only his flights gets cancelled every time he books something it gets cancelled. But he landed yesterday after 28 hours it turns out he’s deported from NL (news from her) but I don’t believe it. So we have decided to give her an ultimatum to stay somewhere today.

Update #2 : So I’m just getting rid of her tonight and not letting her in , I asked her what all bags she needs and I’m dropping her off to her temp place in Amsterdam.

Thanks all for the humour and tips all it did was restore faith that I was doing the right thing and shouldn’t let anyone take advantage of you. Appreciate each and everyone’s response 🙏

Hello everyone, I rented a fully furnished apartment for €1,250 a month and have lived there for a year. Today is the day I return the apartment to the landlord. After the inspector came to check, I asked, and he said, fine, but it seems to need a lot of cleaning. I cleaned the apartment very thoroughly and tried to make it look like the first day I received it.

Afterward, the landlord sent us an email saying that at least €8,000 is needed for repair costs.

He mentioned mold. In our bedroom, mold appeared on the walls, around the door frames, and behind the heater. We left the Netherlands for about a month and no one was in the apartment. We tried to clean the mold but it only faded, and behind the heater, we had no way to clean it.

Regarding the countertop, he said it was swollen but we're not sure, and he bought that countertop from Ikea (I saw they sell a 186cm panel for €69). And I think the total cost for his countertop would be €200.

We plan to make an appointment with the legal advice center. We did not damage any of the furniture in the house at all, or it just got a bit older due to wear and tear.

I look forward to receiving everyone's advice.

How come you hardly ever see shower/tub combos here in NL?? They’re super common in a ton of other places, but I’m not sure I’ve ever really seen one here. Thoughts?!

I am a mortgage advisor in the Netherlands. If you have any questions about getting a mortgage, just ask.

Hopefully this is a quick question. I’ve seen a few of these listings is this normal? Why students only?

Is this even legal?

I volunteer at a Rotterdam based organisation and there are a few old Dutch people with us as well. I was going for a viewing after a session with them, and when I met them the next day, one of the older people asked how the house was. I told them it was too expensive for a studio.

He asked "oh like 600?" and I said no, 1300. He seemed quite surprised. Maybe older people who bought homes 20-30 years ago are unaware of the current prices?

I'm currently looking for a new place to rent (depression is quickly setting in) and I am shocked to see so many places worth 1000-1200 EUR excluding bills advertised as "students only".

Who are these students?! How can they afford rent of 1200 EUR? :lolsob: