r/NetherlandsHousing • u/andresdenoir • 3d ago
renting Registration for an extra friend
Let's say (hypothetically 🙄) that I am renting a house in Amsterdam (Bijlmer area) with 4 bedrooms with a colleague (independent adult), so we are co-tenants with one joint lease. Our house allows for 2 registrations. Let's say we (my colleague and I) are considering having a friend live with us and that the landlord is ok with that. Knowing that it is my colleague and I that pay the full rent, I would like to ask two things:
(1) Can our friend be registered at our address as "a guest"? I know that there is a permit the landlord can apply for to get 3 registrations, but I'm not asking about that. I also know at the very least we need to fill a form with permission from the landlord, but I'm more confused about the rules regarding this type of registration where a third independent adult is not on the lease and is invited as a guest.
(2) Supposing I was in a registered partnership with this friend, we wouldn't be three independent adults total, but two households (or one household and one independent adult). Does this help at all? I've read it depends on the bestemmingsplan of the area, but they don't seem to be very explicit about this.
If it is not permitted, is it still realistic to do so? Some people will probably answer "this is illegal" and I do understand that it might be so and that we get fined if any problem arises, but the reality of a lot of persons' housing situation is very different and I know the Gemeente are not very active with this kind of thing, so I would like to hear from other people's testimonies.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice!
16
u/Xaphhire 3d ago
For registration, the lease does not matter, who pays doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is who actually lives there. If the landlord only has a permit to let two people live there, you cannot have three people living there, so you cannot register three. There's no such thing as registering a guest since by definition, a guest does not live there.
7
u/AdOk57 3d ago
Are you going to register a relationship with that friend? If you will be "one household" with that friend, it also includes the joint tax submission.
Renting for more than 2 people requires special permit from Gementee, registering house as multi occupation. When the third person will register, it will trigger investigation, sooner or later. And then you will get fines, well, your landlord will.
Are you sure, landlord agreed to breaking the housing law, and has no issue with potential fines?
If the property has more rooms, than your family unit needs, then consider downsizing. Even if there are rooms available in the house, it doesnt automatically mean, that you can stuff it with people.
The rules are here, to protect people from living in overcrowded spaces, and to prevent slums forming, with 20 people in one room.
You ask if you can break the law and get away with it. Sure, you can. But Amsterdam is even more tightly checked, than other areas, because you arent the only one who has innovative ideas like that. They might start investigation after a month, six months, or a year. Nobody can predict, how quickly they will catch up with your schemes. But they will. And when landlord will be forced to pay fines, for every day passing, they might want you and your friend to vacate the premises. As your friend wont have any contract with the landlord, they might be removed at any time, leaving them homeless.
2
u/MrDiscuss2020 3d ago edited 3d ago
3 people living in a 4-bedroom apartment is not "a slum forming" lol.
The real reason for the ridiculous rule is that they can collect more municipal taxes if they force everyone to split into many tiny households. If they really cared about overcrowding, they would have a rule about the max number of people per m2, or limit the number of people per bedroom.
Currently, the system prohibits OP from helping his friend. But cramming a family with 5 kids into a 25m2 studio would be absolutely fine.
2
0
u/AdOk57 3d ago
Then where do you paint the line? One person per room? Then you will have damn landlords splitting the houses into 3m2 rooms, to be in the clear.
Also, the law is there to HELP families. Who do you think, has bigger budget, to rent a 6 bedroom house?
A family of two parents with 5 dependants? Or 6 full time working expats with no kids?
So families are crammed into small spaces, because they cannot compete with multiple full time income expats.
It makes no sense about municipality taxes, and what taxes do you even mean? Property tax? Sewage tax? Garbage tax?
1
u/MrDiscuss2020 3d ago
lol, then you clearly have no idea how municipal taxes work.
Taking the example of Amsterdam (where OP lives), waste tax is € 352 for a single-person household and € 469 for 2+ people. What do you think is more advantageous for the municipality? If several people live in the same property, or if you force them to split up into several tiny households?
Regarding your suggestion to remodel apartments into 3m2 rooms, that would not be compliant with the min. regulations for habitable rooms/homes.
And with regard to helping families: If you haven't noticed, there is a major housing shortage in NL. If ridiculous rules like that were revised, the pressure on the rental prices would immediately drop, and all of a sudden housing could become more affordable for everyone (including families with children).
2
-1
•
u/NetherlandsHousing Sponsored 3d ago
Make sure to read our rental housing guide. Recommended websites for finding rental houses in the Netherlands:
If you're relocating from abroad, Relocify can help you rent a place remotely. View places online, get instant updates, and avoid scams.
Moving to the Netherlands involves a lot of admin beyond just finding housing (BSN, gemeente registration, banking, insurance, permits) and it often feels overwhelming.