Amsterdam coaxes residents to take in students as tenants

The main incentive is the waiving of tax payments on rental income

The City of Amsterdam has decided to tackle the housing shortage that flares up every September due to the increased demand for rental places by incoming students. For this purpose, the authorities are inviting landlords who have spare rooms and parts of houses to rent them out to such young people coming to the Dutch capital for the purpose of education.

The benefits for prospective landlords, according to the city, are that they will not need a special permit and they will not have to pay tax on the annual income derived from the rent (up to 5,881 euros).

Have a room to spare? Then, please, share

The scheme seems to be aimed specifically at people who are not multiple property owners, but rather at people who themselves live in a house or a flat and happen to have a room or two that they don’t use.

Therefore, there are certain conditions to be met, if you’d like to get on the temporary rental market:

• You must live in the house yourself;
• If you rent the house, you need permission from the owner or landlord;
• You rent to a maximum of 1 household.
• The house must meet the requirements for fire safety;
• There is a rental contract between you and the tenant;
• As a landlord, you have been living in the home for at least 2 years without another household living in it.

The crucial thing is that the tenants that landlords take in will have to be in essence flatmates. If the new tenant has access to a separate kitchen and bathroom, that will already be counted as a separate home, even if it’s within the confinements of another household.

Once wannabe landlords and landladies have established their eligibility, they can turn to dedicated organizations in Amsterdam, such as Hospi Housing and Onder de Pannen, which work to match supply and demand in the housing market.