Dutch cities top expensive housing list for young adults

Four Dutch cities are among the top five most expensive in Europe to rent a home, according to research by rental property website HousingAnywhere, which focuses on student accommodation and housing for young professionals.

In total, 65,000 plus properties in 28 European cities were analysed for the report. Of them 98% were furnished and 62% included bills.

Amsterdam topped the list, with an average rent of €2,275 for a flat, €963 for a room in a shared flat and €1740 for a studio. Rome and Paris came next in terms of the cost of an apartment, followed by Rotterdam and The Hague.

Utrecht, however, was the second most expensive place in Europe to rent a single room, followed by The Hague, Munich and Cologne.

Across Europe as a whole, HousingAnywhere’s rent index rose 3.8% in the first three months of this year.

In February, room rental platform Kamernet, which is part of the HousingAnywhere group, said the cost of renting a room in a shared house in Amsterdam soared to an average of €948 last year, a 39% increase on 2021.

In The Hague, room rents soared nearly 32% and in Breda almost 30%, Kamernet said. The Hague and Rotterdam remain the most expensive cities to share a home after the capital.

Student rooms are supposed to be subject to the point system for setting rents but few landlords currently take this into account. But legislation which requires landlords to give new tenants an official calculation of the rent, based on size and shared facilities, is currently pending in parliament.

Students and young professionals will then know the maximum rent which landlords can charge, and will be able to go to a rent tribunal to force a reduction.