How the rental market works

To successfully find a rental home, you need to understand how the system works. The Netherlands has a unique system of tenant protection and price regulation that exists nowhere else in the world in this form. This chapter explains the main mechanisms you need to know.

The points system (WWS) explained

The Woningwaarderingsstelsel (WWS) (Housing Valuation System) is at the heart of Dutch rent price regulation. It is a system used to calculate the maximum rent price of a home based on objective criteria. Each aspect of the home is assigned a certain number of points, and the total points determine the maximum basic rent. The WWS was originally designed for the social rental sector, but since the Affordable Rent Act (Wet betaalbare huur, 2024) it has been extended to the middle rent segment. This means that more homes than ever now fall under the points system.

Important: The WWS not only determines the rent price but also which homes fall under which rental segment.