Living & studying in Amsterdam
The Dutch capital is a very popular city to live and study in and finding a place to live in Amsterdam is very difficult due to housing shortage and the high rates. As a student you are responsible for arranging your own housing. Therefore, we recommend that you start looking for suitable accommodation as soon as possible and to consider not starting your studies if you have not found a room before the start of the academic year.
You can register with ROOM, even if you are not a student yet but expect to start studying in Amsterdam. On this page, we would like to give you more information and tips on how to find accommodation.
Jan Pietersz. Huis Foundation
Especially for music students
The Amsterdam University of the Arts does not have its own student houses, but students of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) can benefit from the offer of the Jan Pieterszoon Huis Foundation, which aims to create suitable living and working spaces for music students (fitted with sound insulation) in collaboration with the CvA. All bachelor and master students of the CvA may apply for inclusion on the waiting list of Jan Pieterszoon Huis (JPH).
JPH has a portfolio of about 350 houses. Most of the houses are specifically fitted out for music students to study at home. If you have registered with JPH, you will be put on the waiting list and receive regular emails with available rooms. Keep in mind that the average waiting time can be up to two to three years.
Are you interested in a JPH flat? You can register via the web-app on the JPH website, but consider the following:
- you can only register with an AHK email address. You will receive this email address at the beginning of the academic year;
- there is a waiting list of approximately two to three years;
- costs for a spot on the waiting list are € 26.50 per calendar year;
- tenancy is for a minimum of one year, which means exchange students cannot register;
- subletting (via Airbnb for example) is strictly prohibited;
- after graduation you have to leave the residence;
- housing is unfurnished unless otherwise indicated;
- more information and conditions can be found on the website of JPH.
Do you have any questions or want more information? Then please contact housing@janpieterszoonhuis.nl.
Please note:There are no priority or urgency possibilities available with JPH housing.
Accommodation in Amsterdam
In Amsterdam and the surrounding areas, you can find a room via housing associations, special institutions or private individuals. While searching for a place to live consider the following:
- Start searching as soon as possible. You want to make sure you have a place to live before the beginning of the academic year.
- Most official institutions work with a waiting list. Rooms in popular areas are in high demand.
- Try to broaden your search area. Look for rooms outside Amsterdam too.
- Let people within your network know you are looking for a room.
- Be critical about the reliability of room offers from private individuals. Unfortunately, there are scammers at work.
- Never sign a tenancy contract without having seen the room. If you do not have the option to see the room in person, plan an online tour and make sure you clearly see the person you are talking to.
More tips and information about the way housing in the Netherlands works, can be found on Study in NL.
- ROOM: here you can find student rooms in Amsterdam, Delft, The Hague, Deventer, Groningen, Leiden, Leylstad, Haarlem, Rotterdam, Tilburg, Utrecht, Wageningen or Zwolle. You can register if you are 16 years or older.
- The Social Hub (TSH) offers rooms that can be let to both Dutch and international students. The maximum length of stay is 12 months. Permanent accommodation is not possible. Check out: Amsterdam City or Amsterdam West.
- StudentenWoningWeb: On this platform housing corporation Lieven de Key publish their room and flat offers for students that are available in Amsterdam and Diemen. You pay a one-off registration fee of €22,50. Rooms are assigned based on the registration time and priority arrangements. (Information on the website is only available in Dutch)
- Student Experience offers self-contained studios with a private bathroom and kitchen.
- ASVA is the student union in Amsterdam. They provide several services for their members such as mediation between landlords and students. They also give tips on how to find a room in Amsterdam.
Do you need advice about renting in Amsterdam? You can reach out to WOON!. This is an independent non-profit foundation, partly subsidised by the municipality, that gives residents information and advice on renting and buying, among other things.
You can rent a room from a private landlord – for example through a letting agency (Dutch website), in a student house or with a family. This is called ‘house sharing’ and is subject to strict rules in Amsterdam. A landlord must have a permit for this.
There are two important legal rules to bear in mind when it comes to ‘house sharing’:
- each resident must have their own rental contract with the landlord;
- you must be permitted to register your room address with the municipality. Not permitted? Then the landlord is probably letting the room illegally.
For more information about your rental rights, please take a look at the section Rental Rights further down on this webpage.
Students going on an exchange or an internship abroad who want to sublet their room or rent a room themselves can do so via the website HousingAnywhere.com. Read more about this initiative.
Housing outside Amsterdam
Finding a room in Amsterdam can be very difficult, therefore, it is worthwhile to search in the cities and villages around Amsterdam. This will add the cost of public transport, but the rent prices are generally speaking lower than the ones you will find in Amsterdam.
North of Amsterdam the rooms are cheaper and some of the villages or small towns have a good train connection, such as Zaandam Kogerveld, Purmerend Weidevenne, Purmerend, Santpoort Noord, Santpoort Zuid, Driehuis, Beverwijk, Halfweg-Zwanenburg, Haarlem Spaarnwoude, Zaandam, Koog aan de Zaan, Zaandijk Zaanse Schans, Wormerveer, Krommenie-Assendelft.
For example, when you register for a renting website, you can search within a radius (‘straal’ in Dutch) of 25 km or so. In addition to the rooms in Amsterdam, the website will most likely show you rooms that are available in the cities mentioned above.
However, please be aware that some, if not most websites require you to pay a monthly fee before you can actually see the rooms or apartments you are interested in.
Be warned that there are also websites that list rooms that are not available anymore. There are unfortunately a lot of scammers out there that know how high demand is for housing.
Renting websites you can check out that require a subscription are Stekkies, Huurzone and RentSlam.
Public transport costs
Renting a place outside Amsterdam can cost you roughly €150,- to €600,- per month in travel expenses. Via the NS website (a Dutch railway company) you can check the price of a one-way ticket without and with a discount.
For example, if you were to live in Beverwijk (about 35 minutes from Amsterdam by train) you will find that the price of a day return without a discount or subscription in second class in 2026 is €7,80. Should you travel for 5 days a week from Beverwijk to Amsterdam (Central Station) for about 4 weeks, it will cost €312 without a discount. If you were to start your lessons around 10.00 am and travel back after 18.30 pm, then it might be worthwhile to get a monthly subscription such as a NS Flex Dal Voordeel subscription. This will allow you to travel during off peak hours with a discount. Read more about the details and conditions for this subscription here.
Rental rights
It can be very overwhelming when you are renting for the first time. Especially, when you are renting privately and not through an official housing association. You might not be aware or as informed about your rights. Therefore, we urge you to read the information below about housing scams, key money, free legal advice and high rental prices.
The demand for affordable housing in Amsterdam is extremely high, which unfortunately also attracts illegal landlords who are not part of any official association and do not have your best interest at heart. Therefore, make sure to think about the following details:
- If an offer sounds too good to be true, it generally is. For example, renting a cheap room in the city center will be highly unlikely.
- If something makes you feel uncomfortable while communicating with a potential landlord, please pay attention to that and be extra alert. Scammers usually want to arrange everything quickly and can put pressure on you, which is in itself a bad sign. However, do not feel pressured and know that it is okay to take your time to read carefully through the information or tenancy agreement they provided you.
- If a landlord only offers you an email address, phone number or social media page, be very cautious. To find out who you are communicating with ask for more information, such as an official business or residential address. Also ask for a proof of ID and research the company/agency. However, please be aware that scammers can send you a fake copy of their ID when asked via email.
- If you receive a request to pay via Western Union or even with cash (without any type of receipt), please know this is a huge red flag. Preferably, you want to pay via a bank transfer. In any case, build a file. Make screenshots of the rental ad and keep every email and/or message exchange.
- Via the Kadaster property registry you can find out who really owns the accommodation. You pay a small fee of €3,70 to request this information (only available in Dutch). If you need help requesting this information about a property in Amsterdam, you can contact !WOON. If it turns out that the owner and the landlord are not the same person, ask for an explanation and a written authorization that the landlord is acting on the behalf of the owner.
- If it is possible, find out from neighbors if they know more about the accommodation. For example, do they know who currently lives there or who the previous tenants were. This information can help you decide whether the person you are communicating with is trustworthy.
- One question you must always ask, is whether you can register at the address. If the answer is no, that is usually not a good sign. It is most likely an illegal housing situation. Be aware that it is obligatory to register at the correct address, because you could risk a fine if this is not the case.
- Again we would like to stress to never sign a tenancy agreement without seeing the accomodation for yourself or by someone you trust. This also applies to the key exchange. Always to this in person to make sure the keys actually work.
- Be careful with whom you share a copy of your ID with. When you need to provide a copy of your ID, for example when you are going to sign your tenancy agreement, make sure to remove or block your personal (identity) number to prevent identity fraud.
If you are unsure about an offer or you have other questions about rental housing in Amsterdam, you can contact !WOON.
(source: I amsterdam and ASVA)
In addition to paying rent, there are other expenses that can be part of a tenant agreement. However, ‘key money’ (sleutelgeld) is not one them. Key money or a key fee is a payment demanded of you which will allow you to enter the house. Please know that it is not permitted by law for a landlord to ask for key money. So, if you are asked, do not pay key money.
An expense that is customary and legally permitted to ask for from a tenant, is a deposit. A deposit in most cases consists of one or two months rent. If you leave the house in good order at the end of your tenancy, you can get this money back. Read more about getting your deposit back from !WOON.
If you want more information about the additional expenses a landlord is permitted to ask for, you can go to the website of the Dutch Government.
When you are a new tenant you can sometimes be faced with a difficult housing situation. For example; you are thrown out of your house unexpectedly, it turns out you have been duped and find out you are renting a place that is not an official/registered address, your landlord raises the fees without (sufficient) warning and so on.
If such a situation occurs, you could reach out to these organisations for free legal advice:
- !WOON is a tenant support agency which provides free legal advice for all individuals living in the municipality of Amsterdam.
- Het Juridisch Loket provides personal and free legal advice for people with a low income. They also have a lot of legal information available on their website.
Here are the contact details the from the municipality of Amsterdam. - The Dutch Student Union (LSVb) is an organization that advocates for the interests of students. In partnership with the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) they have created the Housing Hotline where you can ask questions about housing and your rental rights.
Since 1 July 2024 the Affordable Rent Act has been implemented. This legislation ensures that the rental price and the quality of the accommodation are matched. It takes the rental value of the property into account such as size, location, facilities, etc. This is based on a points system; the total number of points determines the maximum rental price.
As an international student you may unfortunately not be aware when the rental price of your accommodation is actually too high. You might just accept it, because you just want to find a place quickly. However, it is okay to be critical. So, please check the rental price of your accommodation with the Rent Tribunal (Huurcommissie).
When the rent is too high and you cannot work it out with your landlord, you can report it to the municipality and file your case with the Rent Tribunal. If you are renting in Amsterdam you can also contact !WOON for advice.
Rent benefit
Rent benefit is an allowance for rental costs that is paid out by the national government. When you meet the conditions, rent benefit can help you to afford the house you are renting.
Whether you are eligible for rent benefit depends on your age, rent, income, nationality and whether the rented accommodation counts as an independent accommodation. On the Tax Administration website you will find an overview of the conditions for receiving rent benefit and how to apply for it.
For the application you can use the test calculator on the Tax Administration website (only available in Dutch). This calculator helps estimate how much rent benefit you can expect. After you have done the test calculation, you can submit your application via the Tax Administration’s website, using “Mijn toeslagen” (only available in Dutch). You will then receive a message from the Tax Administration whether you are entitled to rent benefit and how much you will receive.
You can also receive rent benefit retrospectively. This means that you can still apply for rent benefit for the year(s) you were entitled to it but did not receive it.
If you need help with your application while located in the Netherlands, you can call the Tax Information Line.