You have a spare room in the home you live in and want to rent it out to a student, a starter or an international. We find a tenant who suits you, draw up the contract and stay reachable throughout the tenancy. For hosts that is free.
With homestay rental (hospitaverhuur) you rent out a room in the home you live in yourself and share facilities such as the kitchen, the bathroom or the front door. Some hosts have space to spare now the children have left, others are after some company or extra income. You decide who you rent out to and which house rules apply, from visitors to cleaning. The first nine months count as a trial period: if it doesn’t fit, you can end the tenancy within that time. Hospi Housing helps you find a suitable candidate and guides you free of charge throughout the tenancy.
Host and tenant laughing together in front of the house
Homestay rental is well regulated in the Netherlands and less complicated than many people think. These are the national rules; anything your municipality adds on top, we work out with you at the intake.
Last updated on 16 October 2026. Amounts and terms apply to 2026; we update them as soon as they change.
Homestay rental means renting out a room in the home that is your main residence. You share facilities such as the kitchen, the bathroom, the toilet or the front door. If you rent out a space you don’t live in yourself, that is private rental and other rules apply.
You rent out to one person, in some municipalities to a household of two. For one or two rooms in your own home you usually need no permit; from the third room onwards many municipalities require a conversion permit.
Your tenant registers with the municipality at your address as a (sub)tenant, not as a co-resident. That way your tenant’s income does not count towards your benefits and it stays clear who the main resident is.
The first nine months count as a trial period. If it doesn’t fit, you can end the contract within that time without giving a reason, with three months’ notice. After that your tenant has regular tenant protection. We record this in a homestay (hospita) contract.
Thanks to the room rental exemption (kamerverhuurvrijstelling) you pay no tax in 2026 on rental income up to €6,633 a year, including any allowance for gas, water, electricity and service costs. The amount is indexed every year. Above it the usual rules apply and we point you in the right direction.
Homestay rental does not affect your housing benefit, healthcare benefit, child budget, AOW state pension, unemployment or disability benefit, as long as your tenant is correctly registered as a subtenant. If you receive social assistance (bijstand), different rules do apply: discuss it with your municipality first.
If you rent from a housing corporation yourself, ask for written permission first; many corporations work with us and encourage homestay rental. If you own your home, check your mortgage conditions and the rules of your owners’ association. We look at it with you at the intake.
Municipalities set their own conditions, such as a duty to report, a maximum number of tenants or a permit from the third room onwards. For cities such as Utrecht, Amsterdam, Leiden, Nijmegen and The Hague we have written out the rules per city.
A bill is pending that should make homestay rental easier, among other things with temporary homestay contracts of up to five years and a better position for the host when the home is sold or the host passes away. We follow it closely and will adjust our contracts as soon as the act takes effect.
Tell us about your room and what matters to you in a tenant. Not sure what is allowed or possible? At the intake we look into it with you personally.
Candidates who match your criteria respond to your listing. You chat with them through the platform and choose for yourself who you invite for an introduction.
We draw up the homestay contract and hold the deposit. Your dashboard shows whether the deposit has been paid. If anything goes differently than agreed, you can come to us.
Host and tenant talking at the kitchen table
What is allowed in your municipality, what your mortgage, tenancy agreement or owners’ association permits, and how tax and benefits work. We look it up per address and draw up the contract.
Students, starters, internationals and working people. Municipalities, corporations, schools and universities refer their house hunters to us, so you find a tenant who suits you.
We look at what is possible in your situation together with you. Personal contact from the intake to the end of the tenancy, including if something comes up along the way.
Leave your details and receive the Hospi Housing handbook for hosts. We will then get in touch personally to help you further.
What you may rent out and which rules apply
How the contract, the deposit and the payments work
We will contact you personally. We don’t use your details for anything else.
Hospi Housing handbook request via the homestay rental page.
Thank you! You will receive the handbook by email and we will get in touch personally.
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“For the second time I have a very successful match with a foreign student. Everything was neatly arranged by Hospi Housing.”
Host, rents out to international students
From a room at home to a garden house out back: hosts across the Netherlands found their tenant with us. Create a free account and discover who is looking in your area.
“The house is put to good use and we help each other.”
“Still in touch with all my tenants after 20 years.”
Homestay rental (hospitaverhuur) means renting out a room in the owned or rented home you live in yourself. You share basic facilities such as the kitchen, bathroom, toilet and front door. Because you remain the main resident, more lenient rules apply than for ordinary room rental, such as the nine-month trial period.
Nothing. Hospi Housing is free for hosts: no subscription, no listing fees and no commission on the rent.
For renting out one or two rooms in your own home you usually don’t need a permit. Rules differ per municipality; at the intake we look at what applies at your address.
In 2026 you pay no tax on room rental income up to €6,633 a year, including the allowance for gas, water, electricity and service costs. Above that amount the usual rules apply and we point you in the right direction.
The first nine months of the homestay contract count as a trial period. If it doesn’t fit, you can give notice within that time without giving a reason, with three months’ notice. After the trial period your tenant has regular tenant protection.
In the vast majority of cases it doesn’t. Homestay rental does not touch your housing benefit, healthcare benefit, child budget, state pension, unemployment or disability benefit, as long as your tenant is correctly registered as a subtenant. Only social assistance (bijstand) has different rules; discuss it with your municipality first.
Yes, provided you have the corporation’s permission. Ask for it in writing beforehand. Hospi Housing works with many corporations in the Netherlands, so we can almost always help.
No. Our network has students, starters, internationals and working people looking for a room. You tell us who you want in your home; with the right match criteria you get responses from candidates who fit, and you always meet them first.
We can still help: from advice about the local rules to the homestay contract and support during the tenancy. Let us know during your intake that you already have a tenant.