Setting Up Your Dutch Rental Home: Energy, Water, Internet and Bins Without Surprises

New to the Netherlands? Words with a dotted line have a short explanation. Tap or click them.

You have the keys to your new Dutch home. Now you need light, heating, water, internet and somewhere to put your rubbish. In many countries, the landlord arranges most of this. In the Netherlands, you usually do it yourself. Most of it is easy, but there are a few traps: internet that takes weeks to start, an energy bill that's much higher at the end of the year, and rubbish rules that are different in every town. This guide explains, step by step, what to arrange, when to do it, and how to avoid the surprises.

Words you need to know first

• Meter cupboard (meterkast): a small cupboard, often near the front door, with the electricity meter, the gas meter, the fuse box and often the internet connection.
• Meter reading (meterstand): the numbers on a meter. They show how much electricity, gas or water has been used so far.
• Smart meter (slimme meter): a digital meter that sends its readings to your energy company by itself. Most Dutch homes have one.
• Monthly payment (termijnbedrag or voorschot): the fixed amount you pay your energy company every month. It's a guess of what you will use.
• Yearly bill (jaarafrekening): the bill once a year that compares what you paid with what you really used. You get money back, or you pay extra.
• Grid operator (netbeheerder): the company that owns the cables and pipes to your home. You can't choose it, and you pay for it through your energy bill.
• Recycling centre (milieustraat or afvalbrengstation): a place run by your town where you can bring large or special rubbish.

First: check what your rent includes

Read your rental contract before you sign up for anything. You will see one of these situations:

• Basic rent (kale huur): only the home. You arrange energy, water and internet yourself. This is the most common.
• Rent with service costs (servicekosten): the landlord arranges some things and charges you for them, like cleaning shared hallways, or sometimes energy or internet. The contract must say what's included.
• All-in rent (all-in huur): everything is included. This is common for rooms and furnished short stays. You don't need your own contracts, but ask what's included and what happens if you use a lot.

Also check how the home is heated. Most homes have a gas boiler. Some newer homes have a heat pump and use only electricity. And some homes are connected to district heatingIn Dutch: stadsverwarming or warmtenet. Heat that comes into your home through pipes from a central place, instead of from your own gas boiler.. With district heating, you can't choose your heat supplier, but the maximum price is set every year by the ACMAutoriteit Consument en Markt: the Dutch government office that checks that companies treat consumers fairly, including energy and internet companies..

What to arrange, and when

The day you get the keys: read your meters

This takes five minutes, and it can save you a lot of money. Without it, you could pay for energy the person before you used.

1. Open the meter cupboard. You will find an electricity meter, and a gas meter if the home uses gas. The water meter is often there too, or under the kitchen sink, or in a small hatch in the floor near the front door.
2. Take a clear photo of each meter, with the numbers readable. The photo on your phone also shows the date.
3. Electricity often has two numbers: one for normal hours and one for cheaper night and weekend hours (dal or laag). Write down both.
4. Write down the meter numbers too, the long serial number on each meter. This shows which meter belongs to your home, which matters in apartment buildings.
5. Send the readings to your energy and water companies, and to your landlord if they ask. Keep the photos until your first yearly bill.

Have a smart meter? It sends the readings by itself, but take the photos anyway. They're your proof if something goes wrong. For more about what to check and photograph when you move in, read our guide Who fixes what in a rental home.

Energy: choosing a contract

In the Netherlands, you choose your own energy company. The cables and pipes are the same for everyone. Only the price, the contract and the service differ. You can compare companies on comparison websites, or directly on the companies' own websites.

• Leaving a fixed contract early: the fee must match the real costs for the energy company, and the company must tell you straight away whether you have to pay one. Rules for when you move house differ per company, so read that part of the contract.
• 14 days to change your mind: if you sign up online, by phone or at your door, you may cancel within 14 days without paying anything.
• No more welcome gifts: since 1 January 2026, energy companies may no longer offer things like tablets or vouchers when you sign up. A discount must now be paid as money on your contract.

The monthly payment and the yearly bill

This is the biggest energy surprise for newcomers. You don't pay for what you use each month. You pay a fixed amount, based on a guess. When you start, the guess is based on the home and sometimes on what the people before you used. Then, once a year, you get the yearly bill:

• You used less than you paid for: you get money back.
• You used more: you pay the difference, all at once. After a cold winter, that can be hundreds of euros.

How to avoid a shock: check your use in the energy company's app every month or two. If you use more than the guess, raise your monthly payment yourself. You can do this in the app or on the website. Most homes use more gas in winter, so don't panic about one cold month.

What energy costs in 2026

• The average Dutch household paid about €166 a month for gas and electricity in January 2026, according to CBSCentraal Bureau voor de Statistiek: the Dutch government office for statistics.. A small, well-insulated apartment costs much less. An old house with a poor energy labelA grade from A (uses little energy, cheap to heat) to G (uses a lot of energy). costs more.
• Gas prices were high in the autumn of 2026. So compare offers carefully before you sign a contract.
• Fixed costs: you pay a fixed amount each month for the grid operator, whatever you use. Every home also gets a fixed discount on energy tax: €628.96 in 2026, spread over your monthly bills. That's why your bill shows a discount line.
• Solar panels on the roof? From 1 January 2027, the rule that let you subtract the energy your panels deliver to the grid from the energy you use (salderingsregeling) stops. Using your solar energy yourself, during the day, then saves more.
• Low income and a high energy bill? The government's energy emergency fund (Noodfonds Energie) is open for applications from 4 January to 7 May 2027.

Water

You can't choose your water company: each region has one, for example Waternet in Amsterdam, Evides around Rotterdam and Vitens in large parts of the east and north. Look up your company by your postcode, and tell it that you've moved in, with your water meter reading. In some places, this happens through your landlord. Drinking water costs about €13 to €28 a month, depending on how many people live in the home. Tap water in the Netherlands is safe and good to drink, so you don't need to buy bottled water.

Separate from the water bill, your municipality and the water boardIn Dutch: waterschap. A local government body that keeps water levels safe, maintains dikes and cleans waste water. It charges its own tax. send yearly tax bills, for rubbish, sewers and clean water. Our guide to municipal and water board taxes explains them.

Internet: order it early

Internet is the thing most expats wait for longest. Start as soon as you know your address.

1. Check your address. Enter your postcode and house number on a provider's or comparison website. It shows which connection the home has and how fast it is.
2. Choose the type of connection:
   • Fibre (glasvezel): the fastest and most stable. Most new connections are fibre.
   • Cable (kabel): through the TV cable. Also fast, and found in most homes.
   • DSL: through the old phone line. Slower, and it's slowly being switched off.
3. Order, and plan the start date. If the home already has a working connection, you often only need to plug in the modem the provider sends you. That usually takes 1 to 3 weeks. If a technician (monteur) must come, it can take longer. In a brand-new building, the fibre connection is sometimes not ready for weeks or even months.
4. Ask about the contract. Contracts usually last 1 or 2 years. After that first period, Dutch law lets you end the contract every month, with at most 1 month's notice.

A normal home connection costs about €45 a month. Some providers also sell TV and a landline with it. You don't need a TV licence in the Netherlands: it doesn't exist here.

Waiting for internet? How to get by

• Use your phone as a hotspot, with an unlimited or large data plan for a month or two.
• Ask about home internet through the mobile network (4G or 5G). Some providers sell a box you just plug in, with no technician needed.
• Libraries, cafés and coworking spaces have free or cheap wifi. Most public libraries (bibliotheek) have free wifi and quiet places to work.
• A new building with only cable? Some people take a cable contract they can end every month, and switch to fibre when it's ready.

A Dutch phone number

You need a Dutch number for many things: your bank, delivery services, paying back friends, and often the DigiDYour personal login for Dutch government websites, like a digital ID card. app. There are three ways to get one:

• Prepaid: buy a SIM card in a supermarket or phone shop and top it up with credit. You don't need a BSN or a Dutch bank account. Good for your first days.
• SIM-only: a monthly plan without a phone, from about €15 a month. Usually you need ID, a Dutch address and a bank account the company can take the money from. Many plans last 1 month or 1 year.
• A plan with a new phone: you pay off the phone each month. If the phone costs €250 or more, the provider must check your income and costs, and the loan is registered at the BKRBureau Krediet Registratie: the Dutch register of loans. Banks check it when you ask for a mortgage or other loan.. This can matter later, for example when you apply for a mortgage. Buying the phone yourself and taking SIM-only avoids this.

Phone companies also check whether you have unpaid phone bills in the Netherlands. When you're new, there's nothing in your name yet, so a new company may ask for a deposit or start you with a lower spending limit.

Bins and rubbish: the Dutch way

Every municipality has its own system. In one town you get wheelie bins (kliko's) in different colours. In another, you use big underground containers in the street. In some you need a waste pass (afvalpas) to open them. In your first week, look up the rules on your municipality's website, or in the app it uses, such as Mijn Afvalwijzer. Enter your postcode and you see your collection days.

Special rubbish

• Bottles and cans with a deposit (statiegeld): you pay a small deposit when you buy them, and get it back when you return them to the machine in the supermarket. In 2026, it's 15 cents for small plastic bottles and cans, and 25 cents for large plastic bottles. Glass beer bottles have a deposit too.
• Batteries and light bulbs: most supermarkets and shops that sell them have a collection box near the entrance.
• Old electrical things: shops that sell electrical goods take back your old one when you buy a new one. Big electrical shops also take small items like old phones for free.
• Paint, chemicals and oil (klein chemisch afval): bring them to the recycling centre. Never put them in a bin or down the sink.
• Large items (grofvuil) like a sofa, mattress or cupboard: book a pickup with your municipality, often for free or a small fee, or take them to the recycling centre. Residents can often bring rubbish there for free, with ID or a waste pass.

Small jobs for your first week

• Put your name on your letterbox and doorbell. Without it, the post office may not deliver your letters. That's how people miss important letters from the tax office or their municipality.
• Find the main water tap (hoofdkraan). It's often in the meter cupboard or under the stairs. In a leak, you turn it off first.
• Look at the fuse box (groepenkast). If the power goes off in part of the home, a switch has often flipped down. Flip it back up.
• Test the smoke alarms. Since 1 July 2022, every Dutch home must have a smoke alarm on every floor. In a rental home, the landlord must put them in. If the home has a gas boiler or gas fire, a carbon monoxide alarm is a good idea too. It's cheap.
• Take out insurance: home contents insurance (inboedelverzekering) for your things, and liability insurance (aansprakelijkheidsverzekering) in case you damage something of someone else's, like your downstairs neighbour's ceiling. Both are cheap and very common. Our moving checklist explains them.
• Learn how the heating works. Find the thermostat and check the water pressure on the boiler. Our guide Who fixes what in a rental home explains what you may do yourself.

Your setup checklist

1. Read your rental contract: is energy, water or internet included?
2. 2 to 4 weeks before moving in, order internet and choose an energy contract.
3. On key day, take photos of all meters, with the numbers readable.
4. Send your meter readings to your energy and water companies.
5. Get a Dutch phone number, and enough mobile data in case the internet is late.
6. Look up your waste collection days and sorting rules, and get a waste pass if your town uses one.
7. Put your name on your letterbox, and register your address with your municipality within 5 days.
8. Test the smoke alarms, and find the main water tap and fuse box.
9. After 1 or 2 months, check your energy use and change your monthly payment if needed.

Official sources and useful links

• ACM ConsuWijzer: when your energy company raises its prices (Dutch)
• ACM: the rules for ending a fixed energy contract early (Dutch)
• ACM: the new energy contracts from 2026 (Dutch)
• Noodfonds Energie: help with high energy bills (Dutch)
• Verpact: deposit amounts on bottles and cans
• Aedes: smoke alarms in rental homes (Dutch)

This is general information based on the rules and prices in October 2026. Energy prices change often, and rubbish rules differ per municipality. Check your own contract, and your municipality's website for local rules.