New to the Netherlands? Words with a have a short explanation. Tap or click them.
The tap drips. The heating doesn't work. There's mould on the bathroom ceiling. When you rent a home in the Netherlands, who has to fix that: you or your landlord? Dutch law gives a clear answer, and there is even an official list of the small jobs that are yours. This guide explains it in plain words: what you fix and pay for yourself, what your landlord must fix, how to report a problem the right way, and what you can do if nothing happens. You don't need to know anything about Dutch law to follow it.
The idea in simple words
Think of it like borrowing a bike from a friend. You pump up the tyres and oil the chain, because that's small and easy. But if the frame breaks, your friend has to fix it, because it's their bike.
A rented home works the same way. Small, cheap and easy jobs inside the home are yours. Changing a tap washer, tightening a loose door handle, painting the inside walls. Big, expensive or technical jobs are the landlord's. A leaking roof, a broken boiler, damp walls.
If something breaks because you damaged it, you pay for the repair. And if the landlord doesn't fix their part, you can get help, and sometimes pay less rent until it's fixed.
The most important facts
- Small repairs are yours by law. A Dutch rule called the A Dutch government decree from 2003 (in Dutch: Besluit kleine herstellingen). It lists the small repairs a tenant must do and pay for. The list gives examples, so other small jobs can count too. lists them. Everything else that breaks without it being your fault is the landlord's job.
- "Small" means cheap and easy. If a repair costs a lot of money or needs a specialist, the landlord pays, even if it's on the list.
- Report problems in writing and give the landlord 6 weeks to fix them. An email or an app message is fine. Keep a copy.
- From 1 January 2027, a written report is required before the The Huurcommissie (Rent Tribunal) is an independent government service that settles arguments between tenants and landlords, about the rent, service costs and maintenance. will look at a defect. Without one, you can't start a case.
- Lower rent for serious defects: in social and mid-rent homes, the Huurcommissie can lower your rent until the landlord fixes the problem. It costs you €25, and you get it back if you win.
- Always keep paying your rent while you wait. Stopping can give the landlord a reason to end your contract.
Words you need to know first
- Landlord (verhuurder): the person or company that owns the home and rents it to you. This can also be a A non-profit organisation that rents out social housing. In Dutch: woningcorporatie..
- Tenant (huurder): you, the person who rents the home.
- Small repairs (kleine herstellingen): the cheap, easy jobs that the law says are yours.
- Defect (gebrek): something wrong with the home that stops you from using it the way you may expect from a well-maintained home. For example, a leaking roof or heating that doesn't work. Fixing defects is the landlord's job.
- Inspection report (opnamestaat): a written description, often with photos, of what the home looks like on the day you move in. It protects you when you move out.
- Huurteam (tenants' help desk): a free local service that helps tenants with problems with their landlord. Many cities have one.
The simple rule: small, cheap and easy is yours
Dutch law (the The Burgerlijk Wetboek: the Dutch book of laws about everyday life, such as renting, buying and contracts. The rules for renting are in book 7.) has two sides:
- The landlord must fix defects when you ask. The only exceptions are the small repairs, and damage that you caused yourself.
- The tenant must do the small repairs and pay for them.
The government's list of small repairs is about the inside of your home and the things you can reach yourself. The list says these jobs only count as small when they don't cost much money and don't need special knowledge. The Huurcommissie explains it like this: you must be able to do the repair yourself easily, and it must cost little. If it costs a lot, or you can't easily do it yourself, the landlord pays.
There's one more rule: if you or your guests broke something, you pay. That's true even if it's a big job. A window broken by your football is yours. A window that cracks because the frame is rotten is the landlord's.
Who fixes what: the list
This table is based on the official Small Repairs Decree. Your contract or your housing association may have its own list, but by law a rental contract for a home may not make the landlord's repairs yours. The only exception is repairs to changes you made to the home yourself.
| The problem | You | Your landlord |
|---|---|---|
| Dripping tap | Change the washer and other easy tap parts. Remove limescale. | A new tap if it's worn out, or a leaking pipe. |
| Loose things | Tighten loose door handles, stair rails, doorsteps, light switches, sockets and doorbells. | Broken electrical wiring inside the walls. |
| Locks and keys | Oil hinges and locks. Replace door handles, locks and keys. | Doors and window frames that are rotten or broken. |
| Walls and ceilings inside | Paint, whitewash and wallpaper. Fill small holes and small cracks first. | Big cracks, damp walls, or plaster that falls off. |
| Heating | Bleed the radiators, top up the water in the heating system and restart the boiler after it stops. | Repairs to a broken boiler, and a new boiler. |
| Ventilation | Clean the air vents and change the filters of the ventilation system. | A ventilation system that doesn't work. |
| Blocked drain or toilet | Keep drains clean and unblock them, up to where your pipes meet the main sewer, as far as you can reach. | Broken or badly built sewer pipes. |
| Broken window | Replace a broken window pane or built-in mirror if it doesn't cost much. | Expensive glass, or glass that broke because of a building problem. |
| Lights | Replace lamps outside your front door and in shared outdoor areas. Bulbs inside are yours anyway. | Electrical faults. |
| Garden | Mow the grass, pull weeds, prune hedges and young trees, replace dead plants and broken tiles. Replace broken planks in a wooden fence and keep it straight. | Big jobs that cost a lot, like a whole new fence when the old one is worn out. |
| Gutters and chimney | Clean gutters and sweep the chimney, if you can reach them yourself. | Repairs to gutters, roofs and chimneys. |
| Pests | Mice or insects, if it's cheap to fix and not caused by the building. | Pests that come in through gaps or holes in the building. |
| Outside of the building | Wash the windows and window frames you can reach. | Painting outside, the roof, outside walls and foundations. |
Never work on the boiler yourself
Bleeding radiators, topping up the water pressure and pressing the reset button are fine. But never open or repair a gas boiler, a gas water heater or a gas fire. Since 1 April 2023, only companies with a special Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas you can't see or smell. It can come from a gas appliance that doesn't work well. A CO-vrij (CO-free) certificate shows a company is trained to work on gas appliances safely. may work on these. The Dutch government says doing this work yourself is against the law. Who arranges the yearly check? Look in your contract. The government says that if your contract says nothing about it, it's the landlord's job.
Mould and damp: whose problem is it?
Mould is one of the most common problems in Dutch homes, and one of the most common arguments. The answer depends on the cause:
- The landlord's problem: damp that comes from the building. For example, rain that leaks in, water that rises up from the ground into the walls, a leaking pipe, or a ventilation system that doesn't work. The Huurcommissie lists serious mould and damp from leaks or rising water as serious defects.
- Your part: using the home normally and keeping it aired. Open a window or turn on the extractor fan when you shower or cook. Don't block the air vents. Clean the vents and change the filters, which is one of your small repairs.
If you air the home well and the mould keeps coming back, report it to the landlord in writing, with photos. That's usually a sign of a problem in the building.
How to report a problem the right way
How you report a problem matters. A phone call is easy to forget, and hard to prove later. Do it like this:
- Write it down. Send an email, a letter or an app message to your landlord or their A company that manages the home for the landlord. In Dutch: beheerder. It often handles repairs.. The Huurcommissie has a free model letter (modelbrief gebreken) you can use.
- Say exactly what's wrong: what the problem is, where in the home it is, and since when.
- Add photos. Take them from close by and from further away, so it's clear where the problem is.
- Ask for a repair within 6 weeks. That's the period the Huurcommissie uses.
- Keep a copy of everything you send and receive, with the date. If you use email, make sure the landlord's email address and the date are visible.
Why the written report matters even more from 2027: a new law, the A Dutch law (Wet toekomstbestendige huurcommissie) approved by parliament on 29 September 2026. It changes some Huurcommissie procedures from 1 January 2027., starts on 1 January 2027. From then on, you must have reported a defect to your landlord in writing before you can start a case about it at the Huurcommissie. The Huurcommissie has confirmed that an email or app message can be enough.
Emergencies can't wait 6 weeks
Water pouring in, no heating in winter, a door that won't lock: call your landlord's emergency number straight away. Most landlords and housing associations have one, and it's often in your contract or on their website. Report it in writing afterwards too.
Do you smell gas? Go outside, leave doors and windows open, don't use light switches or anything with a flame, and call the free national gas and power emergency number: 0800-9009. It works 24 hours a day.
What if the landlord doesn't fix it?
First, the most important rule: keep paying your full rent. If you stop paying, you have rent arrears, and that can give the landlord a reason to end your contract. Then use one or more of these routes:
1. Ask the Huurcommissie for lower rent
If the landlord hasn't fixed a serious defect within 6 weeks, the Huurcommissie can lower your rent for a while. This works for social housing and rooms, and for mid-rent homes if you signed your contract on or after 1 July 2024. (Our guide Is your rent too high? explains these types of rent.)
- Only serious defects count. The Huurcommissie gives examples: no toilet, shower or kitchen with running water, doors or windows that can't be locked, serious mould or wood rot, rain leaking in, or bad ventilation that causes damp and bad smells. Its free online Gebrekencheck (defects check) tells you if your problem is serious enough.
- Cost: €25. You get it back if you win. If you get rent allowance or have a very low income, you can ask not to pay it.
- An inspector usually visits to look at the problem. For some problems, like a boiler that doesn't work well or noise, you need a report from an expert first, and you pay for that yourself.
- From when? If you start the case within 6 months of reporting the problem, the lower rent usually counts from the first day of the month after you reported it.
- How long? The lower rent counts until the landlord has fixed the problem.
Two things to know. The Huurcommissie can lower the rent, but it can't force the landlord to do the repair. Only a judge can. And if your rent goes down, your rent allowance may go down too.
Free sector homes (homes with no maximum rent) are different. You can only go to the Huurcommissie if your contract says so, or if you and your landlord agreed it later, for example by email. And its answer is only advice. The landlord doesn't have to follow it.
2. Go to the subdistrict court
The The kantonrechter: the local court for everyday cases such as rent, work and small debts. You don't need a lawyer there. (kantonrechter) can order the landlord to do the repair. By law, a tenant can also ask for lower rent from the day the landlord was told about the defect, until it's fixed. This route works for every type of rental home, including the free sector. You don't need a lawyer, but free advice first is a good idea.
3. Fix it yourself and take the cost off your rent
The law allows this, but only when the landlord is officially in default. That means you asked for the repair (in writing, with a fair deadline) and the landlord didn't do it. You may then have the repair done and take the reasonable cost off your rent. Be careful: if you do this too early, or the cost is too high, the landlord can say you owe rent. Always get free advice from a huurteam or the Het Juridisch Loket: a free Dutch legal help desk, paid for by the government. You can call, chat or visit. first, and keep all invoices.
4. Tell your municipality
Every municipality has a place where you can report bad landlords (meldpunt goed verhuurderschap). And if the home is unsafe or unhealthy, so it doesn't meet the Dutch building rules, the municipality can order the landlord to repair it. If the landlord still does nothing, the municipality can do the repair itself and send the bill to the landlord.
Changes you want to make
Hanging shelves, painting a wall green, putting in a new kitchen: what are you allowed to do in a rented home?
- No permission needed for changes you can easily undo at the end, without much cost. For example, hanging mirrors, curtain rails or a bathroom cabinet with screws.
- Written permission needed for everything else, like a new kitchen, removing a wall or new flooring that's glued down. An air conditioner on the outside wall usually needs permission too.
- The landlord must say yes within 8 weeks if your change doesn't make the home harder to rent out and doesn't make it worth less. If the landlord says no, you can ask the subdistrict court for permission.
When you move out, you may take your own changes away, as long as you leave the home more or less the way it was. You don't have to remove changes the landlord allowed, unless that was agreed or a judge decided it. Our tip: always get permission in writing, and agree in the same message whether you must undo the change when you leave. Many housing associations call this ZAV (zelf aangebrachte voorzieningen, changes made by the tenant), and have their own rules for it.
Moving in and moving out: protect your deposit
Most arguments about repairs happen at the end, when the landlord wants to keep part of your Money you give the landlord at the start, as a safety. You get it back when you move out, minus unpaid rent or the cost of damage you caused.. You can prevent most of them on day one.
- When you move in: walk through the home with the landlord and make an inspection report together. Take photos and videos of every room, with the date. Write down every scratch, stain and crack. Send it to the landlord by email, so there's a record.
- When you move out: you must leave the home in the state described in that report. Normal wear and things that are simply old don't count against you. A carpet that's worn after 5 years is not damage.
- No report? Then the law assumes you got the home in the same state as you leave it, unless the landlord can prove otherwise. But proof is much easier with photos, so make them anyway.
- Your deposit back: the landlord must pay it back within 14 days after your contract ends. If they keep part of it for damage or unpaid rent, they must pay the rest within 30 days and give you a written list of every cost.
- Maximum deposit: 2 months of basic rent, for contracts signed on or after 1 July 2023.
Our guide to renting an apartment or house in the Netherlands explains contracts, deposits and agency fees in more detail.
Your repairs checklist
- On the day you move in, make an inspection report with photos, and email it to your landlord.
- Save your landlord's emergency number in your phone.
- Do the small repairs yourself: tap washers, loose handles, radiators, filters, the garden.
- Never work on a gas boiler, gas water heater or gas fire yourself.
- Report bigger problems in writing, with photos, and ask for a repair within 6 weeks. Keep copies.
- Keep paying your full rent while you wait.
- Nothing happens after 6 weeks? Do the Huurcommissie's defects check, and ask your huurteam or the Juridisch Loket for free advice.
- Want to change something in the home? Ask for permission in writing first.
Official sources and useful links
- Wetten.nl: the Small Repairs Decree, with the full list (Dutch)
- Huurcommissie: maintenance and defects, with the model letter (Dutch)
- Huurcommissie: defects in a free sector home (Dutch)
- Huurcommissie: the new rules from 1 January 2027 (Dutch)
- Rijksoverheid: only certified companies may work on gas appliances (Dutch)
- Juridisch Loket: free legal advice
This is general information based on the rules in October 2026. Your contract may contain extra agreements about maintenance. For your own situation, ask your huurteam, the Juridisch Loket or the Huurcommissie.
