Reading a listing
- Huurwoning: a home to rent. Koopwoning is its opposite: a property for sale. Always check which tab you are searching.
- Kale huur: the bare rent, excluding service charges. The deposit and the annual indexation are both calculated on it.
- Inclusief / exclusief: with or without service charges. "Exclusief" commonly adds €250-400 a month. Always compare two listings on the same basis.
- Servicekosten: service charges, meaning energy for common areas, sometimes water, cleaning and internet. They must be itemised and settled annually.
- All-in huur: a single figure blending bare rent, service charges and energy, with no breakdown. Opaque and contestable, since it stops you checking what you are actually paying for.
- Woonoppervlakte: living area in square metres, measured to a Dutch standard. Watch attic rooms: usable ceiling height counts.
- Energielabel: the energy label, A to G, shown in the listing. It drives your winter bill directly.
- Bezichtiging: the viewing. Often held in groups in Amsterdam, sometimes fifteen minutes flat.
- Per direct: available immediately. In a tight market that is also a signal: the home has just come free, and competition will be heavy.
- Oplevering: the state in which the home is handed over. Cross-check it against the three fit-out levels below.
Furnished, or not
- Gemeubileerd: furnished in the full sense, with bed, sofa, table and often crockery. You arrive with a suitcase.
- Gestoffeerd: "fitted", so floors, curtains, usually the kitchen and appliances, but no furniture. This is the Dutch standard.
- Kaal: bare. Genuinely bare: sometimes without floor covering or light fittings. The rent is lower; the upfront cost is not.
- Stoffering: the floor and window coverings that a gestoffeerd home includes.
- Inboedel: furniture and personal belongings; the word you will meet again in inboedelverzekering, contents insurance.
The contract
- Huurcontract / huurovereenkomst: the lease.
- Onbepaalde tijd: open-ended.
- Bepaalde tijd: fixed term, with an end date set in the lease.
- Opzegtermijn: the notice period, how much notice you must give to leave, set in the lease.
- Diplomatenclausule: the diplomatic clause, which lets an owner reclaim the home when they return from a posting. It sets your move-out date.
- Huurverhoging: the annual rent increase. Check the lease's indexation clause before signing.
- Medehuurder: a co-tenant named on the lease. Different from someone merely living there.
- Onderhuur: subletting. Insist on the landlord's written consent: without it, you depend entirely on the main tenant.
- Vriendencontract: a joint lease signed by several housemates, with joint liability, so if one leaves without paying, the others cover it.
Money
- Waarborgsom / borg: the deposit, usually one to two months' bare rent, returned at the end of the lease.
- Bemiddelingskosten: an agency's mediation fee. Before paying, ask who the agency works for and what the sum covers.
- Sleutelgeld: "key money", a sum demanded to secure the home. A warning sign: do not pay it.
- Huurtoeslag: the Dutch housing benefit, subject to income and rent conditions.
- Zorgtoeslag: the healthcare allowance, on the same income-threshold logic.
- Vrije sector: the free sector, where most homes offered to newcomers sit.
- Sociale huur: social housing, with long waiting lists and income conditions.
The people involved
- Verhuurder: the landlord. Huurder: the tenant.
- Huisbaas: the landlord, in everyday speech.
- Makelaar: the estate agent. The word says nothing about who they work for: that is the question to ask.
- Verhuurmakelaar: the agent instructed by the landlord to let the property.
- Aanhuurmakelaar: the agent instructed by the tenant, searching on your behalf. That is the job we do.
- Hospita: a landlord letting a room inside the home they live in themselves: you share their daily life.
- VvE (Vereniging van Eigenaren): the owners' association. Worth knowing: it decides on works, and therefore on scaffolding.
- Antikraak: temporary occupation of empty buildings, very cheap but very precarious: you can be asked to leave at a few days' notice, and the occupancy rules are strict. A stopgap only.
The property itself
- Appartement / etagewoning: an upper-floor flat. Benedenwoning: a ground-floor flat. Bovenwoning: the flat above, with its own entrance.
- Portiekwoning: a block with a shared stairwell and no lift, very common in Amsterdam.
- Souterrain: the semi-basement, frequent along the canals. Inspect it closely for damp.
- Berging: the storage room or cellar. Precious: it is usually where the bike sleeps.
- Fietsenstalling: the bike storage room.
- Cv-ketel: the individual boiler. Stadsverwarming: district heating, common in newer buildings.
- Dubbel glas: double glazing, worth confirming in older buildings.
- Tuin / balkon / dakterras: garden, balcony, roof terrace. Note the orientation: op het zuiden means south-facing.
Admin
- Inschrijving: registering with the municipality at your address. Without it, no lasting BSN, no DigiD, no administrative life. Always ask "inschrijving mogelijk?" before signing.
- BRP (Basisregistratie Personen): the population register where that registration is recorded.
- RNI (Registratie Niet-Ingezetenen): the non-residents register, which lets you obtain a BSN without a permanent Dutch address.
- BSN (Burgerservicenummer): your national number, essential for working, banking and insurance.
- DigiD: your digital identity for tax, healthcare and municipal services.
- Gemeente: the municipality. In Amsterdam you are received at the Stadsloket, by appointment.
- Wijk / buurt: district and sub-district. Listings use these divisions: they are far more precise than "Amsterdam".
Stuck on a word in a lease or a listing? Let's talk about your move: we read the contract with you, clause by clause, in English.
In summary
Three words prevent most nasty surprises: kale huur (the real reference rent), gestoffeerd (what you actually receive) and inschrijving mogelijk (whether you can register at that address). The rest of the vocabulary you pick up while viewing.
