What a home search with us actually looks like

1. Why Amsterdam is a market of its own

The difficulty in Amsterdam is not financial. Solvent candidates with a good contract and a comfortable budget fail to find housing all the time. The problem lies elsewhere: it is logistical and informational.

In practice, three forces combine:

• Speed. A well-located, well-priced home receives dozens of applications within the day. The first complete, credible file usually wins, not the better file that arrives a week later.
• The invisible market. A significant share of rentals never reaches Funda or Pararius: institutional landlords re-letting internally, agencies offering to their own list first, owners who prefer a recommended candidate. Searching only on public platforms shows you part of the market.
• The application file. Dutch expectations are not French ones. There is no parental guarantee of the kind used in some countries, and no endless paper file, but there are precise requirements on income, contract type and supporting documents. A file put together the wrong way is often dismissed without explanation.

On top of that comes distance: most of the people we support are searching from abroad, with a job to finish, a notice period to serve and an arrival date already fixed by an employer.

2. Makelaar or apartment hunter: who works for whom

The word “agency” covers two opposite jobs, and that is the source of most misunderstandings. It all turns on one question: who hires the professional, and therefore whose interests do they defend?

In the Netherlands, an estate agent is called a makelaar. The word names a profession, not a side: the mandate decides who they work for. Four labels come up constantly in listings, and they are worth being able to read.

• Verhuurmakelaar: markets a rental property for the landlord. This is who you get on the phone when you answer a listing on Funda or Pararius.
• Aanhuurmakelaar: looks for a rental property for the tenant. That is the Dutch name for the apartment hunter's job, and it is ours.
• Verkoopmakelaar and aankoopmakelaar: the same two roles on the sales side. They only concern you if you are buying.

One firm can wear several hats; what matters is who it works for on your file. Hence the comparison below.

That last point matters most. We have talked clients out of flats we could easily have let them sign: a non-renewable one-year lease when the job is permanent, abnormally high servicekosten, a building about to go into works, a sloppy inventory check that would have cost them their deposit on the way out. An intermediary paid by the landlord has no reason to raise any of that.

3. What moving in actually costs

Plenty of searches stall because the budget was worked out on the monthly rent alone. In Amsterdam, the real question is the cash you need on the day you sign. Here are the lines, from the most certain to the most variable.

The deposit and the first month's rent

This is the core of it, and it applies to everyone. The deposit (waarborgsom) is usually one to two months' base rent; one month is common in practice. It is returned at the end of the lease. Add the first month's rent, due at the same time, and you get two to three months' rent to find in one go.

This is the only line we ask you to set aside from the very first call, because it depends neither on the property nor on who you deal with.

Agency fees: what we check

Depending on the property, an agency may present you with an invoice. Before paying anything, one question matters: who does this agency work for? The one marketing the property for the landlord is not yours; an aanhuurmakelaar or an apartment hunter you instruct is.

When a sum is asked of our clients, we check what it covers and who the agency works for, and we raise it on your behalf if something is off. We do this before every viewing, not after you have signed.

Our fee: flat, never a percentage

What you entrust to us is not a commission on a property, it is a search mandate. It is billed as a flat fee, known and agreed before we start. An intermediary paid a percentage of the rent has a built-in interest in you signing an expensive lease; we do not. The amount is set in the quote, it does not move during the search, and nothing is charged without your written consent.

The other lines to watch

• Service charges (servicekosten): distinct from the base rent. Ask for the breakdown: an opaque lump sum is a red flag. The gap between a base rent and an all-in rent routinely reaches €150 to €250 a month.
• Modest contract fees, in some cases, where they correspond to a real and identifiable service. We tell you about them before the viewing, never after signature.
• Furnishing: a kaal home can arrive without flooring or curtains. Put the furniture budget in your numbers, it catches many newcomers out.

4. Our method, step by step

A supported search takes four to six weeks on average. Here is exactly what happens, and what we need from you at each point.

1. The discovery call, free and fifteen minutes long

   You tell us about your project: arrival date, household, budget, professional constraints. We tell you frankly what is realistic, including when the answer is “your budget will not work in that neighbourhood”.

   What we need from you: nothing but your real constraints.

2. The brief and the application file

   We separate the criteria that truly matter from the negotiable ones, then build your application to Dutch standards: employment contract, payslips or employer's statement, ID, landlord references, sometimes bank statements.

   What we need from you: your documents, quickly. This is the one place where delay is expensive.

3. The active search

   Daily monitoring of the public market, activation of our network of agents and landlords, filtering out fraudulent listings. You receive a commented shortlist: what works, what does not, and why we ruled another property out.

   What we need from you: a fast answer, even a simple “no”.

4. Viewings and the application

   We view on your behalf, with video and a detailed report, including what a listing never shows: the noise, the damp, the staircase, the neighbours, the building opposite. If you are in town, we come with you. As soon as the home is the right one, the application goes out immediately.

   What we need from you: a decision within the day. This is where it is won or lost.

5. The lease, the keys, and afterwards

   We read the lease with you, clause by clause: term and notice, indexation, service charges, inventory, return of the deposit. We check every amount you are asked to pay. Then we stay available for your first steps: city registration, BSN, energy, internet, insurance.

   What we need from you: every question you have, including the ones you think are silly.

5. What is included, what is not

Transparency beats a pleasant surprise: here is the line, drawn in advance. The exact scope depends on the package you choose, and the detail is in our brochure.

6. The real budget of a move

Plenty of plans stall because the budget was worked out on the monthly rent alone. In Amsterdam the real question is the cash needed in the first month.

• Base rent and service charges. Always check whether the advertised price is kale huur (base rent) or inclusief (charges included). The gap can reach €150–250 a month.
• Furnished or not. A gestoffeerd home has flooring and curtains but no furniture; gemeubileerd is fully equipped. Kaal sometimes means “no floor covering at all”. The confusion is expensive.
• The entry cost. The first month's rent and one to two months' deposit, so two to three months' rent to pay out at once on signing. Depending on the property, an agency may also ask for a fee: see section 3 for when it is actually owed.
• Income requirements. Three to four times the rent in gross monthly income, with documents. For a couple, incomes are usually combined.

For orders of magnitude by area, see our guide to Amsterdam neighbourhoods and our detailed article on the cost of housing in Amsterdam in 2026.

7. Red flags worth knowing

The Amsterdam market attracts scams precisely because candidates are in a hurry and far away. A few simple rules remove most of the risk.

We go through each of these traps, with real examples, in our article on rental scams in Amsterdam.

8. Your most common questions

Going further

Our in-depth articles on settling in Amsterdam, free to read: