# Netherlands loses 22,000 private rental homes in a year

> Many former privately rented homes are now owner-occupied, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports, while the landlords' trade body Vastgoed Belang expects the sell-off to continue.

Housing · published 2026-11-03 06:05 · updated 2026-11-03 08:17 · https://nlnow.nl/a/private-rental-homes-fall-by-22-000-as-landlords-sell-up/

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) says the Netherlands had 22,000 fewer privately rented homes on 1 January 2026 than a year earlier, leaving 1.16 million. A year earlier the sector shrank by only 3,000. The research was done for the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.

Private individuals drove the fall. They owned 37,000 fewer rental homes, down 7% to 492,000. In 2024 the drop was 22,000. CBS says many of these homes are now owner-occupied: over 2024 and 2025 together, a net 57,000 moved to the owner-occupier market.

Companies' rental homes fell by 14,000, while those held by other owners that are not individuals, such as foundations, rose by 29,000. CBS says that rise comes mainly from owners changing legal form, for example from a company to a foundation.

**Owner-occupied homes grew by 81,000 in 2025 while private rentals shrank** (homes; source: CBS, Kadaster)

- Owner-occupied: 81000
- Housing corporations: 14000
- Private rental: -22000

Looking only at homes owned by private individuals, over 2024 and 2025 together, Utrecht and Noord-Holland saw the largest net share move to owner-occupation, at 14% and 13%. Limburg and Zeeland saw the smallest, at 6% and 7%. Among the big cities the share was 15% in Utrecht, 12% in Amsterdam and 11% in both Den Haag and Rotterdam.

The homes that became owner-occupied had an average WOZ value of €375,000, against €327,000 for privately rented homes overall. They were also more often larger, newer single-family homes.

Vastgoed Belang, the trade body of private landlords, warned in September that the wave of landlords selling off rental homes (uitponden) would continue. The organisation said no measures were coming that would improve the investment climate for private landlords in the rental sector.

## Background

- **CBS (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek)**: Statistics Netherlands, the independent government body that produces the official statistics on the Dutch economy and society.
- **WOZ-waarde (Waardering Onroerende Zaken)**: The WOZ value is the official estimate of a property's market value, set by the municipality under the Wet WOZ (Wet waardering onroerende zaken) for a fixed reference date. It is the basis for the municipal property tax (OZB, onroerendezaakbelasting), and the Tax Authority also uses it to calculate the eigenwoningforfait, the imputed rental income on owner-occupied homes. Owners receive a WOZ notice each year and can file an objection if they think the value is wrong.

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