Why do room rents go up every year?

Landlords are allowed to increase the rent once a year. Most of them do so to bring the rent in line with inflation and to cover maintenance costs. That sounds like a fair arrangement in itself, but it makes it harder for students to make ends meet.

For example, young people’s wages aren’t rising at the same rate, explains Dante Glastra van Loon, chair of the Utrecht student union Vidius. What’s more, students often already spend a large proportion of their income on rent. So is this increase really necessary? And is there a cap on the rent a landlord can charge?

Maximum percentage
The government regulates rent increases by setting an annual maximum increase percentage. This year, that stands at 4.1 per cent for the social housing sector. Student rooms without private facilities – i.e. with shared facilities – always fall under social housing.

The percentage is calculated based on the average inflation rate over the past three years. That stood at 3.6 per cent. Private landlords are allowed to add a further 0.5 per cent on top of this. The reason for this is not entirely clear on government websites, but it appears to be a way for private landlords to profit.

Rent increases have been regulated for decades, with the aim, according to the government's Housing website, of reducing the annual variation in rent increases. This gives tenants greater certainty and provides landlords with a more stable income. Provided they stay below the maximum percentage, landlords are free to choose how much they increase the rent.

Landlords are required to give two months’ written notice of the rent increase. This notice must specify the date on which the increase takes effect, as well as the procedure for tenants to lodge an objection. Maud lives with her landlord. In her case, the increase was not notified in writing in good time. “I wasn’t aware that this notification was mandatory,” she explains. As the notification was late, her rent increase will now also take effect at a later date.

Maud. Photo: Sacha Bergsma

Maud, a Master’s student in Psychology, is currently taking a gap year

Area (m²): 9
Landlord: Private individual, with a flatmate acting as landlord
Location: Tolsteeg
Flatmates: 2
Maintenance: Good, issues sorted quickly
Basic rent: 494 per month
All-inclusive rent: 544 per month
Housing benefit: No.
Rent increase: Approximately 16 euros (not yet announced in writing)
Percentage: 3.2

“I know it’s down to inflation. But I wonder if it's really necessary, because I know there are students who haven’t had a rent increase for a very long time.”

Housing association or private landlord
It is estimated that around half of student rooms are let by private landlords, and the other half by housing associations such as SSH. As all non-self-contained rooms fall under social housing, this does not affect the maximum percentage. Nevertheless, landlords sometimes apply a different rate of rent increase.

Eva, who has been living in a property owned by a private landlord for almost six years, explains, for example, that she hasn’t had any rent increase at all for years. “We have a very lax landlord, who probably doesn’t have his financial accounts entirely in order either.”

The SSH does, however, increase rents annually. SSH spokesperson Joris van Eijck explains: “We are faced with a choice: making existing homes more affordable, or introducing a rent increase so that we can continue to build new homes.”

In 2026, the SSH opted to increase the rent for rooms eligible for housing benefit by 3.6 per cent, and for those not eligible by 2.5 per cent.

“SSH was the housing association that invested the most in the Netherlands in both 2024 and 2025,” says Van Eijck. He therefore sees the rent increase as a necessity to ensure they can continue to invest as much as possible in new-build properties. However, they are also keeping current tenants in mind by imposing a slightly lower increase on students who do not receive housing benefits.

There are also a number of properties owned by third parties and managed by the SSH, including De Sterren in Rijnsweerd. The SSH is in discussions with these owners to apply the same percentage increases wherever possible, but this may vary in some cases, explains Van Eijck.

Marijn. Photo: Sacha Bergsma

Marijn, Master’s student in New Media & Digital Culture

Area (m²): 17.73
Landlord: SSH
Location: Utrecht Science Park
Housemates: 4
Maintenance: older property, issues dealt with promptly
Basic rent: 501.28 per month
Inclusive rent: 628.12 per month
Housing benefit: 309 per month
Rent increase: 18.05 euros per month
Percentage: 3.6

“As a student, I don’t think the rent increase is fair. But I understand that SSH needs more money to keep the organisation afloat. If they use the rent increase to invest in the student accommodation they let out, I think it’s fair.”

Where does it end?
So, rent increases are allowed every year, but will prices keep rising forever? In Utrecht, the second most expensive student city on the list, prices have been skyrocketing for some time now. Will this never end?

There is a statutory cap for each sector. For social housing, this is 932.93 euros, which means that social landlords – and therefore private landlords letting rooms – are not allowed to charge more than that amount. However, that amount also rises annually due to inflation. So there is no absolute limit.

Furthermore, there is the paradox that inflation is partly driven by housing costs. In short, if housing becomes more expensive – which it does every year – inflation also rises, making housing even more expensive. So we’re stuck in a vicious circle.

Eva. Photo: Sacha Bergsma

Eva, Master’s student in Marine Sciences

Area (m²): 16
Landlord: Private individual
Location: Dichterswijk
Flatmates: 8
Maintenance: Very poor, old, unhelpful landlord.
Basic rent: ?
All-inclusive rent: 300 per month
Housing benefit: No.
Rent increase: None.

Percentage: 0

“I’m definitely one of the lucky ones in this housing market. I pay so little, so I’m not going to moan or make a fuss about anything – I’ll just put up with it.”

Reasonable
According to Vidius chair Dante, the rent increase for students is not entirely fair. “Youth wages are not keeping pace with the annual increase,” he explains. In his view, this creates an imbalance.

Nevertheless, Dante sees the reduced rent increase as merely a stopgap measure. “It doesn’t tackle the real problem. Youth wages must be abolished, wages must be adjusted for inflation every year, and there must be investment in social housing. Otherwise, it’s like trying to bail out a sinking ship, because all prices are rising,” explains Dante.

Vidius also focuses on informing students about their housing rights. In this context, they have been particularly busy this year with the reinstatement of Huurteam in Utrecht: an organisation that helps tenants with all questions and problems relating to room rentals. “We’re mainly looking at how we can make students aware of what they can do if they’re dealing with an unfair landlord,” says Dante.

Housing Benefit
As a student, you may be entitled to housing benefits. The eligibility criteria vary from case to case and depend on your assets, income, rent and age. The rules can sometimes be a bit confusing, as there are various factors to consider. Also, in 2026, some rules have changed, making more people eligible for housing benefits. Students who rent a self-contained property – such as a studio flat – are often entitled to housing benefit, provided the rent is relatively high compared to their income.

However, some non-self-contained accommodation – rooms with shared facilities – is also eligible for housing benefit. For a room at the Tuindorp West Complex, for example, you can receive a substantial benefit: a room currently advertised on the SSH website costs nearly 670 euros, but after the housing benefit is deducted, the cost is just 333 euros.

This is because accommodation designated as student accommodation before 1 July 1997 remains eligible for the rent allowance. At that time, the rooms were indeed eligible for the allowance, and under transitional law, this cannot simply be changed. Various organisations would like to reintroduce the room rent allowance.