Kamernet: almost 75 percent of rooms in Utrecht are too expensive

In July and August, the journalists examined more than 2,500 adverts on Kamernet, the largest platform listing student accommodation in the Netherlands. They compared the rents asked in all university cities with the maximum rent legally allowed for a room.

The investigation revealed that six out of ten rooms are actually too expensive. Landlords are charging, on average, 239 euros per month more than permitted. In Amsterdam, 97 per cent of the rooms examined were too expensive, averaging 421 euros more than what the law allows. In Utrecht, 72 per cent of the 80 rooms surveyed were too expensive. In Enschede, where the housing shortage is less acute than in Utrecht and Amsterdam, the percentage of rooms for which the landlord charges too much stands at "only" 14 per cent.

Points system
The maximum rent a landlord can ask is calculated using a points system. This measure aims to protect tenants from excessive rents. The limit is based on the size of the room, the number of flatmates and the shared facilities, among other factors.

Under the Affordable Rent Act of 2024, local authorities can intervene if landlords charge excessive rents. However, Argos notes that this provision is hardly ever used. According to Argos, no fines have been issued in Utrecht or Nijmegen. In Amsterdam, only two landlords were fined in 2025.

Rotterdam
Some Dutch municipalities are taking action. In Rotterdam, eight out of ten rooms investigated were too expensive, but the municipality has fined hundreds of landlords. 

The high rents are linked to the shortage of rooms. According to research, the Netherlands would need over 20,000 more rooms on offer to meet demand. This is leading many Dutch students to simply remain living with their parents.

Argos’s radio show on this topic was broadcasted on NPO Radio 1.