Temporary accommodation in Amsterdam for your first weeks and months

You register at the address where you actually live. To register, you show a rental contract, a purchase deed or a signed permission from the main occupant with a copy of their ID. !WOON, the City-funded tenant advice service, points out that you do not need your landlord's permission to register if you can prove you live there, for example with a written contract.

IN Amsterdam and !WOON both treat a "no" to the registration question as a red flag: it can indicate an illegal sublet or another scam. Hotels, many holiday rentals and some informal sublets do not provide what you need to register. If you stay four months or less in total, you can instead get a BSN through the Non-residents Records Database (RNI); for longer stays you need a place where you can register. See registering in Amsterdam.

Furnished apartments rented for a few months are the most common bridge for working newcomers. IN Amsterdam suggests a serviced apartment for the first months to give you time to explore neighbourhoods and set realistic expectations, and it lists several partner providers on its website. Its 2024 cost guide quoted partner offers of about €1,045 to €2,245 per month for six-month stays and about €190 to €298 per night for serviced options; check current prices directly.

Before booking, ask whether the contract allows registration, what is included (utilities, internet, cleaning, municipal taxes), the notice period and the deposit.

Renting a room is usually cheaper. Watch out for these points, explained by !WOON:

• Sublets are only allowed with the landlord's permission. Many contracts contain a binding no-sublet clause, and both an illegally subletting tenant and their subtenant can be evicted.
• If you rent a room from a landlord who lives in the same home (hospitaverhuur), the landlord may end the contract during the first nine months with at least three months' notice. After nine months you have normal protection.
• A room rented directly from the landlord with a shared kitchen, bathroom or toilet is always rent-controlled, according to !WOON.
• Even without a written contract, an agreement to rent in exchange for payment is legally binding, and you have tenants' rights. Ask for a written agreement anyway, and check whether you can register.

Accommodation booked through holiday rental platforms is not a tenancy, according to !WOON: it is comparable to a hotel room, and you do not have tenants' rights. If the holiday rental is offered illegally, residents can be evicted. Hotels and holiday rentals work for a few nights or weeks, but usually not as the address where you register.

• Anti-squat (anti-kraak) means living in an empty building as a guardian. !WOON explains that this is not tenancy: residents have no tenants' rights and pay a usage fee that should be considerably lower than rent.
• Homes that are for sale or otherwise vacant can be rented temporarily under the Vacancy Act (Leegstandwet) if the landlord has a permit, which should be part of the contract.
• Housing associations can offer temporary contracts only to specific groups, such as students.

According to !WOON, landlords could include a fixed end date of up to two years (five for shared housing) in contracts signed between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2024. !WOON explains that under Dutch law most contracts signed on or after 1 July 2024 have no fixed end date, whatever the contract says: a stated period is often only a minimum term, and the tenant can leave with one month's notice. Exceptions exist for specific groups (such as students or young people), for homes whose tenant or owner is temporarily away, for short-term lets and for Vacancy Act rentals, as the Rent Tribunal (Huurcommissie) lists. If a contract offers a fixed end date, ask which exception it relies on, or ask !WOON or the Legal Services Counter (Juridisch Loket).

• Deposit: usually one month's basic rent and never more than two months, according to !WOON. It only covers damage, not unpaid rent, unless agreed in writing.
• Agency fees: in most cases tenants may not be charged agency fees; !WOON can help reclaim fees charged unlawfully.
• Rent level: for rooms and homes that fall under rent regulation, you can check the maximum rent with the Rent Tribunal's Huurprijscheck. Most proceedings at the Rent Tribunal cost €25 for a private person, according to the government's page as checked in October 2026. A tenant with an indefinite contract can ask the tribunal to assess the initial rent only within the first six months.
• Pay by bank transfer and keep receipts, screenshots of the advert and all messages.

Use your temporary stay to learn the city and search systematically. When you move, report your new address to the municipality between one month before and five working days after the move. See finding housing in Amsterdam, rental terms in the Netherlands and rental scams.