Crushing demand leaves renters without options

Rental listings in major Dutch cities receive over 400 responses and stay online for just 6 days

Rotterdam, 28 May 2025 – Pressure on the regulated sector of the Dutch rental market has reached a new low for prospective tenants. Supply continues to shrink, while competition per property is rising to unprecedented levels, according to data from rental platforms Huurwoningen.nl and Pararius. In the first quarter of 2025, a typical rental home in the regulated sector received an average of 115 responses. In large cities such as Rotterdam, Utrecht, and Amsterdam, that number exceeded 400 responses per property. At the same time, listings are disappearing faster than ever. In the five largest cities, regulated sector homes are only online for an average of six days. This leaves renters with little time to respond, let alone choose. While supply keeps falling, demand continues to grow. For many middle-income households, the chance of securing an affordable home in this segment is now close to zero.

Declining supply puts pressure on the regulated sector

Homes in the regulated sector are priced between €900.07 (the social housing threshold) and €1,184.82 per month. Since the introduction of so-called Wet Betaalbare huur on 1 July 2024, rental prices for homes with fewer than 187 points are now regulated. As of 1 January 2025, the maximum rent for a property with 186 points is set at €1,184.82 per month.

The law was designed to keep rents in the regulated sector affordable and to expand the supply of regulated rental housing. In practice, however, the opposite appears to be happening.

Since the law came into force, pressure on the regulated sector has only increased. The number of available rental homes continues to decline, while demand remains high. In the first quarter of 2025, the number of homes listed in the regulated sector was 12.7 percent lower than a year earlier. At the same time, more homes have been rented out than newly listed for several quarters in a row. Both in Q4 2024 and Q1 2025, the number of rentals exceeded the number of new listings, keeping the market structurally out of balance.

Explosive demand for regulated sector rentals

The number of responses to available rentals in the regulated sector has more than doubled over the past year. In the first quarter of 2025, each property in this segment received an average of 115 responses, compared to 56 during the same period the year before.

This sharp increase confirms the image of an overheated market, where the gap between supply and demand is widening rapidly. Competition per property has intensified in a short period of time, making it harder than ever for prospective tenants to secure a home in the regulated sector.

Developments in the five largest Dutch cities

Nowhere is the pressure on the regulated rental market more visible than in the five largest cities of the Netherlands. Demand for homes in this segment remains extremely high. In the first quarter of 2025, an average of 425 responses were submitted for each regulated sector home in Amsterdam, compared to 45 responses per home in the unregulated sector. In Utrecht, the difference was even greater: 430 responses in the regulated sector versus 58 in the unregulated market.

Rotterdam showed similar figures, with 456 responses per regulated sector property and 74 in the unregulated sector. In The Hague, there were 308 responses for each regulated home, compared to 60 for homes in the unregulated market. Eindhoven was no exception: 271 responses in the regulated segment, compared to 64 in the unregulated sector.

Jasper de Groot, CEO of Pararius, commented: "These numbers show just how strongly demand is concentrating in the regulated segment of the market. The private rental sector has become unaffordable for many households, yet even within the regulated segment, competition is overwhelming. These figures speak for themselves: anyone relying on the regulated sector in major cities is facing impossible odds."

Rental listings disappear faster

The time rental properties remain listed in the regulated sector has dropped significantly over the past year. In the first quarter of 2025, these homes stayed online for an average of just 9 days, down from 16 days a year earlier. This means the rental process has nearly halved in length in just twelve months.

In comparison, listings in the unregulated sector showed a more stable pattern, fluctuating between 19 and 22 days over the past year. In Q1 2025, the average listing duration in this segment was 20 days. This contrast highlights the intense pressure on the regulated sector. Demand is so high that homes are barely visible before they are snapped up.

In the five largest cities of the Netherlands, regulated sector homes were listed for an average of just 6 days in the first quarter of 2025. By comparison, homes in the unregulated sector stayed online for 19 days on average.

This stark difference illustrates the extreme tension in the rental market and shows how urgent the situation has become for tenants in the regulated sector. Demand is massive, supply is limited, and the pace at which listings disappear is unprecedented. In these urban areas, shortages are most visible and policy changes or market shifts tend to have immediate effects.

De Groot adds: “If homes are being rented out within a week, we can no longer speak of a functioning market. What we’re seeing is a scarcity spiral. Renters have no time, no options, and little perspective. Affordability only works when there is enough supply, and that’s simply not the case.”

Changes in floor area

In the first quarter of 2025, the average floor area of rented homes in the regulated sector dropped to 63.9 square metres, down from 65.1 a year earlier. Meanwhile, in the unregulated sector, larger homes are increasingly being rented out. Smaller, more affordable homes have largely disappeared from this segment, often because they have been sold rather than re-rented. 

According to Pararius data, over 1,800 rental properties were sold in the first quarter of 2025: a 70.4% increase compared to the same period last year. These sold homes had an average floor area of 69 square metres, significantly smaller than the 86 square metres of properties that remain available for rent.

This trend helps explain why the regulated sector remains structurally small. Smaller homes are being removed from the unregulated sector and sold, while few new properties are added to replace them. The result: less choice, less space, and more pressure on the limited supply that remains.

About the data and calculations

The figures in this analysis are based on data from Huurwoningen.nl and Pararius, the two largest rental platforms in the Netherlands. Together, they offer a representative view of the Dutch rental market, covering a wide range of listings from private landlords, institutional investors, and real estate agents. By combining these two sources, it’s possible to produce a reliable and comprehensive analysis of supply and demand trends, providing a nuanced and up-to-date picture of the rental market.

To ensure accuracy and relevance, the report uses live data that is continuously updated with the latest changes, improvements, and additions. As a result, some figures may differ slightly from previously reported data. However, the overall trends remain consistent and robust.

The average number of responses per property is calculated by dividing the total number of responses submitted in a given period (month or quarter) by the number of properties that received responses during that same period. This includes responses submitted via digital contact forms on Huurwoningen.nl and Pararius, as well as phone enquiries.

Because the calculation is based on the moment responses are submitted, a single property may be counted in multiple time periods if responses come in across those boundaries. The total number of responses per property may also be higher when measured over a longer time frame.