Rent benefit is a form of compensation on high rents provided by the Dutch government to residents on a low income. Want to know more? Read the information below.
Rent benefit is a form of compensation on high rents provided by the Dutch government to residents on a low income. If you are qualified for this kind of supplement you can make a request for the benefit to the ‘Belastingdienst’, the Dutch tax administration.
The rent benefit will not be deducted from your rent. You pay the full rent amount to your landlord. If you are eligible, you receive the rent benefit separately from the Dutch Tax office.
As soon as you are registered at your new address at the municipality you can apply for rent benefit. If you have been living at your address for longer but have not yet applied for rent benefit you can still apply for a certain year until 1 September of the next year.
You only need to apply once. As long as you meet the conditions you will keep on receiving the benefit.
If anything changes in your personal or housing situation (e.g. a pay raise or a move) the data used to calculate your benefit may change as well. Thus you must notify the tax authorities of any change within 4 weeks.
To be eligible for rent benefit there are some conditions that you and your accommodation should comply too. If any of these conditions are not met you will not be able to get rent benefit.
First there are some requirements for you as a tenant:
- You are 18 years or older
- You have the nationality of an EU country, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland. Or you have a valid residence permit or work permit.
There is also a maximum to your gross income and your assets. This maximum is depending on your living situation as well. From 1 January 2020 there is no longer a maximum income.
Living situation | Maximum assets(e.g. Savings, investments) |
alone | €30.846 |
With co-tenant(s) | €61.692 (together) |
To calculate the income in the calculations for the rent benefit you can use the "Rekenhulp toetsingsinkomen" (in Dutch only): https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/nl/toeslagen/content/wat-is-mijn-toetsingsinkomen
On top of the tenant requirements there are some requirements for your rented accommodation.
If you have a shortstay (naar zijn aard van korte duur) tenancy agreement you cannot apply for rent benefit. Even if it is a self-contained accommodation.
You can only apply for rent benefit if you live in a Self-contained accommodation, or a designated student complex.
In order to be classified as a self-contained accommodation four conditions need to be met:
- You have your own access door (lockable from the inside and outside)
- You have your own living room/ bed-sitting room
- You have your own kitchen (with water connections and cooking facilities)
- You have your own toilet (with water flush)
You will only receive rent benefit if your calculation rent is under a certain amount.
Age | Maximum Calculation rent per month |
18-22 | € 452,20 |
>23 | € 808,06 |
The calculation rent consists of 2 components:
- Basic rent
- Service charges(cleaning costs for common areas, caretaker costs, electricity costs for common areas, costs for service and recreation space)
Any other rent components are not taken into consideration by the tax office: e.g. internet, heating, water, electricity, fittings, maintenance, household insurance, taxes and if applicable, inventory.
For a quick test of your possibility to receive rent benefit you can fill in the "Rekenhulp toeslagen" (in Dutch only): https://www.belastingdienst.nl/rekenhulpen/toeslagen/.
Here you fill in your gross income, worth of your assets and the calculation rent.
- Check conditions: are all tenant and accommodation requirements met?
- Prepare for your request
- Do you have a DigiD? If No? request one at https://digid.nl/en/aanvragen
- Are you registered at the address you are requesting rent benefit for?
- Do you know how much rent and service costs you are paying?
- Do you know your (expected) annual income?
- Using your DigiD Log in at “Mijn toeslagen”: https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/prive/toeslagen/inloggen_op_mijn_toeslagen
- Apply for Rent benefit (huurtoeslag) - Don't know how to apply? Check: https://www.eur.nl/en/request-rent-benefit
- You will receive an answer within 5 weeks
- If you are eligible you will receive the payment around the 20th every month
- If there are any changes ( in address or income e.g.) inform the “belastingdienst” as soon as possible
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