Receiving social assistance and renting out a room? The Hague clarifies the rules

There is new clarity for hosts receiving social assistance in The Hague. Since 1 April 2026, residents who rent out a room in their own home may keep up to €415 per month. Read more about it here.

For people receiving social assistance benefits who want to act as a live-in landlord, clarity matters. The Hague has now set out what is allowed, what must be reported, and how much income can be retained under the homesharing rules.

The new rules in The Hague

The Municipality of The Hague has made its rules clearer for people on social assistance benefits who want to rent out a room as a live-in landlord. Its page on benefits and living together explicitly states that someone receiving benefits may rent out a room in the home they live in themselves. In this setup, the host also lives in the property, shares facilities such as the kitchen, toilet and bathroom, has a rental agreement with the tenant, and receives rent.

For hosts on social assistance, the financial clarification is the key point. The municipality states that since 1 April 2026, someone renting out a room may keep up to €150 per month without that amount being deducted from the benefit. If the arrangement includes board and lodging — such as groceries, meals and cleaning — the amount rises to €415 per month. Any income above that must be reported as rental income.

The municipality also notes that extra income may affect the level of benefits and may also have consequences for other allowances or discounts. That is why people on social assistance who want to become live-in landlords should always report changes and discuss their personal situation with the municipality in advance. The page explicitly says each case is assessed individually.

For people on social assistance who have a spare room, this creates more clarity around what is and is not possible. That may help lower the threshold to opening up a room to a tenant. That final point is an inference about likely impact; the underlying rules themselves come from the municipality.