Renting out in Leeuwarden

Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland, has just over 92,000 residents and, with NHL Stenden and the University of Groningen's Campus Fryslân, is a genuine student city. The room market is tight and getting pricier: in 2025 a student paid around €485 a month on average, nearly a fifth more than the year before. International students have the hardest time. Even so, you're still better off here than in the Randstad.

Hospita rental: generously allowed

Leeuwarden has a generous lodger arrangement: you may rent out up to two rooms to a maximum of two people, as long as you keep living there yourself and use at least half of the floor area. A 'room' here means shared facilities: no private kitchen, shower or toilet. You don't need a permit for this, which makes Leeuwarden a touch more relaxed than, say, Groningen.

Renting to more people

For genuine room-rental buildings (properties with three or more rooms or units) a ban applies to new cases. The exact rules now sit in the environment plan 'Leeuwarden – Kamerverhuur' rather than the housing ordinance. In several neighbourhoods no permit was issued in the past anyway. One or two hospita rooms stay well within the limit.

Official info: gemeente Leeuwarden: room rental (in Dutch). As of June 2026. Always check the current rules with your municipality.

For the national rules, see General rules for room rental. Also check the impact on your municipal taxes.