Renting out in Groningen

Groningen is the student capital of the north: around 240,000 residents and tens of thousands of students at the University of Groningen and the Hanze University of Applied Sciences. Every year thousands of students and starters look for a room, while the wait for social housing runs to more than eight years. Hospita rental is one of the fastest ways to ease that pressure, and the municipality now sees it that way too.

Hospita rental: allowed without a permit

Since the Hospita rental policy (in force from 12 December 2025) you may rent one room to one person while living there yourself, without a conversion permit. The municipality does set conditions: you are registered at the address, you own at least 50%, you lived there yourself for at least two years, you share kitchen, bathroom and toilet, the room is at least 5 m², and you record a written rental contract. The municipality is preparing an amendment to the environment plan (expected end of 2026) to formally anchor hospita rental.

Renting to more people

Converting a home into rooms for three or more residents requires a conversion permit. Groningen grants these only in exceptional cases: a livability test applies and you must meet parking norms. In practice that means an almost complete freeze on new room conversions, but a single hospita room is unaffected.

Official info: gemeente Groningen: room rental conditions (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.