In the most expensive housing market in the Netherlands, a room with a live-in host is often the only affordable option. Rent a room with a host who lives there too, or rent out your own spare room: in Amsterdam that is called inwoning, and it is permit-free.
Amsterdam has some 90,000 students at UvA, VU and HvA, and the shortage of student rooms runs into the thousands; an average room easily costs around €945 a month. Demand is highest in neighbourhoods like De Pijp and Oost. Homestay rental can offer that one extra place, and the municipality widened the rules in 2024 and 2025.
For inwoning you need no permit in Amsterdam: you live in the home yourself, you are both registered at the address, and you rent out to one extra person or household with a written contract.
Without a permit you may rent out to at most two people who do not form a household. From three people a conversion permit is required, with quotas per district.
Since 1 January 2025 you must have lived at the address for one year before taking in a tenant, instead of two. The waiting period lapses if either of you is married or a registered partner.
Since 2025, Amsterdammers on social assistance may keep part of the income from homestay rental. Check with the municipality what applies in your situation.
The municipality of Amsterdam widened the rules for homestay rental in 2024 and cut the waiting period in 2025. Hospi Housing helps Amsterdam hosts with the rules, the tenant and the contract, and supports the whole tenancy.
With inwoning (homestay rental) you live in the home yourself and rent out to one extra person or household; that is permit-free. Renting out to three or more people who do not form a household is house sharing and requires a conversion permit.
Since 1 January 2025, one year at the address instead of two. If you are married or a registered partner, no waiting period applies.
An average Amsterdam room costs around €945 a month; homestay rooms on the platform are often below that because you share facilities. The current prices on this page come straight from the platform.