Tenancy · Updated 15 Sep 2026 · ~11 min read

Renting in Delft in 2026: student rooms, the local permits, and how to get your deposit back

Student housing is short in Delft, and the city only rarely allows a house to be split into rooms. This guide covers finding a room, the local permits, your lease and deposit, and the free Huurteam.

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Deposit not back? Free check The Delft rules

Rules from the Municipality of Delft, TU Delft, Rijksoverheid and the Civil Code · Checked 15 September 2026

Short answer

Renting in Delft usually starts with a room: student housing is short, and DUWO, the largest manager of student rooms, lets most of its rooms through housemate choice. A self-contained home with a rent below €932.93 needs a city housing permit, and landlords rarely get a permit to split a house into rooms. Your deposit is at most 2 months of basic rent and comes back within 14 days, and the Huurteam Delft advises private tenants for free.

Key facts for 2026

€932.93 is the rent below which a Delft home needs a housing permit, which costs €71.35.
20 m² per resident is the minimum for a Delft room conversion permit, granted only above shops or restaurants.
1 lodger is the usual limit when you let a room in the Delft home you live in.
60 nights a year is the most a Delft home may be let to tourists, with every night reported first.
€470,000 WOZ value is the ceiling for Delft’s buyout protection.
2 months of basic rent caps the deposit on any Delft lease signed since 1 July 2023.
085 273 49 33 reaches the free Huurteam Delft on weekdays from 10.00 to 16.00.

This is general information about Dutch law, not legal advice for your situation. Rules change; figures are for 2026. No rights can be derived from this text.

Rooms

Renting in Delft as a student: DUWO, housemate choice and the platforms

Most people renting in Delft for their studies look for a room, and TU Delft warns that rooms are in short supply here as well.

Start early. TU Delft advises you to look as early as possible, and to check whether a room comes furnished or with other facilities (TU Delft).
DUWO. Stichting DUWO manages more student rooms than anyone else in Delft. Most of its rooms are let through a housemate-choice system (instemsysteem): the residents of a student house pick the new housemate for a free room. Its Delft office is at Prof. Schermerhornstraat 4 (TU Delft).
Other landlords. TU Delft lists housing organisations and platforms, from Kamernet.nl to Hospi Housing, but says it has no partnership or other relationship with any of them. Read its advice on rental fraud before you search (TU Delft).
Register. Students who come to live in Delft must register with the city, and students who move within Delft report the new address within 5 days (TU Delft). Working for a recognised sponsor and living in Delft? The Hague International Centre can register you (The Hague International Centre); see our IND and registration guide for The Hague region and the student visa guide.

Moved out of a Delft room?

If the deposit has not come back, a free check of about 2 minutes shows whether a lawyer can recover it.

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Local rules

Delft rules for tenants: housing permit, rooms, lodgers, tourists

Delft protects its family homes with tight local rules, and they decide which homes and rooms can be let at all.

Permit	When it applies	2026 cost	Source
Housing permit (tenant)	Self-contained home, rent below €932.93	€71.35	Delft
Conversion permit for rooms (landlord)	3 or more unrelated tenants; only above a shop or restaurant	€1,732.10	Delft
Letting permit under buyout protection (owner)	Bought home with a WOZ value below €470,000	€2,059.95	Delft
Holiday rental (resident)	Registration number, nights reported, exemption	Number free	Delft

The housing permit (huisvestingsvergunning). You need one for a self-contained home with a calculated rent below €932.93 a month. You must be 18 or older, have Dutch nationality or a valid residence status, earn at most €51,537 a year alone or €56,910 in a larger household, and have at least 11 m² per person. It costs €71.35 in 2026 and the city decides within 8 weeks. Renting from DUWO, Stedelink, Vidomes or Woonbron, the corporation arranges it; a room with shared facilities or a campus contract needs no permit (Municipality of Delft).
Letting a house as rooms. A home let to 3 or more people who are not a family needs a conversion permit (omzettingsvergunning), and Delft only grants one for a home above a shop or restaurant, with at least 20 m² per resident; the permit costs €1,732.10 (Municipality of Delft). Homes already let as rooms before October 2017 keep an acquired right, but it lapses when extra rooms are added (Municipality of Delft). Ask a landlord which applies to your house.
Lodgers. An owner who lives in the home and uses at least 50% of it may let 1 room without a permit, or 2 in a home of 180 m² or more owned for over 5 years; the lodger shares kitchen, toilet and bathroom and gets a rental contract (Municipality of Delft).
Buyout protection. Someone who buys a home with a WOZ value below €470,000 and wants to let it straight away needs a permit, which costs €2,059.95 (Municipality of Delft).
Holiday rental. Only in the home you live in and are registered at, for at most 60 nights a year. Since 1 January 2024 every night is reported to the city before the stay, and because the environmental plan does not allow holiday rental you also need an exemption (Municipality of Delft). Our subletting and Airbnb guide has the national rules.

Finding a home

Finding a home in Delft: Woonnet Haaglanden and fees you do not owe

Housing corporations let most homes in Delft, and you reach them by registering as a home seeker.

Woonnet Haaglanden. You register with a corporation or on Woonnet Haaglanden, the shared site that lists corporation homes in Delft, Den Haag, Leidschendam-Voorburg, Midden-Delfland, Pijnacker-Nootdorp, Rijswijk, Wassenaar, Westland and Zoetermeer (Municipality of Delft).
No agency fees for tenants. An agent who works for the landlord may not charge you, even when the landlord pays the agent nothing (Rijksoverheid).
Do not pay for help you get free. The city warns about parties online that charge to handle a tenant’s complaint: it takes just as long, and you pay the middleman (Municipality of Delft).
Too expensive? Our rent check guide shows how the points system caps the rent. Renting across the city boundary? See renting in The Hague.

Your lease

Your lease in Delft: permanent by default, and keep a record

A new tenant normally gets an open-ended lease, and in Delft the city tells tenants to document the home and every problem from the first day.

Temporary only by exception. New tenants get a lease with no end date; a temporary lease is allowed in set cases, for example a student renting temporarily for studies in another municipality, and lasts at most 2 years (Rijksoverheid). Our temporary rental contract guide explains how one ends.
Photos on arrival and departure. Take dated photos of the home when you move in and when you hand it back, so you can show what it looked like if the landlord blames you for damage (Municipality of Delft).
Service charges. The landlord settles them every year before 1 July, based on real use in the year before; ask for the overview in writing each year (Municipality of Delft).
A logbook. A landlord who threatens you, enters without warning or cuts off internet or hot water is breaking the law; note every incident with date and time, and ask for a solution by letter or email (Municipality of Delft).

Deposit

Your deposit in Delft: the limit, the deadline and the free check

On a lease signed from 1 July 2023 the deposit is at most 2 months of basic rent, and on older leases at most 3 months.

The limit. The 2-month and 3-month caps come from Rijksoverheid (Rijksoverheid).
The deadline. The landlord repays the deposit within 14 days after the lease ends; if damage or unpaid rent is set off, the rest follows within 30 days with a full written specification (Civil Code, article 7:261b).
Paid too much? A deposit above the limit is one of the problems the Huurteam Delft takes on (Municipality of Delft).
Work out your figures with our deposit calculator, and read the deposit recovery guide.

Important — read before you worry about cost

The €188 is not paid upfront

For eligible lowest-bracket legal aid (toevoeging), the lawyer contribution is usually not due before your case starts. If your case succeeds, it can be paid from the money you recover — not from your own pocket upfront.

€0 now — free eligibility check (opens checker directly)
€49 later only if FindLawyer can help after review (refunded if we cannot connect you to the lawyer)
€188 lawyer/legal-aid share — after recovery if you win, lawyer confirms eligibility

Still waiting for your Delft deposit?

The free eligibility check is in English, takes about 2 minutes and works if you have already left Delft.

Do your free eligibility check

Help

Free help for tenants in Delft

Private tenants in Delft have a free advice team paid for by the city, and corporation tenants have their own complaints route.

Huurteam Delft. It works on behalf of the city and its services are free. Go there with no or a wrong lease, a rent that is too high, poor maintenance, or too much service charges or deposit. After your report someone contacts you, an adviser may visit the home, and you keep one contact person; call 085 273 49 33, Monday to Friday from 10.00 to 16.00 (Municipality of Delft). Legal specialists (juristen) and other experts work in the team (Municipality of Delft).
Renting from a corporation? Report the problem to the corporation first; if that fails, the Huurcommissie handles rent disputes, the Klachtencommissie Wonen service complaints, and the regional committee complaints about Woonnet Haaglanden. The Instituut Sociaal Raadslieden answers questions about the rules (Municipality of Delft).
Scammed? Always report a rogue landlord to the police (Municipality of Delft).
The court. Delft falls under Rechtbank Den Haag, whose kantonrechter hears tenancy cases (Rechtspraak.nl). The Delft court location closed in 2013, and its cases are heard at the Den Haag location (Rechtspraak.nl), Prins Clauslaan 60 (Rechtspraak.nl). If money is the obstacle, see our legal aid guide.
Need a lawyer? See our page on finding an English-speaking tenant lawyer in the Netherlands.

Want a specialist to take on your deposit?

Begin with the free check: we look at your case and introduce a specialist deposit lawyer if it fits.

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Keep reading

Related guides

More of our guides for renting and studying in Delft.

Service

Free deposit check

Landlord kept your deposit? Check your case.

Tool

Deposit calculator

The legal maximum and the repayment date.

Rent

Is my rent too high?

The points check for your rent.

Study

Student visa

Studying in the Netherlands from outside the EU.

Arriving

IND and registration in The Hague

The International Centre also serves Delft.

Nearby

Renting in The Hague

Rents, permits and help next door.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is renting in Delft hard for students?

Yes: TU Delft warns that student housing is short in Delft too and advises you to start looking as early as possible. DUWO, the largest manager of student rooms, fills most rooms by letting the current housemates choose. TU Delft lists private platforms but has no partnership with them, so read its advice on rental fraud before you pay anything.

Do I need a housing permit to rent in Delft?

Only for a self-contained home with a rent below €932.93 a month. You must be 18 or older, stay within the income limit, €51,537 for one person, and have at least 11 m² each. The permit costs €71.35 and the city decides within 8 weeks. A room with shared facilities, a campus contract or a DUWO home needs no application from you.

Can a landlord turn a Delft house into student rooms?

Rarely. Since October 2017 letting a home as rooms to 3 or more people who are not a family needs a conversion permit, and Delft only grants it for a home above a shop or restaurant, with at least 20 m² per resident. Houses already let as rooms before October 2017 keep an acquired right until the situation changes.

Can I rent a room in someone’s home in Delft without a permit?

Yes, if the owner lives there, uses at least half of the home and lets to 1 person, who shares the kitchen, toilet and bathroom and gets a rental contract. In a home of 180 m² or more that the owner has had for over 5 years, 2 rooms may be let. Beyond that the landlord needs a conversion permit.

How much deposit can a Delft landlord ask?

On a lease signed from 1 July 2023, at most 2 months of basic rent, and 3 months on older leases. It must be repaid within 14 days after the lease ends, or within 30 days if damage or unpaid rent is set off, with a written specification. Paying too much deposit is one of the problems the Huurteam Delft handles.

Where do tenants in Delft get free help?

Private tenants go to the Huurteam Delft, which works for the city, is free, and can visit your home before advising. Call 085 273 49 33 on weekdays from 10.00 to 16.00. Corporation tenants first complain to their corporation, then to the Huurcommissie or a complaints committee. The city advises against paying intermediaries who offer the same help.

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Official sources, checked 15 September 2026

Final notes and legal disclaimer

This article provides general information and is not tailored to your personal circumstances.
It does not cover all situations, exceptions, or recent legal changes.
Reading this article does not create a lawyer-client relationship with findlawyer.nl or any associated entity.
No guarantee is given that this information is complete, accurate, or up to date.
No rights can be derived from this article.
For decisions about renting in Delft, or your specific situation, always consult a qualified professional.

FindLawyer is a lawyer-matching and case-preparation service, not a law firm. Legal advice comes from the partner lawyer.

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