Is your Rotterdam rent too high? How to check the points and get the rent reduced (2026)

Whether a rent can be too high depends on the points of the home under the woningwaarderingsstelsel (WWS) and on when you signed the lease.

• The 2026 limits. Social rent ends at 143 points and €932.93; the top of regulated mid-rent, which is also the free-sector threshold, is the maximum at 186 points, €1,228.07 a month (Volkshuisvesting Nederland).
• The lease date matters. A lease signed before 1 July 2024 cannot be mid-rent. The modernised points system counts the WOZ value, outdoor space and energy label differently, and a poor energy label now costs points. Since 1 January 2025 landlords must attach a points count to every new lease, and a room always falls under social rent (Huurcommissie).
• Rooms in Kralingen. Kralingen West and Kralingen Oost are among the Rotterdam areas where no new room rental permits are given (City of Rotterdam), but every room there is still rent-capped as social rent.

There are two routes, and which one you take depends on how long ago your lease started.

• Less than 6 months in the home: ask the Huurcommissie straight away to review the starting rent. In the free sector it can only lower the rent if the home’s maximum is below the mid-rent limit of 186 points on a lease from 1 July 2024, or below 143 points on an older one (Huurcommissie).
• Longer than 6 months, social or mid-rent: first propose a lower rent to the landlord, and go to the Huurcommissie if the landlord does not agree; its ruling binds both of you (Huurcommissie). The city points to the Huurcommissie’s model letter for the proposal (City of Rotterdam).
• Longer than 6 months, free sector, open-ended lease: the Huurcommissie cannot give a binding ruling on the rent, unless the home is really social housing on points (Huurcommissie).

Rotterdam enforces the rent rules itself, so a report to the city can lead to a fine for the landlord.

• Enforcement. Since 1 January 2025 the city checks whether landlords follow the Affordable Rent Act, tenants can report rents that are too high, and a landlord in breach can be fined (City of Rotterdam). The city publishes the names of sanctioned landlords, for example for a rent more than 51% above the maximum (City of Rotterdam).
• The report desk. Report online with DigiD; you hear back within 5 working days, the city tries to solve complaints within 8 weeks, and questions go to 14 010 (City of Rotterdam). You can also visit the information point at Markerstraat 7 in Carnisse (Weet wat je huurt).
• Free support. The Huurteam’s deployment in six focus neighbourhoods has ended, and all tenants can get free support from the city’s report desk (City of Rotterdam). For legal advice the city names the Juridisch Loket, the Sociaal Raadslieden, Stichting Je Goed Recht and Sociaal Advocaten (Weet wat je huurt).