Why is kamer huren in Den Haag so competitive?
Den Haag carries a demand load that few Dutch cities of its size do. It hosts more than 200 international organisations, including the ICJ, the ICC and Europol, according to the NL Compass Hague expat guide — which means a steady stream of tribunal staff, interns and short-term expats hunting for rooms.
Layered on top is a student population that keeps growing. De Haagse Hogeschool alone counts nearly 26,000 students from over 120 countries, per its official figures. Leiden University's Campus The Hague is planned to grow toward 9,000 students by 2030.
This dual demand — tribunal expats plus students — tightens supply in a way Rotterdam does not experience. The result is a city where a good kamer disappears in hours, and hospiteren evenings can feel like job interviews.
The shortage is real, not anecdotal. Den Haag was short roughly 3,300 student homes at the time of the last major study, with 1,700 more units expected, according to Mare Online. Nationally, the Netherlands sits around 23,000 rooms short. Every affordable room you find is one that several other people also found.
What does a room actually cost in Den Haag in 2026?
📷 Jan van der Wolf / Pexels
The honest headline number is €753/month for a student or shared-house room in Q1 2025 (Studentensteden.nl / Kamernet). That average grew +4.1% year-on-year from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025 — notably slower than the national average of +6.2%, per the same Kamernet Q1 2025 report.
Across all housing types, Den Haag's rent runs €26.19/m², about 5.06% above the Dutch national average of €24.93/m², based on 1,605 listed objects in the Rent.nl Huurindex Q1 2025.
For students specifically, DUWO's Den Haag stock lists shared-facility rooms at €450–€750/month and self-contained units at €650–€900, per THUAS housing. So €750 is a genuine ceiling, not a fantasy — but you'll be competing hard for anything at the bottom of that band.
Which 5 wijken can you rent a room under €750?
📷 Jan van der Wolf / Pexels
No verified per-wijk room prices exist publicly — landlords rarely publish by district — so treat the following as directional, built from confirmed full-apartment price tiers and student-housing patterns.
Laakkwartier is the clearest affordable central option. Full apartments here run €900–€1,400/month, the lowest of any central wijk per NL Compass, which pulls room prices down with them. Its Laakhaven-Oost edge sits close to De Haagse Hogeschool.
Moerwijk and Bouwlust/Vrederust in the southwest offer some of the cheapest rooms in the city — but read the scam section below before you commit.
Rustenburg-Oostbroek, between Laak and the southwest, tends to price a step below the fashionable central belt.
Mariahoeve in the northeast is quieter, greener and reliably under the citywide average — good if a longer tram ride doesn't bother you.
A useful anchor when you compare rooms: the highest tier of the city sits far above these areas. Statenkwartier and the Archipelbuurt command €1,600–€2,500/month for full apartments, and Bezuidenhout and the Zeeheldenkwartier €1,400–€1,900, per NL Compass. If a room in one of those postcodes is advertised near the €753 citywide room average, be suspicious rather than delighted. Genuine bargains cluster in Laak and the southwest, not in the diplomatic belt.
Compare this to Rotterdam's under-€700 areas, where supply is looser and your budget stretches further.
Which 2 wijken should you avoid — and why?
This is where the honest answer diverges from a simple price map. The two wijken to approach with the most caution are Schilderswijk and Moerwijk — not because rooms are unavailable, but because they are the areas most cited in documented rental-fraud cases.
According to Den Haag Centraal's investigation, scammers concentrate fake listings in Mariahoeve, Moerwijk, Bouwlust/Vrederust and Schilderswijk. Dozens of Hagenaars have been victimised. One 2025 case — a 32-year-old with 17+ victims over January to March — ended in a prison sentence, with individual losses of €550 to €7,600.
The pattern: fraudsters rent a property short-term (often via Airbnb), pose as the owner, sign a fake contract, collect a deposit, then vanish. Ads run on Facebook and Funda.
Cheap rooms in these wijken can be perfectly legitimate. The rule is simply: the cheaper the listing in these areas, the harder you verify before paying anything.
How do you avoid rental fraud when renting a kamer here?
Verhuurfraude is a real and measured problem. A national fraud helpdesk logged 244 reports in 2024 totalling €223,075 in losses, per Den Haag Centraal. Protecting yourself comes down to a few non-negotiables.
Never pay a deposit before viewing the room in person and seeing the landlord's ID against the property. Since July 1, 2023, the maximum waarborgsom is two months' kale huur, and it must be returned within 14 days of the lease ending, per Rijksoverheid. Any "landlord" demanding three months or wiring-only payment is a red flag.
For social housing, only ever use Woonnet-Haaglanden. Haag Wonen explicitly warns against brokers who charge fees to "speed up" waiting lists or manipulate urgency status — that is illegal and always a scam. Groningen sees the same fake-listing wave every September; the tactics are identical.
What do the 2026 permit rules mean for room supply?
A quiet but important change lands on April 1, 2026. Under new Gemeente Den Haag rules, renting to three or more people requires an omzettingsvergunning — a conversion permit carrying a €575.35 fee and eight-week processing time.
Only 27 named districts qualify, permits are capped at 10% of units per neighbourhood, and each room must be at least 18m². The practical effect: fewer new shared houses, concentrated in fewer wijken.
For renters, this cuts two ways. Rooms in permitted, above-board houses become more legitimate and stable. But raw supply of new kamers tightens further in an already competitive market — the tightness indicator sat at 2.2 in Q4 2024 per Vastgoedwereld, with the sharpest shortage in exactly the affordable segment students and interns need. Expect the €753 average to hold its upward pressure into 2026.
Where do people actually find these rooms?
DUWO and the THUAS housing service are the institutional starting points — though THUAS only helps roughly 50% of incoming international students and charges a non-refundable €275 housing fee, per its own page. That leaves half of arrivals searching independently.
Those renters lean on Kamernet, Facebook groups, and word of mouth from hospiteren evenings. A newer option is Coinquilino — a free room and roommate app from Italy, now available in the Netherlands (full disclosure: Coinquilino is our app). It leans toward roommate-matching rather than agency listings, which suits the shared-house reality of Den Haag.
Whichever platform you use, register your address in the BRP within five working days of moving — it's a legal requirement, and a landlord refusing to let you register is itself a warning sign.
One more practical habit worth building: set alerts, then be ready to act the same day. In a market this tight, the difference between getting a room and missing it is usually response speed, not budget. Have your documents — proof of enrolment or employment, a short introduction, and ID — ready in one folder before you even start viewing. Owners running a hospiteren evening are choosing a housemate, so a clear, friendly message beats a copy-pasted one every time.
How much is the average room in Den Haag?
Around €753/month for a student or shared-house room as of Q1 2025, according to Studentensteden.nl citing Kamernet data. That was a +4.1% rise year-on-year, slower than the +6.2% national average.
Is Den Haag cheaper than Amsterdam or Rotterdam for rooms?
Den Haag ranks roughly fifth nationally for room prices. Amsterdam, Utrecht, Haarlem and Rotterdam are all more expensive, per Kamernet Q1 2025 data. See how Amsterdam's affordable areas compare.
What is the maximum deposit a landlord can ask?
For contracts signed after July 1, 2023, the maximum waarborgsom is two months' kale huur, per Rijksoverheid. Contracts before that date may run up to three months. The deposit must be returned within 14 days after the lease ends.
How much can my rent legally increase in 2026?
For free-sector housing, the maximum increase in 2026 is 4.4% (3.4% CPI inflation plus 1%), effective January 1, 2026, per Rijksoverheid. This cap applies through May 1, 2029.
Do I have to register my address when I rent a room?
Yes. Tenants must register their address in the BRP (municipal population register) within five working days of moving in. A landlord who won't allow BRP registration is a serious red flag.
Are cheap rooms in Schilderswijk or Moerwijk safe to rent?
Many are legitimate, but these wijken are among the most cited in documented Den Haag rental-fraud cases. Always view in person, verify the owner's ID against the property, and never pay a deposit before a real viewing.
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This article was produced with the help of AI tools and reviewed by the Coinquilino editorial team.
