Amsterdam apartments the most expensive in Europe; Rotterdam & The Hague in top five

Amsterdam is at the top of HousingAnywhere's European ranking of the most expensive medium-term rental homes. Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht are also in the top ten of the apartment category in the International Rent Index, AD reports.

HousingAnywhere, a Rotterdam-based international provider of medium-term rental properties, looked at the rents for over 67,000 homes in 28 European cities in the first quarter of this year.

Amsterdam topped the ranking in all three categories with an average rent of 2,276 euros per month for an apartment, 1,740 euros for a studio, and 963 euros for a room.

When it comes to apartments, Rotterdam and The Hague are in fourth and fifth place, after Rome and Paris. The average rent for an apartment is 1,795 euros per month in Rotterdam and 1,790 euros in The Hague. Utrecht is in seventh place (1,746 euros) after Munich.

Rotterdam and The Hague both saw significant apartment rent increases in the past year. According to HousingAnywhere, apartment rents increased by 15.8 percent in Rotterdam and 25.6 percent in The Hague compared to a year ago.

The results shocked the Woonbond, the Dutch association for tenants. “We already knew that rents were high, but the fact that we come out as the winner, or actually the loser, is sad news,” said Maarten Wiedemeijer. “This research confirms that excessively high rents are charged in the private sector, which must be restricted.”

The Woonbond hopes that parliament will quickly pass Housing Minister Hugo de Jonge’s Affordable Rent Act. The law regulates the rent of mid-market rentals in the private sector.