Amsterdam landlords withholding deposits, some over €5,000
Rental deposits in Amsterdam are becoming increasingly extreme, with some exceeding 5,000 euros, according to the Meldpunt Ongewenst Verhuurderschap, a tenant advocacy organization. The group warns that landlords and rental intermediaries are systematically violating legal limits, turning deposit collection into a business model. Some of these large deposits are never returned, Het Parool reports.
“We are seeing more and more cases where rental deposits exceed the legal maximum, partly due to rising rental prices,” Gert-Jan Bakker of the organization told Het Parool. “In some cases, the amounts are even higher. Under the Good Landlord Act, a deposit cannot exceed two months’ base rent.”
However, the deposit amount is not the only issue. “The biggest problem is that deposits are often never returned,” Bakker said. “It’s as if withholding deposits has become a way to make money.” In 2024, Woon! received 134 complaints related to rental deposits.
The deposit issue is just one of many problems reported by tenants over the past year, according to the annual report De Staat van de Huurder, published Monday morning. In total, the watchdog received 594 complaints about undesirable landlord behavior in 2024, slightly more than in 2023. Cases involving violations of rental laws were the most common, followed by deposit disputes. This year, issues related to lease terminations and tenant protections surged to third place.
The report highlights a concerning trend among shared housing tenants. A significant number of tenants reported receiving eviction notices or facing problems when trying to replace departing housemates. These cases were most common among small-scale property investors, the report states.
“Some landlords no longer see renting as profitable due to the Affordable Rent Act,” the report notes. “The real estate sector has pushed this narrative aggressively. But in reality, the new point system for non-self-contained housing actually makes room rentals more profitable.”
In many cases, tenants are not allowed to propose replacements when a housemate moves out. As a result, remaining tenants are forced to cover the full rent, which is often unaffordable. This practice is effectively a “phase-out policy,” Woon! said. “Whether we can intervene depends on the specific lease agreement.”
Scammers are increasingly using social media to lure tenants with fake rental listings, the report warns. One example involves a listing by a supposed landlord named “Martin Peter,” advertising a furnished 60-square-meter apartment in central Amsterdam for 725 euros per month, including a parking space.
“The landlord tries to build trust through email conversations and then pressures potential tenants to pay a deposit before viewing the apartment,” the report states. However, official city records show the listed address is a commercial property, and no verifiable information exists about “Martin Peter.”
The report also highlights cases in which landlords attempt to reclaim attic spaces from long-term tenants. In many instances, tenants have used the attics for years, but their right to the space is unclear due to vague lease agreements.
One example involves real estate company Rembrandt Propco, which is trying to evict a tenant from an attic space they have rented for 40 years. “The formal lease only covers the third floor, but the tenant has lived on the fourth-floor attic level for decades,” the report states.
Woon! also documented an extreme case of landlord intimidation. In one incident, a tenant received an eviction notice in a mourning envelope—a clear reference to death.
“This is part of a long-standing ‘death discourse’ from a landlord known for verbal aggression,” the report states. The case is one of several instances where landlords have used threats and intimidation to pressure tenants into leaving their homes.
