Dutch rental sell-off slows but complaints over unfair home-buying pile up

The wave of Dutch landlords cashing in their rental properties is still washing through the housing market, but the tide is turning. In the second quarter of 2026, the Kadaster (Dutch Land Registry) recorded 77,000 housing transactions — 4% more than a year earlier, but a sharp slowdown from the 18% year-on-year jump seen in Q2 2025 Source: NL Times.

Owner-occupiers bought 84% of those homes, or over 64,000 properties. Investors, meanwhile, purchased only 7,200 homes to rent out — roughly the same as a year ago. The sell-off is widely attributed to the Affordable Rent Act (Wet betaalbare huur), which caps rents in the mid-market segment, and higher Box 3 taxes on investment wealth. Both measures made renting out less profitable, prompting landlords to sell when tenants move out.

But the exodus has been bigger than the government anticipated. An analysis by Vastgoed Belang, the association representing real estate investors, found that 39,081 rental homes were sold off between Q3 2025 and Q2 2026 — far exceeding the government's estimate of 23,500. “The private rental market plays an important role for people with a middle income. They now have nowhere to turn,” Edward Touw of Vastgoed Belang told BNR Source: NL Times.

What this means for you If you rent in the mid-market (roughly €880–€1,100 per month), your landlord may be waiting for you to leave so they can sell. That means less choice and potentially higher rents in the remaining stock. For buyers, more supply is good news — but the buying process itself remains a minefield.

Nearly 1,000 complaints about unfair bidding Since February, the home owners' association Vereniging Eigen Huis (VEH) has logged 921 complaints about unfair bidding practices, broadcaster NOS reported Source: DutchNews.nl. The hotline, reopened after a five-year gap, reveals a pattern: buyers are pressured to raise offers after being warned about phantom rival bids, and winning bids are sometimes entered after the deadline — or even by the agent themselves.

One buyer told NOS he was urged to add €10,000 to a €265,000 offer to secure a house, only to find no higher bid recorded afterwards. VEH says voluntary industry guidelines have failed. “Buyers and sellers must be able to trust that the process is fair and verifiable,” said director Cindy Kremer. The association wants statutory rules with “supervision and enforcement, so breaches actually carry consequences.”

Housing minister Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan signalled in spring that she would put regulatory options to parliament over the summer — plans that have yet to appear. Meanwhile, PVV MP Jeremy Mooiman is drafting a private member’s bill to set a statutory standard for all bids.

AI photos add another layer of risk Even if you win the bid, what you see online may not be what you get. Funda, the main Dutch housing platform, is still teeming with AI-generated interior photos that make rooms look bigger and brighter than they really are, despite stricter rules from both Funda and the European AI Act, which came into effect on 2 August Source: NL Times.

The AI Act classifies photorealistic AI images of an existing home as deepfakes. Realtors must mark them clearly and cannot distort reality. But Funda does not actively monitor compliance, spokesperson Claire Verhagen told RTL Nieuws, saying the platform wants to “maintain our independence.”

Lawyer Rick Hemstra, who specialises in tech and the law, said buyers who feel misled can invoke the doctrine of error (dwaling) against the seller, potentially leading to a price adjustment or annulled sale. But proving that the misleading image was decisive for the purchase is tough — especially in a market where you have to decide fast.

The bottom line For internationals in the Netherlands, the housing market remains a high-stakes game. More homes are for sale, but the process of buying one is still rife with opaque bidding and deceptive photos. If you’re looking to buy, document everything: save all correspondence, ask for a written overview of bids, and be sceptical of AI-enhanced photos. If you’re renting, brace for your landlord to possibly sell — and check your rights under the Affordable Rent Act, which may cap your rent if your home falls in the regulated mid-market segment.

The government has promised action on both fronts — bidding transparency and rental protection — but concrete steps are still pending. For now, the market is running on voluntary rules and buyer beware.