A recent report has ranked four Dutch cities amongst the most expensive in Europe for rental housing, with Amsterdam coming in third place behind Paris and London.

Housing crisis leads to rising rental prices across Europe

The International Rent Index published by HousingAnywhere, a rental accommodation platform that operates across Europe, assessed the price of housing in major cities across the continent in the last quarter of 2021.

The 14th edition of the index revealed a “continuing trend of increasing rents for all accommodation types,” as well as a sharp price increase in comparison to the fourth quarter of 2020. “Lack of available and accessible housing is dictating prices, resulting in the nearly 40 percent increase of apartment rental prices [in some areas],” the report said, with HousingAnywhere calling for urgent action to be taken in order to ensure affordable housing for all.

“Cities are competing for talent, while talents are competing for housing,” said CEO Djordy Seelmann. While here in the Netherlands, the national housing crisis regularly makes the headlines, the report highlights the fact that inaccessible housing is a trend that can be observed in cities across Europe.

Cost of rental accommodation in the Netherlands

According to the report, the imbalance between supply and demand is what continues to make the Dutch housing market so inaccessible, with available rental properties snapped up at increasingly quick rates by those looking for a home. 

Research found that prices for studio rentals in Amsterdam were 21,62 percent higher at the end of 2021 in comparison to at the end of 2020, while Utrecht recorded an increase of 18,8 percent and Rotterdam an increase of 5,75 percent.

Apartments in the Dutch capital were only slightly more expensive last month compared to December 2020 (0,33 percent higher), while the rental markets in Utrecht, Rotterdam, and The Hague all experienced significantly larger increases (10,82 percent, 6,13 percent, and 3,25 percent respectively).

The report expects that new regulations introduced in the Netherlands earlier this month that allow municipalities to ban property developers from investing in cheap to mid-priced housing in certain neighbourhoods will mean Dutch rental prices in 2022 will rise at a slightly slower rate than has been observed in previous years.

Most expensive cities in Europe for renting

According to HousingAnywhere, the 10 most expensive cities in Europe for renting a one-bedroom apartment are:

1. Paris
2. London
3. Amsterdam
4. Helsinki
5. Utrecht
6. Berlin
7. Rotterdam
8. Milan
9. The Hague
10. Munich

For more information about the International Rent Index, visit HousingAnywhere's website.