Reporting Undesirable Rental Behavior

• You rent a property from a private landlord or letting agent (who brings tenants into contact with private landlords).
• You are looking for a private rental property.
• You are an employee from another country within the European Union. You are temporarily living in the Netherlands for work. 
• Do you rent from a housing cooperative? Then you can only report the amount of the rental price or rental price increase to us. Other situations must be reported to the housing cooperative itself. 

• Discrimination. A landlord rejects you on the basis of your race, religion, political affiliation, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, marital status, disability or chronic illness. 
• Intimidation. A landlord threatens or scares you.
• The landlord requests more than twice the monthly basic rent as a deposit. 
• The landlord does not provide a written rental agreement.
• The landlord does not provide clear information regarding*:
  • your rights and obligations;
  • agreements about a possible deposit;
  • the service fees;
  • the manager’s/landlord’s contact details;
  • the contact details for the reporting hotline (from 1 January 2024);
  • the number of WWS(O) points on which your rent price is based (from 1 January 2025). This concerns the ‘points-based system’ to assess homes and rooms.
• The service fees are unreasonable, or the landlord does not provide an annual summary of them.
• The letting agent charges double letting agency fees.
• The rent price for your home or room is too high (according to the Housing Rent Price Implementation Act). You can check this on ismijnhuurteduur.nl.**
• The rent increase is higher than permitted (according to the Housing Rent Price Implementation Act).** 

* This applies to agreements entered into after 1 July 2023. For previously existing agreements, the rule takes effect from 1 October 2024. Information about the number of WWS(O) points must also be provided from 1 January 2025 (for contracts signed after 1 July 2024).

** The municipality’s reporting hotline is only intended for private rental. Except for the rules marked with two asterisks (**). Tenants can also report about these rules if it concerns a housing corporation. These two rules will not, however, be enforced until 1 January 2025.

What can you report as a migrant worker?

• The rental agreement is not separate from the employment contract.
• The landlord uses a language that you as a migrant worker do not understand, or have difficulty understanding.

Reporting rental harassment is free of charge and can be done anonymously. When making a report anonymously, tenants do not include their identification details. This may hinder the investigation or make it impossible. If you are lodging the report on behalf of someone else, then you must indicate that this is the case and include proof that you are authorised to do so. 

Gehighlighte tekst: Report rental harassment > (only in Dutch)

Want to know how we handle your data? Read our privacy statement (NL). 

The municipality will discuss what actions are needed for your report. For example, the municipality may need more information from you to assess the situation. It may take some time to build up a dossier. The more information you provide, the faster the municipality can deal with your report. Reports of serious situations (i.e. threats) have priority. 

Are landlords or rental agencies not following the rules? Then the municipality may issue a warning, fine or other measures. The municipality will never approach your landlord without your approval. The Good Landlordship Act requires municipalities to publish the sanctions imposed. You can find an overview of sanctions imposed at Sanctions Overview of Good Landlordship Act. 

The municipality cannot resolve all reports. Does your report not fall under the Good Landlordship Act or does it require additional steps? Then you may be referred to the Rent Support Center Groningen, the anti-discrimination agency or the Rent Tribunal (Huurcommissie). 

The Meldpunt Ongewenst Verhuurgedrag (Rental Harassment Reporting Hotline, or MOV) was created on the basis of a reporting hotline originally started by the Groninger Studentenbond (GSB) in 2016. Tenants or people seeking rental accommodation can make a report to the hotline if landlords and letting agents do not comply with the rules stipulated in the Good Landlordship Act. This law has been in effect since 1 July 2023. A video explaining the rules is also available with subtitles in: 

• English
• Español
• Polski
• Românâ
• български

If your rental complaint falls outside the rules stipulated in the Good Landlordship Act, the municipality will probably refer you elsewhere. This is often the Rent Support Center Groningen (Steunpunt Huren). You can also receive legal assistance there.

Are you a landlord or letting agent?

You can read more information about the rental rules on the Good Landlordship Act web page.

Municipality of Groningen
Telephone number: +31 (0)50 14 050
E-mail: woontoezicht@groningen.nl