Even at €2,000+/month, don’t expect a spotless handover.
If you're moving to the Netherlands and expect your new rental apartment to be sparkling clean and freshly painted, you might be in for a surprise. In Dutch rental culture—especially in the vrije sector (private market)—there’s a long-standing norm: tenants clean when they leave, and landlords don't clean in between.
So what happens if the previous tenant didn’t do a good job? Often, the landlord simply hands the place over “as-is.” This isn’t usually seen as disrespectful—it’s just how things are done. Even high-end rentals can be handed over with greasy kitchen cabinets, dust, scuffed walls, and broken light fixtures.
Unless it’s spelled out in the contract that the property will be professionally cleaned, the default assumption is that the incoming tenant will roll up their sleeves and get to work.
While tenant rights are strong in the Netherlands (e.g. rent control in some sectors, long-term security), there’s no clear enforcement on:
There’s no legal obligation for a landlord to:
As long as the property is habitable and structurally safe, it’s technically within the law to hand it over in mediocre condition—even at €2,000/month. You’re paying for location and square meters, not comfort or polish.
Landlords in the Netherlands—especially in major cities like Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Rotterdam—are often individual investors with one or more properties. Many of them:
Spending €300–500 on a deep clean or cosmetic repairs is often seen as a waste—especially when they’re already collecting high monthly rents. With so much demand and limited supply, there’s simply no market incentive to go the extra mile.
Another aspect of Dutch housing culture is the strong “do-it-yourself” mindset.