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How-to7 min read

How to Check if Your Amsterdam Rent Is Legal (WWS Points + Huurcommissie), Step by Step

A free, step-by-step way to check if your Dutch rent is legal in 2026 using the WWS points calculator and the Huurcommissie, plus how to get money back within 6 months.

Luca Stradmann3 June 2026
A calculator and rental documents on a table in a Dutch apartment.

Thousands of internationals in Amsterdam overpay because they assume "free sector" means the landlord can charge anything. Since 2024, that is often not true. This is the free, step-by-step way to check your rent, and get money back if you are overpaying.

Key Takeaways

  • Count your home's WWS points with the free Huurprijscheck on huurcommissie.nl.
  • If your home scores 186 points or fewer, it has a legal maximum rent, even if your lease says "free sector."
  • File a starting-rent challenge within 6 months of a new contract, and any reduction is backdated to day one (Huurcommissie, 2024).
  • Since 1 January 2025, your landlord must give you the points score on a regulated home.
  • The calculator is free; the formal procedure has a small fee, usually refunded if you are right.

In my years placing tenants, the single most common "I wish I'd known" is this: people sign, settle in, and never check whether the rent is even legal. The check takes about 20 minutes.

A tenant I worked with, a teacher new to the city, had signed a "free-sector" studio in West for €1,395 a month and assumed that was simply what Amsterdam costs. It nagged at me, so we ran the free Huurprijscheck together one evening. The home scored 142 points, well below the 186-point line, which meant its legal maximum was closer to €850. She had been overpaying by around €500 every single month.

She filed the starting-rent challenge inside the six-month window. The Huurcommissie agreed, the rent was cut to the legal cap, and because the reduction backdates to day one, she was refunded the difference on the months she had already paid. Twenty minutes with a free calculator became thousands of euros back in her pocket.

When is your rent worth checking?

Check your rent if your base rent is anywhere near or below the free-sector line (€1,228.07 in 2026) or if the home feels small or basic for the price. Homes of 186 WWS points or fewer have a legal maximum, so a "free-sector" price on a low-points home is a red flag (Volkshuisvesting Nederland, 2026).

You especially want to check if:

  • Your base rent is between roughly €1,000 and €1,400.
  • The home is a studio or one-bed without special features.
  • You signed on or after 1 July 2024 (the 6-month window may still be open).

For background on the three segments, see social vs middle vs free-sector housing.

Step 1: Gather your home's details

Before you open the calculator, collect a few facts about your home, because the points system runs on them. This takes five minutes and makes the rest easy.

You will need:

  • Floor area in square metres (check your contract or measure it).
  • Energy label (A, B, C, and so on; ask the landlord or check the energy certificate).
  • WOZ value: look it up free on the WOZ-waardeloket by address.
  • Features: kitchen and bathroom quality, balcony or garden, heating type.

Since 1 January 2025, a landlord renting a regulated home must give you the points score (the rent assessment) at the start (Russell Advocaten, 2025). If you have that document, you are halfway done.

Step 2: Run the free Huurprijscheck

Open the Huurprijscheck on the Huurcommissie website and enter your details to get your home's WWS points and the maximum legal rent. It is the official government calculator, and it is free (Huurcommissie, 2026).

The Huurprijscheck on huurcommissie.nl converts your home's features into WWS points and shows the highest legal monthly rent. A home of 186 points or fewer is regulated; one of 187 or more is free sector with no legal maximum (Huurcommissie, 2026). The whole calculation takes a few minutes once you have the inputs.

Direct link: the Huurprijscheck and Wet betaalbare huur pages on huurcommissie.nl.

Step 3: Compare to your actual rent

Now compare the calculator's maximum legal rent to the base rent (kale huur) on your contract, not the all-in figure. Base rent excludes service costs like furniture, cleaning, or utilities.

Three outcomes:

  • You pay at or below the maximum: your rent is legal. Good.
  • You pay above the maximum, and the home is ≤186 points: you are likely overpaying, and you can act.
  • The home is 187+ points (free sector): there is no legal maximum, but yearly increases are still capped (4.4% in 2026).

If the numbers say you are overpaying, do not panic and do not confront the landlord first. Use the official route, which is designed for exactly this.

Step 4: File a starting-rent challenge with the Huurcommissie

If you are overpaying on a regulated home, ask the Huurcommissie (Rent Tribunal) to check your starting rent. For a new free-sector contract you must do this within 6 months of the start date (Huurcommissie, 2024).

How to file:

  1. Go to the Huurcommissie starting-rent page.
  2. Submit a toetsing aanvangshuurprijs (starting-rent assessment). You will need a DigiD.
  3. Provide your contract and your home's details.
  4. The Huurcommissie checks the points and rules on the legal rent.

The calculator is free. The formal procedure has a small fee, which is generally refunded if the Huurcommissie agrees your rent was too high. Free help with the paperwork is available from !WOON in Amsterdam.

Step 5: Get your reduction (often backdated)

If the Huurcommissie agrees the home is regulated, your rent is lowered to the legal maximum, backdated to the start of the contract. That can mean a refund for the months you overpaid, on top of a lower rent going forward.

When the Huurcommissie rules that a free-sector starting rent was too high for a regulated home, the corrected rent applies retroactively to the contract's start date (Huurcommissie, 2024). This is why acting inside the 6-month window matters: it gives you the backdated refund, not just a lower future rent.

<!-- [UNIQUE INSIGHT] The backdated refund is the part newcomers don't realize exists. Acting in month 5 versus month 7 can be the difference between a full refund and nothing. -->

What if I'm past the 6-month window?

You still have options, just narrower. The 6-month starting-rent route is the easiest, but you can also dispute later rent increases, service costs, and maintenance through the Huurcommissie. And remember the retroactive rule from 1 July 2025, under which some older free-sector contracts that should be regulated must be lowered anyway (Houthoff, 2025). Get advice from !WOON about your specific case.

Want someone to check it for you?

If reading WOZ values and counting points is not how you want to spend your first month, that is fair. Dossier (€200) includes a contract and rent check, so you know on day one whether your rent is legal and whether to act before the window closes.

Get Dossier for €200. We check your rent, your contract, and the whole maze, so you don't have to.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a lawyer to challenge my rent?

No. The Huurcommissie process is designed for tenants to use directly, and !WOON offers free help with the forms in Amsterdam. You file online with a DigiD; the Huurcommissie does the points assessment and issues a binding decision.

Will my landlord evict me for challenging the rent?

They cannot lawfully evict you for using the Huurcommissie. Since 1 July 2024 you likely have an indefinite contract with strong protection, and a landlord needs a valid legal ground to end it. Challenging an illegal rent is your right, not a breach.

What's the difference between base rent and total rent?

Base rent (kale huur) is the rent for the home itself. Total rent adds service costs (servicekosten) like furniture, cleaning, or shared utilities. The points system and all the legal thresholds use base rent, so always compare the calculator's figure to your base rent.

Does this work for rooms and shared housing?

The points system also covers rooms (non-self-contained housing), with its own rules. If you rent a room, you can still check the legal rent with the Huurcommissie and challenge an unfair price, though the calculation differs from a self-contained home.

The bottom line

Checking your rent is free, takes about 20 minutes, and can save you hundreds a month, sometimes with a backdated refund. Gather your details, run the Huurprijscheck, compare to your base rent, and file within 6 months if you are overpaying. It is the single highest-return hour a new Amsterdam renter can spend.

Background reading: the Affordable Rent Act and the 2024 contract law.

Sources

#amsterdam#dutch-rental-law#huurcommissie#wws-points#tenant-rights#2026

Luca Stradmann

Founder, NoRelocation. 10 years in Amsterdam real estate; 1,000+ tenants placed.