Rented houses predominantly found in urban areas, owner-occupied houses in rural areas

Owner-occupied dwellings are predominantly found in rural areas, commuter towns and on the outskirts of the city. Rented houses and flats are mainly situated in major city centres and student districts.

Many owner-occupied houses in rural areas

Residents of rural areas mostly live in owner-occupied dwellings. In small municipalities like Rozendaal, Meerlo-Wanssum, Hunsel and Bergeijk, the share of owner-occupied dwellings exceeds 80 percent. On average, slightly more than half of the Dutch housing stock are owner-occupied.

Rented houses mainly situated in village centres

Rented houses in rural areas – if they any at all – are mainly situated in village centres. In the municipality of Noordoostpolder, for example, the proportion of rented houses only exceeded 20 percent in the village centres. In almost every Dutch commuter town, there are distinctly more owner-occupied than rented houses.

Proportion of rented houses in neighbourhoods in the municipality of Noordoostpolder, September 2005

Rented houses mainly available in cities

Rented homes are commonly found in the larger cities. With 80 percent, the highest proportion of rented houses was found in Amsterdam in 2005, followed by Rotterdam with 72 percent. The university towns of Groningen and Delft come in third and fourth place with over 60 percent each. With 95 percent and beyond, the proportion of rented houses is even higher in areas around universities, like De Uithof in Utrecht, the TU district in Delft and Drienerveld-UT in Enschede.

Owner-occupied houses mainly on the outskirts

Rented houses are predominantly found in city centres, whereas owner-occupied houses are commonly found on the outskirts of cities. In various districts in the centre of Groningen, for example, the proportion of rented houses is above 80 percent. In areas further away from the city centre, like Leegkerk and Ruischerbrug, the proportion is less than 20 percent

Proportion of rented houses in districts in the municipality of Groningen, September 2005

Bert Raets