Ever more renters do not receive their deposits back at the end of the tenancy, according to a report by renters rights organisation Woon.
The Netherlands does not require landlords to put deposits in a third-party account or to use an independent check in and check out service to calculate the cost of any damage.
“It is ever more common for private landlords not to pay back the deposit or to refund only part of it,” said Woon in a press release. “International renters in particular seem to be frequent victims of this.”
In Amsterdam, 223 people reported that they did not get their deposit back fully or fairly last year – sometimes “extremely high deposit sums” such as €8,600.
Woon named landlords who had at least three times been accused of withholding deposits: Accopera BV, Change=, Habyt Netherlands BV, Ledaser Vastgoed BV, Van der Huizen Vastgoedbeheer and Young Dominium Management (Hicondo).
By law, a deposit must be returned within 14 days of a contract ending, but if this does not happen, tenants need to start a civil case. “This is, as far as we are concerned, a clear omission in the – otherwise helpful in our work – law on good landlordship,” said Woon in the new report.
Renter rights
Since June 2024, a new rental rights law has banned temporary contracts – except in exceptional circumstances – and imposed rent controls on more houses.
This January, local councils started to enforce new powers to pursue and fine illegal landlord behaviour. Council-funded Woon advises tenants and supports them in legal action for unfair service charges, rents or inadequate maintenance in and around Amsterdam.
According to its new “state of the renter” report, Woon had almost 80,000 contacts with renters last year, three in 10 relating to maintenance and a quarter to do with rental costs or service charges. By law, landlords can only pass on factual costs as a “service” charge and tenants have the right to see documentation.
One high-profile house builder Change= has lost several legal cases on incorrect “community charges”, and Woon is supporting tenants in further action against the property manager – which has now sold its two buildings in Amsterdam. Woon also supported renters in querying charges in property owned by HiCondo, Rockfield [The Cohesion] and XIOR.
“Although since July 1, 2024, temporary contracts have been banned for most renters, in 2025, Woon had dozens of signals around contracts without a legal basis,” it said. “Our advisers also see that some landlords use the ‘short stay’ label to evade the law.”
It has called for more protection on tenant deposits, action from the new housing minister Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan on illegal contracts and more transparency from rental platforms – which some suggest could be breaching European fair trading rules by accepting adverts for properties that appear to have illegal prices.
Removing stairs
Undesirable behaviour such as intimidation was also frequently reported. Some small-time landlords had illegally hung cameras in shared spaces, one falsely claimed they had a court possession order and another took €1,900 a month in cash from a Spanish renter for an illegal rental.
Several landlords who rented loft space and wanted to evict their tenants took action such as removing the stairs or (partially) cutting off their facilities, according to Woon.
Due to the new laws, tax burden and high property prices, many private landlords with an investment property sold up last year, according to the Kadaster; the proportion of investor properties shrank from 9.4% in January 2024 to 9% in January 2026.
In 2025, after receiving alarms from around 20,000 addresses. Woon started 2,500 procedures at the Huurcommissie, a low-cost arbitration service. Every rental property in the Netherlands is awarded points based on its size and facilities and those under 187 points are subject to rent controls.
Check your rental rights at Amsterdam’s website
