Drafting a Dutch rental contract: complete 2026 checklist

A Dutch rental contract is a legal document that defines your relationship with the tenant for years. Get the structure right once and it saves you a decade of disputes. This is the working checklist.

Why a solid contract is critical

The rental agreement defines indexation, deposit handling, maintenance and termination. A vague contract leads to disputes on all of them. A solid contract prevents 90% of those problems.

The 14 essential elements

1. Identify the parties

Full name, address, date of birth (private individual) or KvK number (business) of both landlord and tenant. With multiple tenants: list every name.

2. Specify the property

• Full address and postcode
• Type of dwelling (apartment, single-family home, etc.)
• Specific spaces included (attic room yes/no, storage, parking spot)
• Any shared spaces (in apartment buildings)

3. Split the rent

Distinguish:

State each amount separately. Only the base rent counts for WOZ and the points system.

4. Deposit

Since the Affordable Rent Act (July 2024) the deposit is capped at 2 months of base rent. State:

• The deposit amount
• Payment method (bank transfer, iDEAL)
• How you will settle the deposit at end of tenancy
• Refund deadline (max 14 days after handover)

5. Start date

The exact date the contract begins and the tenant gets the keys. Schedule a key-handover moment.

6. Term

Since July 2024 indefinite term is the default. Fixed-term contracts only exist in narrow exceptions:

• Target-group contracts (young people, students, PhD candidates)
• Temporary letting under the Vacancy Act (Leegstandwet)
• No regular tenant available (rare)

7. Termination

For the tenant: the statutory notice period is one month (cannot be extended in your favour).

For you as landlord: three to six months' notice depending on the duration, plus a statutory ground for termination (own use, urgent need, poor tenancy behaviour, etc.).

8. Indexation clause

9. Maintenance matrix

State who is responsible for what. The statutory split lives in the Decree on Small Repairs. A common breakdown:

10. Use

What is and isn't allowed:

• Who may live there? (only the tenant + family, or also subletting)
• Pets yes/no
• Smoking yes/no
• Running a business from home
• Maximum number of occupants

11. House rules

An annex with practical agreements: waste collection, noise, shared spaces, parking rules.

12. Insurance

Require the tenant to take out contents insurance (inboedelverzekering). You as landlord hold the buildings insurance (opstalverzekering). State this explicitly to avoid disputes when damage happens.

13. Key handover and condition report

• Number of keys handed over
• Inspection report at start and end of tenancy (photos, signatures)
• What counts as "delivered in good condition"

14. Signature

Place, date, signatures of all parties. For digital signing: use a qualified service (DocuSign, ValidSign, or the built-in signing in Propty).

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting the indexation clause → cannot raise the rent
2. Deposit too high → municipal fine
3. Vague maintenance matrix → endless disputes
4. Fixed-term without a valid reason → automatically indefinite
5. No condition report → no evidence at deposit settlement
6. No insurance clause → ambiguity when damage occurs

Template contracts

Never start from scratch. Use a professional template as a base:

• Vereniging Eigen Huis - free basic template
• NVM - members get access to extensive templates
• Propty - built into our software, with automatic WWS-point calculation and mandatory-law checks

Step-by-step

1. Pick a template (NVM or VEH)
2. Fill in all 14 elements as described above
3. Get a legal review by a real-estate lawyer (one-time per template, ~€200)
4. Save the template in your system for reuse
5. At each new lease: adapt the template to the specific property and tenant - don't start from zero again

Conclusion

A solid rental contract is a few hours of investment that saves years of trouble. Read also about the Affordable Rent Act for its impact on new contracts in 2026, or schedule a short demo to see how Propty automates contract management.