August 2026 at a glance
The key takeaways of this monthly rent report, in the order they matter, so you have the story before you reach the charts. Each point is written for this place and month from the report's own figures, whether it concerns the level of asking rents, rent per m², the like-for-like change against the month before or how homes, neighborhoods and cities compared. Read them as a summary of asking rents in new rental listings first stored on Luntero that month. The sections below show the figures behind every point and how they were measured.
- 1
Enschede had the lowest median asking rent at €499, followed by Zeist (€540), Wageningen (€579), Zwolle (€666) and Groningen (€699)
- 2
Haarlemmermeer (€1,973) and Amsterdam (€1,950) topped the ranking, with Amstelveen (€1,898) and Diemen (€1,897) close behind
- 3
Like for like against July, Breda (+8.2%), Groningen (+6.9%) and Tilburg (+4.6%) rose most, while Maastricht (−5.2%) fell most
- 4
The dearest city asked almost four times the cheapest: €1,973 against €499
Lowest rents
The five cities with the lowest median rent
Several of the cheapest cities are student towns, such as Enschede, Wageningen and Groningen, where rooms and small units often make up a large part of the supply. That is why their medians sit between about €500 and €700: they describe rooms as much as homes.
- 1Enschede
€499
- Vs national
- -47.7%
- Per m²
- €28.2/m²
- 2Zeist
€540
- Vs national
- -43.4%
- Per m²
- €34.2/m²
- 3Wageningen
€579
- Vs national
- -39.3%
- Per m²
- €40.0/m²
- 4Zwolle
€666
- Vs national
- -30.2%
- Per m²
- €24.1/m²
- 5+6.9%Groningen
€699
- Vs national
- -26.7%
- Per m²
- €30.1/m²
Highest rents
The five cities with the highest median rent
The top of the ranking is the Amsterdam region: Haarlemmermeer, Amsterdam, Amstelveen and Diemen all asked close to €1,900 or more, with Zaanstad next at €1,567. Haarlemmermeer edged Amsterdam by just €23.
- 1Haarlemmermeer
€1,973
- Vs national
- +106.8%
- Per m²
- €26.4/m²
- 2+1.9%Amsterdam
€1,950
- Vs national
- +104.4%
- Per m²
- €31.8/m²
- 3Amstelveen
€1,898
- Vs national
- +99.0%
- Per m²
- €31.5/m²
- 4Diemen
€1,897
- Vs national
- +98.8%
- Per m²
- €21.2/m²
- 5Zaanstad
€1,567
- Vs national
- +64.3%
- Per m²
- €24.6/m²
Movers
Which cities moved the most
Against July on a like-for-like basis, Breda rose 8.2%, Groningen 6.9% and Tilburg 4.6%, with Amsterdam (+1.9%) and Utrecht (+1.7%) up slightly. Maastricht (−5.2%), Rotterdam (−3.4%) and The Hague (−2.6%) eased. Only cities with enough shared sources in both months appear here, which is why many smaller towns are missing.
Biggest rises
Asking rent up against the previous month.
- Breda€798+8.2%
- Groningen€699+6.9%
- Tilburg€905+4.6%
- Amsterdam€1,950+1.9%
- Utrecht€757+1.7%
Biggest falls
Asking rent down against the previous month.
- Maastricht€809-5.2%
- Rotterdam€1,175-3.4%
- The Hague€1,540-2.6%
Month on month
How rents moved against the month before
How asking rents moved against July 2026, measured like for like. The listing sources Luntero collects can change from month to month, so comparing raw medians would partly measure that shift. Instead, change is calculated only across the listing sources present in both months, weighted by the earlier month, for both the median asking rent and rent per m². The series shows the same measure over the last six months. When too few listings can be compared, the change is left out rather than guessed.
Asking rent
Change over the last six months
Rent per m²
Change over the last six months
Change is the median asking rent of each listing source that appears in both months, weighted by the earlier month's volume. A month that cannot be matched this way is left out instead of guessed.
Full ranking
Every city, ranked
All 39 cities run from Enschede at number 1 to Haarlemmermeer at number 39. The national median of €954 falls between 's-Hertogenbosch (€946) and Leiden (€993), and Rotterdam ranks 28th at €1,175 while The Hague ranks 34th at €1,540.
Cities shown: 12 of 39
- 1Enschede€499€28.2/m²-47.7%No like-for-like change€499€28.2/m²-47.7%–
- 2Zeist€540€34.2/m²-43.4%No like-for-like change€540€34.2/m²-43.4%–
- 3Wageningen€579€40.0/m²-39.3%No like-for-like change€579€40.0/m²-39.3%–
- 4Zwolle€666€24.1/m²-30.2%No like-for-like change€666€24.1/m²-30.2%–
- 5Groningen€699€30.1/m²-26.7%+6.9%€699€30.1/m²-26.7%+6.9%
- 6Heerlen€701€17.5/m²-26.5%No like-for-like change€701€17.5/m²-26.5%–
- 7Deventer€714€16.5/m²-25.2%No like-for-like change€714€16.5/m²-25.2%–
- 8Assen€714€10.9/m²-25.2%No like-for-like change€714€10.9/m²-25.2%–
- 9Emmen€714€12.8/m²-25.2%No like-for-like change€714€12.8/m²-25.2%–
- 10Leeuwarden€746€13.7/m²-21.8%No like-for-like change€746€13.7/m²-21.8%–
- 11Delft€749€28.7/m²-21.5%No like-for-like change€749€28.7/m²-21.5%–
- 12Utrecht€757€33.4/m²-20.6%+1.7%€757€33.4/m²-20.6%+1.7%
Rank 1 is the lowest median asking rent. Change is like for like within each city and is left out when too few listings could be compared.
How these figures are measured
Cities are ranked by the median asking rent of new listings first seen in August 2026, rooms and studios included. A city appears only when enough listings were found, and the ranking measures what was listed, so towns with many rooms rank lower than their housing market might suggest.
Which listings count
New rental listings first stored in August 2026, with parking spaces left out. A figure appears only when enough listings back it, so small groups are left out rather than guessed.
Asking rents, not signed rents
Figures describe the rent advertised in the listings Luntero represents. They are not signed rents, official statistics or the whole housing stock.
Change is like for like
Change against July 2026 compares only listing sources present in both months, so a shift in which sources were collected is not read as a shift in rents.
Questions
Questions about the Netherlands in August 2026
Quick answers about asking rents in this place and month, for renters checking what a home should cost and for anyone researching the Dutch rental market. Every answer is written from this report's own figures, so it uses the same median asking rents, the same rent per m² and the same like-for-like change as the charts above, drawn from the same new rental listings first stored on Luntero in the month. Like the rest of the report, the answers describe asking rents in listings, not signed contracts or official statistics.
Which Dutch city had the cheapest rent in August 2026?
Enschede, with a median asking rent of €499. Zeist (€540) and Wageningen (€579) followed, then Zwolle (€666) and Groningen (€699).
Which Dutch city was the most expensive to rent in August 2026?
Haarlemmermeer at €1,973, just €23 ahead of Amsterdam at €1,950. Amstelveen (€1,898) and Diemen (€1,897) were next, so the dearest cities all sit around Amsterdam.
Was Amsterdam the most expensive city in the Netherlands to rent in during August 2026?
In August 2026 Amsterdam came a close second by median asking rent, behind Haarlemmermeer (€1,973 against €1,950). Per square metre it ranked fifth at €31.8, behind Wageningen (€40.0), Zeist (€34.2), Utrecht (€33.4) and Nijmegen (€32.2).
Which Dutch cities saw rents rise most in August 2026?
Compared like for like with July, Breda rose 8.2%, Groningen 6.9% and Tilburg 4.6%. Amsterdam (+1.9%) and Utrecht (+1.7%) edged up, while Maastricht fell 5.2%.
Why do student towns have such low rents in the August 2026 city ranking?
Their listings include many rooms and small units, which ask a few hundred euros. Enschede's €499 is the median of everything listed there, not the rent of a family flat, so check rent per square metre before reading it as cheap housing.
Source: Luntero monthly rent report, www.luntero.com/resource/market/monthly-report/netherlands-city-rent-ranking-august-2026. Based on 8,494 new rental listings first stored in August 2026, computed on October 23, 2026.
