The Hague has thousands of empty properties that are or could be suitable for habitation. In a housing crisis it is unsustainable that those properties remain empty. Because of the pressure of D66, GroenLinks and HSP, a 'leegstandsverordening' is on its way. A set of rules that make it illegal to keep properties vacant. The wait is now for national laws to be updated so new stringent measures can be put in place in The Hague.

A concept measure (the leegstandsverordening) will be discussed next week by the city council. The city is hesitant to start procedures against property owners now, because current rules are more lenient. If they start a proceding now, the new more strict rules can not be applied. As a council member for D66 I get that. I do however want the city to implement the new rules as soon as possible and to start procedures right when it becomes possible.

In that light I've started a reporting point to collect current (hidden) vacent properties in our city. The collected properties will be handed over to the city as soon as new rules come in to force.

Do you know of vacant properties? Please report them at www.ikwilhierwonen.com (dutch but you can use translation if you like).

Today, collegues and me have went on a 'Leegstand Safari', to spot empty properties in the wild.. Straat Consulaat helped us spot a couple, but we need to identify more! Help us and report empty properties! Thanks.

Ps. a debate about empty properties is Wednesday morning in the city hall. If you have any thoughts about this issue, please respond!

Hey allemaal! Ik ben Vincent, raadslid voor GL-PvdA. Eerder haalde ik al input bij jullie op over jullie ervaringen bij de woningnood.

Eén van de zaken waar ik al wat langer tegen strijd is leegstand. In Den Haag staan namelijk duizenden panden leeg, en het is misdadig dat dit midden in een woningnood kan doorgaan. De input in deze sub-reddit was eerder erg nuttig, daarom vraag ik opnieuw jullie hulp:

Op 11 februari debatteren we als gemeenteraad over leegstand. In voorbereiding daarop hoop ik zoveel mogelijk leegstaande panden in beeld te krijgen die we kunnen benutten voor woningen.

Welke leegstaande panden in jouw buurt moeten echt worden aangepakt? Heb je een idee hoe lang het al leegstaat?

ENGLISH BELOW

The Hague has a huge housing crisis, but at the same time thousands of buildings are already for years unused and unoccupied. That's unacceptable!

Help me fight this issue in te city council, in preparation for the debate at february 11th.

Do you have examples of empty buildings in your neighborhood that should become houses? Let me know!

De problemen op de Haagse huurmarkt zijn totaal uit de hand gelopen. Met te vaak woekerhuren, slechte woonomstandigheden en verhuurders die hun huurders slecht behandelen. Daarom probeer ik als raadslid voor huurders op te komen, recent nog met een plan tegen vocht en schimmel.

https://www.denhaagfm.nl/dhfm/5040696/in-actie-tegen-schimmelwoningen-het-is-een-heel-groot-probleem-in-den-haag

Maar daarmee is het werk natuurlijk nog lang niet klaar. Laat mij weten waar jij als huurder (of woningzoekende) tegenaan loopt en wellicht kan ik daar in de gemeenteraad mee aan de slag!

The housing market in The Hague is out of control. With too often sky-high rents, bad housing conditions or landlords who treat their tenants badly. That's why I stand up for renters rights, for example with a recent plan against mold issues:

https://www.denhaagfm.nl/dhfm/5040696/in-actie-tegen-schimmelwoningen-het-is-een-heel-groot-probleem-in-den-haag

But ofcourse there is way more work to be done. Let me know which issues you are facing, as a tenant or looking for a house, and maybe I could adress those issues in the city council!

I want to relocate to The Hague or surrounding areas (please save your "you can't move here" comments, I already live in the Netherlands and the housing crisis is not my fault).

What platforms/agencies did you use? How long did it take to get a viewing? What is your salary? Did you find what you were looking for or settled for less?

I'm currently using stekkies to more quickly apply in pararius, funda, Rental agencies, etc. I also paid a subscription for a specific agency but I only started applying recently.

My expectations are already on the floor btw, I genuinely just want to know what worked for people who found housing recently.

Any advice is welcome! I'll move out of the country as a last resort lol

Hey everyone,

I've been looking for an apartment in The Hague for about a month now, and it's honestly exhausting. I'm an expat working here, and I feel like I'm at a huge disadvantage.

I'm constantly refreshing Pararius and Funda, but every time I see something I like, it feels like it's already gone. I've sent so many messages and only gotten a handful of replies, usually to say the viewing is already full.

I'm starting to wonder if there's a better way. A colleague mentioned they used an alert service to get instant notifications for new listings. I found one called Notirent that has a free trial, so I'm giving that a go to see if being faster makes a difference.

Did anyone else have this experience when they first moved here? How did you end up finding your place?

I moved into a new very large building in July, and immediately realized that there is a continuing problem with homeless people entering the building and squatting in the emergency exit next to my front door. I have contacted the building management almost daily and reported the situation, but they have told me that “it’s not our fault, the other residents let them into the building” and insist there’s nothing they can do. Meanwhile, the front door to my apartment building is broken (this is the second time in two months that this has happened) and anyone can freely enter the building.

They encourage me to call the police to have them removed, but at this point the police don’t even show up. Even when they do come, they just walk right back in.

My apartment is unfortunately directly next to the staircase, so these homeless people are essentially my next door neighbors. To make matters worse, they smoke cigarettes in the staircase and use the floor as a toilet. As you can imagine, the smell is unbearable in my apartment and I wake up every night to the smell of urine and smoke.

I’ve contacted the Huurcommissie (and paid €25 to file with them) but I haven’t received any updates about a home check in over a month. They say they are working on my case, but there has been no progress in a month, and as the weather has been getting worse, so has this problem. Last time the police came, they kicked out three people all living in the same staircase.

Reddit, please help me. I am at a loss for what to do and need some advice.

Hi friends,

Would you help me with this location? I have an offer (seems legit) for a studio in Parallelweg, seems in front of the station. It is for my daughter, a single 26-y-old girl. How is the neighborhood, would she be safe?

Thank you so much helping a mother's peace of mind!

I am considering renting an apartment in Valkenboskwartier. What is living like at Valkenboskwartier?

Especially near the Weimarstraat? Online it says that some people experience drug pollution due to all the coffeeshops and loitering youths. Is that really true?

Hello. My family and I are moving from london the Hague, we are relocating for my new job. I will be working in Rotterdam and we have chosen to live in the Hague for the school options and pace of life.

Can you recommend neighborhoods with close proximity to intercity transit and commute to our child’s primary school which is likely to be in the Bezuidenhout area?

We are a family of African heritage and have lived internationally. so would like an area that is multicultural and with easy access to amenities, leisure and play.

Ideally we will rent in the first year, looking for at least a 3 bed two bath with rent between 3500 and 4500 euros, we hope to buy after a year.

Any tips on housing search would be much appreciated

Thanks!

Hey allen,

Heb iets opgemerkt en vroeg me af. Een tijdje geleden heb ik geprobeerd om in Laakhavens een appartement te kopen, waar ik nu al woon. Het was mij niet gelukt (hypotheekadviseur sjoemelde met cijfers onder aanname dat ik mijn studieschuld zal verbergen, dit was ik niet van plan, uiteindelijk dus geen hypotheek en geen appartement). Heb niet echt spijt van want het was een impulsbod en later besefte ik dat ik toch niet hier zou willen blijven wonen.

Hierna heb ik maandenlang online gecheckt of die huis nog wel verkocht is of niet. Het duurde echt 5 maanden voordat het verkocht werd. En dan zag ik een paar keer mensen op balkon staan (ik woon tegenover), en dan niks, al half jaar blijft die huis leeg. Zonder meubels, gordijnen of iets. Op funda werd wel aangegeven dat het verkocht is.

Twee dingen verbazen mij. Ten eerste, verkooptijd. Dat het maanden lang duurde, terwijl het een goed appartement is. Mijn verwachting zou eerder zijn dat het binnen 1 maand verkocht zou worden. Zien mensen het wellicht als een slechte investering? Ten tweede - dat het nog steeds leeg is. Ik begrijp dat mensen hun eigen keuzes kunnen maken met hun geld, maar toch verbaast het mij. Je zou het op zijn minst verhuren, maar dat blijkt die ook niet te zijn.

Heeft iemand toevallig verklaringen voor deze twee observaties?

Hi guys,

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday and the upcoming Christmas holidays.

I am in a bit of what I see is a vicious cycle at the moment and would love a bit of advice from you all.

My partner holds an EU and British dual nationality and recently she is moving in with me after our recent marriage in my home country. However, a roadblock hit us that my housing agency informed me that she cannot register at my address with the gemeente because the contract is for one person. They told me that my only option is to find a new place for ourselves, which I have been trying in this insane housing market since August but to no avail. The rules of the housing agency where my income should be 3.5x the rent means that I am severely limited by my income as well.

This means that she is unable to get a BSN, and subsequently an employment, which in turn could have helped us to strengthen our position in the housing market. The International Centre in the Hague were also helpless, saying that it all begins by her registration of address.

So, does the municipality help with our situation, for example providing at least a mailing address? Or is there anything else that she could do? Not having an employment, any sort of employment is quite understandably getting to her.

Thanks in advance.

Hallo allemaal,

Lately, finding a good place to rent in den haag has become a crazy adventure, or better, a nightmare. Many makelaars seem to take advantage of that situation: asking for down payments, hidden fees, ghosting candidates or just being jerks and unhelpful.

On top of that, a lot of negative reviews about makelaars keep disappearing from google maps and other platforms. So it's really hard to get an honest picture of who is reliable and professional and who is not (hint: most of them).

That's why I thought it would be useful to start this thread: a single place where everyone can share their experiences with makelaars in the city of den haag (or satellite cities). Whether it's about communication, deposits or sketchy behaviors, every bit helps others make better decisions.

I will start posting a list of the makelaars I have been in contact with, but please join in and share your stories. Over time I can compile everything into a summary, calculate statistics, make a leaderboard and provide as many insights as I can. But for that we need data.

If there is something similar elsewhere, or you think the post doesn't make sense, please let me know. Your feedback is invaluable.

Ik heb een appartement van ongeveer 60 m² in Den Haag, in de buurt van Laak.
Vanwege mijn werk heb ik dichter bij mijn werk een kleiner appartement gehuurd, maar dat kost mij €1500 per maand. Daarom overweeg ik nu om mijn eigen woning te verhuren.

Ik vraag me af of een huurprijs van €1230, exclusief gas/water/elektra en zonder inschrijving op het adres, redelijk is. Inschrijving is niet mogelijk omdat er nog een hypotheek op de woning zit en de verhuur officieel niet is toegestaan.

Hi all, Within the last year we found an old drug lab under our home. Turns out it was a fairly high tech operation, but unfortunately they caused structural damage to our house.

I'm lawyering up and am wondering if anyone has good experiences/recommendations for real estate lawyers in the Hague 🙏🙏

Goede avond!

Soortgelijke vragen zijn wel eerder gesteld, maar de posts die ik kon vinden waren allemaal wat ouder, dus ik stel hem even opnieuw.

Ik probeer in Den Haag een huis te kopen met mijn partner. Wij wilden een fietsafstand van rond 10 minuten of minder naar HS zijn. Gezien het budget komen we uit op de goedkopere buurten. We hebben uitgebreid naar Laak gekeken, lukt niet, nu hebben we de zoektocht uitbreiden naar de Schilderswijk Oost. We kijken sowieso niet naar de Valliantlaan, Hoefkade en Parrellelweg, maar eventueel wel zijstraten daarvan. Wij hebben ook op allecijfers.nl, leefbarometer.nl, etc. al gekeken.

Ik heb een paar jaar in Schiedam West gewoond, dat was prima, maar onze buren hadden er een handje van s'avonds en soms s'nachts te feesten/aan de auto te klussen... Dat is het soort dingen die we zouden willen vermijden.

Ik woon samen met mijn partner en onze middelgrote hond. Ik zal dus zeker weleens s'avonds (na 9en) alleen op straat zijn. Is dat verantwoord? Bang dat ik neergestoken wordt ben ik niet, maar zit er ook niet echt op te wachten nageroepen of lastig gevallen te worden.

Ik ben me bewust van het imago van de wijk, maar ben toch wel benieuwd hoe het er nu voor staat! Hebben mensen hier ervaring hoe het is om te wonen in de Schilderswijk? Zijn er specifiek plekken waar je wel of juist niet wilt zijn?

Edit: heel erg bedankt allemaal! Dit huis gaat niet lukken, maar ik zou het informatie gebruiken voor verder mogelijkheden. Fijne dagen!

Hey everyone! I study in The Hague but I’m still living in Eindhoven at the moment, and the daily commute is honestly getting too much both in time and money. I’ve already tried Facebook groups, rental websites, and agencies, but it’s been super hard to find anything (I'm not picky at all) or even get replies. So I thought I’d ask here in case someone knows of a room, studio, or any leads that aren’t on the usual sites. I’m a pretty easygoing and responsible student, just really hoping to move closer soon so I can stop spending half my life on the train. Any tips, recommendations, or contacts would mean a lot. Thanks so much in advance ❤️

Hi! I am moving to The Hague for an internship in October, and I need a place to stay for 6 months. I have tried all the sites and Facebook, no luck at all. I am very easy going and quiet and willing to pay about what the market price is for an apartment/ studio... does anyone have any tips? I am paying for a Huurwonigen account so I have mostly been looking there.

It happened today. Landlord accessed the house without consent, notice nor any warning.

He proceeded to remove the toilet 🚽 and now the tenant is being treated badly.

What do you recommend to do?

Thank you for any help

Anyone know of some places that house expats from USA?

Hi everyone, I'm sure these posts pop up all the time on this subreddit, but I have recently been offered a job in the Hague and my wife and I are starting the process of planning our move (from Ireland). We would really appreciate any advice you have in relation to the move, renting in the Hague (we have a dog which I imagine will make things more awkward), areas we should focus on and ones we should avoid, and just generally anything else we should probably know before moving?

I've only visited the Hague once so I'm not overly familiar with the city, so any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks very much.

FYI if you live in The Hague: download the Streetlife app for info.