Being an international student in the Netherlands requires a lot of arranging which can lead to frustrations. EM provides tips and tricks to ease your stay in the Netherlands. This week in our Survival Guide: applying for housing allowance (in Dutch: huurtoeslag).
Finding a room or apartment in Rotterdam as a student is one thing, but finding an affordable one can be quite difficult. So imagine that you have found the perfect place to live in Rotterdam. So far so good, but did you know that you could be eligible to receive housing allowance (in Dutch: huurtoeslag)?
What is housing allowance?
Housing allowance is a monthly payment from the Dutch government to support low income citizens with paying a relatively high monthly rent.
Tip:
Like with healthcare allowance, make sure you check the requirements for receiving housing allowance carefully in order to make sure that you truly eligible to receive housing allowance. If you do apply and receive the monthly payment fraudulent you might have to pay all of it back.
Important note: Housing Allowance cannot be applied for by internationals who stay in the Netherlands for just one year or even a shorter period of time. In other words, internationals with a short stay contract.
“In the past Vestia Rotterdam Stadswonen as well as the EUR have had troubles with this. Many internationals who stayed here for a year or less thought they were eligible to receive study financing”, says Laura Hofstee of SSC EFB, “they applied for it and even received housing financing. However, at the end of their stay they had to pay all of the housing allowance back since they did not meet all the requirements. These amounts sometimes were thousands of euros.”
Who is eligible to receive housing allowance?
General requirements
In order to be suitable for housing allowance you have to meet the following criteria:
- You and if applicable, your toeslagpartner and roommates are registered at the gemeente.
- On your address, no other people than the above mentioned are registered.
- You and if applicable, your toeslagpartner and roommates have a valid residence permit or Dutch nationality.
Toeslagpartner
The Dutch tax and customs administration (in Dutch: Belastingdienst) does not speak of a partner but of a toeslagpartner. Your toeslagpartner is the person that you apply for housing allowance, or any other forms of allowances for that matter, with. It is important to know if you have a toeslagpartner and who this is, since it affects the amount of housing insurance you are eligible to receive.
For more information on who your toeslagpartner see our survival guide on healthcare insurance.
Tip:
Are you still not completely sure if you have a toeslagpartner or not, use this question and answer program to make sure. These questions are only available in Dutch, so make sure to have a Dutch speaking friend help you out if you do not speak the language yourself.
Important note: Children younger than 18 years old cannot receive housing allowance. Exceptions are made for those younger than 18 who living on their own and either (1) have been married, (2) have a child, or (3) both parents are deceased.
Housing unit requirements
Your housing unit has to be an independent housing unit. This means that your housing unit has an own door which you can lock from the inside as well as outside. More specifically, the housing unit needs to have:
- An independent living/bedroom.
- An independent kitchen with water connection as well as an option to install a cooker.
- An independent toilet.
Important note: There are some exceptions to the rule of having to live in an independent housing unit with independent door.
There are 3 main exceptions:
- You rent part of a house and share the front door, the stairwell and/or lift with other people. If you do meet the other three requirements mentioned above, your housing unit is suitable for housing allowance.
- You live in a trailer. A trailer is also considered an independent housing unit.
- You live on a houseboat. The Dutch tax and customs administration considered this a ‘water housing unit’ which is also suitable.
How much housing allowance can you get?
Living situation
In order to be entitled to housing allowance you have to know if you have to also account for, if you have one, your toeslagpartner and roommates in the application for the monthly fee. This influences the amount of monthly payment you can get.
Roommates
The Dutch tax and customs administration or Belastingdienst seems a roommate as someone who (1) is a part of your household and (2) is registered at the same address. For example, your child, your parent or someone else who lives with you.
Important note: A roommate is only important for housing allowance and thus not for other forms of allowances such as healthcare allowance.
Income requirements
Firstly, it is important to understand with which rent the Dutch tax and customs administration calculated the housing allowance. The Dutch tax and customs administration identifies two types of rent:
- In Dutch: kale huur, which means the rent without any service costs such as gas, water, electricity etc.
- In Dutch: rekenhuur, which means the calculated rent of your monthly rent including your service costs.
Secondly, the income requirements that apply to your specific case depend on two factors, namely (1) if you live alone or not and (2) your age.
You live alone + you are older than 18, but younger than 23
You can get housing allowance if you meet one of the following requirements:
- Your rekenhuur is between not lower than € 215, 50 and not higher than € 366, 37 per month.
- Your income is not higher than € 22.025 per year.
- You have a maximum of € 21.139 in savings or stocks.
Important note: There is one exception. Namely, if you are older than 18 but younger than 23 and you have a handicap the maximum rent may be no higher than € 664, 66.
You live alone + you are older than 23
In order to be eligible for housing allowance, you need to meet the following requirements:
- Your rekenhuur is between not lower than € 215, 50 and not higher than € 664, 66 per month.
- Your income is not higher than € 22.025 per year.
- You have a maximum of € 21.139 in savings or stocks.
You do not live alone + you are older than 18, but younger than 23
You are suitable to receive housing allowance if you meet the following requirements:
- Your rekenhuur is between not lower than € 215, 50 and not higher than € 366, 37 per month. If you have a child, your income may be a maximum of € 664, 66.
- Your combined income may not higher than € 29.900 per year.
- You and your partner and/or roommates have a maximum of € 21.139 in savings or stocks.
You do not live alone + you are older than 23
If you want to receive housing allowance you need to meet the following requirements:
- Your rekenhuur is between not lower than € 215, 50 and not higher than € 664, 66 per month.
- Your combined income may not higher than € 29.900 per year.
- You and your partner and/or roommates have a maximum of € 21.139 in savings or stocks.
Tips for when you do not live alone:
- If your partner and/or roommates are older than 65 years old and takes care of the majority of the income, than the rekenhuur needs to be at least € 211, 87.
- If you not have a partner or roommate the entire year, than you do not have to account for their savings and stocks.
Important note: You always have to pay part of the rent yourself. How high your housing allowing is exactly can be estimated by filling in this calculation form. This form is in Dutch, so make sure you fill it in correctly or have a Dutch speaking person help you out.
Where and how to apply for housing allowance is identical to applying for healthcare allowance.
