Buy or rent in the Netherlands: what each costs over five years

Rent against buying over the years you expect to stay, with Dutch transfer tax, notary costs and the mortgage interest deduction worked in, every step shown.

The home and you Price of the home The price you expect to pay. Rent for a similar home, per month What you pay now, or would pay. Your own money towards the price Leave at zero to borrow the full price. The costs below come from savings either way. Your gross annual income Decides the rate at which mortgage interest is deducted. Valuation and adviser fees Add the quotes you have. Left at zero, they are not counted. Interest rate Starts at the AFM's 5% test rate, which is not an offer. Put in the rate you were quoted. How long you expect to stay I am 18 to 34 and have never used the starter exemption No transfer tax on a home you will live in, worth up to € 555.000 in 2026.

Your assumptions

Nobody knows these. The starting values are neutral anchors, not forecasts: 2% a year is the ECB's inflation target, and maintenance and selling costs are rules of thumb. Change them and watch what moves.

House prices change per year Rent changes per year Maintenance, per year, of the value Selling costs at the end, of the value

Over 5 years, on your assumptions

Buying costs € 52.718 less than renting

Net cost of buying: € 59.689
Cost of renting: € 112.407

Buying becomes the cheaper of the two if you stay at least 2 years.

How buying adds up

Transfer tax	€ 8.000
Notary, both deeds (KNB estimate)	€ 1.300
Land registry, two deeds	€ 207
NHG fee	€ 1.600
Mortgage interest	€ 96.152
Tax back on the interest, at 37.56%	− € 33.378
Maintenance	€ 20.816
Selling costs at the end	€ 6.624
Change in the value of the home	− € 41.632
Net cost of buying	€ 59.689

A mortgage of € 400.000 costs about € 2.147 a month over 30 years. Of what you pay back, € 32.685 is repaid loan, which is not a cost: it comes back to you when you sell.

Year by year

If you leave after	Buying	Renting
1 year	€ 26.157	€ 21.600
2 years	€ 34.952	€ 43.632
3 years	€ 43.480	€ 66.105
4 years	€ 51.730	€ 89.027
5 years	€ 59.689	€ 112.407

What this leaves out

What your own money would have earned elsewhere; municipal property tax, water board charges, insurance and service charges for a flat; a new rate when a fixed period ends; and a lower rate with NHG. The interest deduction assumes you pay Dutch income tax all those years. Whether you can borrow this much at all is a separate question — the maximum mortgage calculator answers that.

Dutch home-buying costs and taxes 2026 · source: belastingdienst.nl (transfer tax, eigenwoningforfait, mortgage interest deduction), kadaster.nl (fees), notaris.nl (notary estimate), nhg.nl (limit and fee)

Who actually decides

This is an illustration from published rules and the numbers you typed. It is not an offer and nobody is bound by it. A lender, an insurer or the Belastingdienst will reach their own figure, and it will differ.

We are not your adviser

We do not advise on financial products and we do not recommend a lender, a rate or an insurer. When the amounts are large, speak to someone licensed.

Ask an independent adviser

Where the numbers come from

Transfer tax, the starter exemption, the eigenwoningforfait and the cap on the interest deduction are the 2026 rules from the Belastingdienst. The notary figure is the KNB's own estimate; your notary's quote will differ.

The costs of buying a house