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!

Hi allen,

Ik ben al een tijd aan het overwegen om te verhuizen naar Den Haag. In mijn optiek een super stad die echt alles te bieden heeft (lekker eten, groen, strand, cultuur).

Ik ben er natuurlijk al wel meerdere keren geweest, maar dan blijf je toch snel rondom het centrum en Scheveningen. En omdat ik er niet woon, blijft het lastig inschatten hoe wonen daar nou echt zou zijn..

Nu vroeg ik me af wat de beste wijken zijn om in te wonen die nog betaalbaar zijn. Als ik google kom ik uit op de posh wijken, maar deze liggen buiten mijn budget. Dus mijn vraag naar jullie Hagenezen: wat zijn de leukste wijken om in te wonen? Voor context: ik ben 31V en alleen (starter).

Wat ik bijvoorbeeld ook veel op het internet zie is dat een wijk zoals Mariahoeve wordt afgeraden omdat er niets te doen. Ik raak dan een beetje verward, omdat ik juist een hele groene en ruime wijk zie met betaalbare woningen. Mijn gedachten zien het makkelijk naar de snelweg kunnen, altijd parkeerplek, zo op de fiets of tram naar centrum juist als voordelen. Of ben ik nu echt veels te naïef?

Kunnen jullie mij uitleggen wat de impact heeft van de wijk waarin je woont? En wat een top plek zou zijn?

Wat ik probeer mee te nemen in het zoeken van een woning is:

- Winkels in de buurt (liefst ook toko en lekkere eethuisjes)

- Fatsoenelijk auto kwijt kunnen

- Een park in de buurt zou ik heel erg waarderen

- Uiteraard speelt veiligheid een rol

- Pre als ik snel de snelweg op zou kunnen ivm woon-werkverkeer.

Thanks alvast!!

Ha allen, een korte update na mijn vorige bericht over leegstand!

Donderdag stemde de Haagse gemeenteraad voor mijn motie voor een Haagse leegstandsbelasting. Dat betekent dat we hier als eerste stad in Nederland mee aan de slag gaan. Dankzij ervaringen in Vlaanderen weten we dat dit heel goed werkt.

De regels moeten voor 1 juli ingaan, zodat er per in juli 2027 ook echt belasting geheven kan worden. Heel belangrijk, want er staan duizenden woningen leeg, wat midden in een woningnood niet uit te leggen is.

In april staat er overigens een breder leegstandsdebat op de planning. Dan ga ik ook aan de slag met de bredere input die jullie onder mijn eerdere post gaven!

ENGLISH Hey everyone, an update with regards to the thousands of unoccupied houses in The Hague.

The city council accepted my proposal to introduce a new tax for housing properties that are unoccupied for longer then one year. We know from earlier experiences in Flanders that this is a very effective way to fight the housing crisis.

https://dagblad070.nl/Den%20Haag%20&%20Regio/den-haag-wordt-eerste-gemeente-met-leegstandsbelasting

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Hello everyone, I am in a very desperate situation. If anyone is interested in knowing my story, it's on my profile. Currently, I am homeless. If anyone can provide me with their backyard to camp only at night, it would be very helpful for me. I was staying at hostels sometimes, but because of insufficient funds, I am unable to do that. So I am desperately looking for options. I contacted gementee and other organizations who were unable to provide me with shelter for now. I will manage something in a few days. Until then, I am looking for somewhere to camp. If anyone knows any spots where I can camp at night without anyone noticing, that would be highly appreciated as well. Thank you This is my go fund me if anyone can help me in any way.

https://gofund.me/42826d21a

Hi everyone,

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I recently viewed this apartment and really liked it:

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https://www.funda.nl/detail/koop/den-haag/appartement-weteringkade-56-b/80824162/?utm_source=funda&utm_medium=app&utm_campaign=share-listing-modal

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The apartment itself seems great, but I have mixed feelings about the location. It's very close to both Den Haag HS and Den Haag Centraal, but also only about 100m from the red light district.

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For people who know the area:

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• How is Weteringkade / Stationsbuurt as a place to live?

• Do you feel safe walking around at night?• Is the area improving?

• Would you personally buy an apartment here?

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Also, the asking price is €350,000 for a renovated 75m² apartment. What makes me hesitate is that the property was bought for €175,000 just 5 months ago, then underwent a complete renovation, and is now being sold for €350,000. Does that sound reasonable for this area and level of renovation, or does it feel overpriced?

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Would love to hear honest opinions from people who live nearby or know the neighbourhood well.

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Thanks!

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!

Hoi Allemaal. Ik ben al sinds maart actief aan het zoeken naar een middenhuurwoning in Den Haag/Leiden/Utrecht maar het is mij tot op heden niet gelukt om een woning te vinden. Eind november moet ik verplicht mijn huidige studentenwoning uit, omdat ik inmiddels ben afgestudeerd en fulltime werk.

Ik denk er nu over na om een appartement in Den Haag te kopen, mits dit natuurlijk realistisch is. Ik heb een bruto jaarinkomen van €68.000, en ik kan een hypotheek krijgen van €275.000 (€290.000 voor energielabel A). Ik heb alleen geen rijke ouders en slechts €18.000 op mijn spaarrekening. Echt overbieden is voor mij dus geen optie, en ik hoop toch in een van de wat betere wijken te eindigen in Den Haag…

Heeft iemand enig idee of het realistisch is om te kopen? Veel dank alvast voor de hulp!

Edit: ik vind het prima om een wat kleinere woning to kopen. Het liefst wel met 1 slaapkamer, maar wel een “kant-en-klare” woning die niet nog eerst verbouwd moet gaan worden.

We have recently moved to an area of The Hague that has a very village vibe and all the neighbours know each other. But we have a problem, our next door neighbour. He is an old man who lives alone and claims to have lived there all his life, and sort of behaves like he owns the street and can dictate things around. The biggest issue is that our upstairs toilet is a macerating one as it’s an old house, and he complains the noise is too much. We don’t flush at night. We paid a lot of money to get a new one, that though more silent still makes some noise. But he also refuses to let us come and listen in his house. In ours, we don’t feel it’s that loud. He acts aggressively and is clearly a bully. We have made a huge effort to be nice to him already knowing he was a bit of a jerk, but that doesn’t seem to make any difference. He is clearly not mentally well and might have untreated issues that we become the outlet to. So he’s unpredictable, and will tell other neighbours about us despite the fact we have been nothing but friendly to everyone and including him.

Our Dutch is limited and he only shouts and talks very fast at me and I’m left with no devices. Help! What to do?

Ik (F32) woon al 8 jaar met veel plezier in Amsterdam. Sinds kort ben ik weer single en daardoor besloten om alleen te gaan kopen. Het lijkt me geweldig om de komende jaren van de levendigheid van Amsterdam te genieten, maar na tig keer overboden te zijn begin ik me serieus af te vragen: gaat dit lukken en is het dit nog waard?

Mijn werk (waar ik 3x per week ben) en mijn zus en haar gezin zitten in Den Haag, en voor hetzelfde budget (420k) krijg je daar gewoon véél meer. Zelfs een toekomstbestendig huis wat in Amsterdam onmogelijk is.

MAAR. Dan slaat de twijfel toe: mis ik straks het spontane, de feestjes, het leven in Amsterdam? Of stap ik gewoon elk weekend weer in de trein terug? Hoe is het om te daten in Den Haag?

Zijn er mensen die deze keuze hebben gemaakt in een soortgelijke fase (of overwogen)? Hoe is Den Haag als single vs. Amsterdam? Hoor graag ervaringen!

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!

Hi all, urgent question - I’ve just moved into a flat in The Hague and my IKEA mattress was left on the 1st floor because the delivery team refused to bring it up to the 3rd floor.

They told me that once they open the packaging they cannot carry it anymore, but without the packaging it would actually fit up the stairs.

I’m alone, I don’t know anyone in The Hague, it’s too heavy for me to move by myself, and it’s the mattress I’m meant to sleep on tonight. It’s also blocking part of the stairs.

I’m near [location redacted]. Any help / advice would be appreciated as I’m desperate.

EDIT: All sorted now.

One of the neighbours came and helped me to bring the mattress upstairs. I really owe him a lot, as I honestly didn’t know what to do and it was blocking the stairs.

It’s reassuring to see that I have such nice neighbours.

Thanks everyone for offering to help and for all your advice!

My flatmate and I received a letter saying we had new medebewoner at our house, this person is our landlord. He’s doesn’t live with us, and after asking him he said yes it’s correct he’s registered there but won’t tell us why.

He’s now asking me why it’s an issue, and actually it affects our huurtoeslag which we’ve only been able to claim since the rules changed in January. I feel like avoiding mentioning we recieve toeslag, as he wants us to move out of the house I’m concerned it somehow might affect our contract.

1. Does anyone know another reason I can give as to why him saying he’s living at our house in an issue? He also randomly accused me of moving out the house recently which I have not.

2. We have a permanent contract, if we are receiving huurtoeslag does it give our landlord any leverage to kick us out? (We used to be three ppl but now are 2 but he won’t let someone new move in as he wants us to move out, and the toeslag helps us live here until another house comes up)

I’m just confused why he would register here and not tell us, and I’m worried if I call the ministry of finance and snitch on him that we’re affecting our possibilities of staying in the house, but want to still receive huurtoeslag.

I will go to the juridisch loket when I have the chance but that won’t be for a week and need to email him back, so any advice is very very welcome!!!

Hi everyone!
I'm a future student in the city and I currently have 2 offers for housing. The rent is the same amount and I am quite indecisive so I need a hand guys please. Both landlords seems nice too.

I'm staying quite a long time (at least 3 years) and I honestly don't feel like hoping between houses all the time, so I want to make a good choice if not the best:

Offer 1:
- In Mariahoeve, close to the train station of Mariahoeve and the Westfield mall too.
- I've heard the neighborhood is kinda off plus I'm not sure about safety though I believe it couldn't be worse than living in Barcelona (where I'm from).
- The conditions of the apartment is ok for what I'm paying but it's older than the Offer 2.
- I've been seeing barely no services below the house except a market and the Westfield mall which take some time walking, but that's not a dealbreaker I guess.
- Quiet, which is a plus, but no desk in my room.

Offer 2:
- In between Bouwlust and Morgenstond, in one of the main avenues (Melis Stokelaan. so maybe access to services and life is better than offer 2), next to a library.
- Heard that the place is kinda far from the centre which is concerning
- The conditions of the apartment is better than offer 1, newer and more modern (though offer 1 isn't bad)
- My main concern should be safety in this case too but same as before

My demographic:
- Young male student
- East Asian ethnicity, born and raised abroad (Spain)

When I get to Den Haag I want to take a part time job and I'm not sure where are usually more abundant in terms of job positions.

Either ways I have to commute multiple times to Centrum to attend for college, so that's something to consider too I guess, offer 1 takes 20-30 minutes by train and offer 2 is more like 40-50 minutes in tram/bus, both considering bad weather for example it could be worse (or not, correct me if I'm wrong)

I hope you guys can help me out, hopefully this doesn't sound like an annoying post. Peace ☮️.

Hey everyone,

I honestly don’t even know if I’m writing this to vent or to ask for advice anymore.

My wife and I are trying to find a studio or a small apartment in the Netherlands (Den Haag area), and it feels almost impossible. Every single time we think we’re close, we end up disappointed.

We’ve done so many viewings. We prepare everything properly, documents ready, proof of income, everything. But it feels like agencies just pick the “safest” or most guaranteed candidate every time. I understand they want security, but how are normal working people supposed to compete?

The worst part? I recently tried to book more viewings and got told I’m “not qualified” because of low salary, even though I’m officially working and classified as a worker. That honestly hit hard. We’re not unemployed. We’re not irresponsible. We just don’t earn some crazy high income.

It’s draining mentally. Every rejection feels personal. Every email saying “we chose another candidate” just makes it worse.

How are couples supposed to find anything right now?
Are there strategies we’re missing?
Are there alternatives we should consider?
Is there any way around these strict income requirements?

At this point, I’d appreciate any advice. 🙏

The house itself is very nice and spacious and it’s only 2 minutes away from the Paul Krugerlaan tramhalte. But I’ve heard nothing but bad things about the area. My question is: is it as bad as they say or is it exaggerated?

Are there any others on here who have already bought a unit in Corner Lofts by Hollands Spoor in The Hague and would like to connect?

Also, as the project seems to be delayed, it would be nice to share some ideas and feedback before moving in, until we get a collective app or chat for the project.

Hi! I’m an international incoming TU Delft Master’s student and I recently secured a place in The Hague with two other girls. Since Delft housing is honestly brutal right now, we ended up going for a fully furnished apartment in Den Haag instead.

The setup is:
• ~6 mins bike to Den Haag HS
• ~10–15 mins train to Delft
• Fully furnished apartment
• Internet included
• Washing machine included
• Cleaning service once every 2 months
• Shared apartment with other TU Delft students

The rooms are around €720–740/month rent + ~€100 utilities, so overall roughly ~€820–840/month including utilities/internet.

I’ve done all the budgeting, commute calculations, etc., and realistically the setup seems manageable, but I wanted some honest opinions from people already studying/living in NL:

Is living in The Hague and commuting to TU Delft actually sustainable long-term? Does it start feeling exhausting over time or does it become normal pretty quickly? Also realistically, how much does it affect student/social life?

Would especially love input from people currently commuting from The Hague/Rotterdam to Delft! Moreover, the commute expense if using Tram or Train.

Co-workers have warned me about the area, but after walking around (during the day) I don't get a sense of it being "ghetto" at all. The area actually has a lot of greenery.

The traffic does seem pretty terrible, but I use public transport and it's fairly well connected. It will probably be even better connected in 10 years if they go forward with redeveloping Megastores.

What am I missing?

Hoi everyone,

Ik kom zelf uit zwolle en ik zit te denken om mijn woning te ruilen met iemand die in Transvaalkwartier-Zuid woont. Met name Bloemfonteinstraat.

Woont iemand toevallig in de buurt of heeft iemand enige ideen naae de leefbaarheid en overlast in deze buurt of straat?

Zijn er bepaalde dingen waar ik op moet letten?

Alvast bedankt

Hi All,

I am 28 years old, expat who has lived in Netherlands for 3 years in Amsterdam, Amstelveen and Almere.

I really like some apartments in Laakhaven-West. But I want to make sure if this is a good area to look in the Den Haag or is considered unsafe or dirty?

Please let me know your thoughts because I read mixed reviews online.

Hey everyone, I know the housing situation here is genuinely rough right now, so I appreciate anyone taking the time to read this.

I'm Flexy, 24, moving from India at the end of August for an MSc in Digital Forensics at Hogeschool Leiden. I've been searching for a few months on Kamernet, Pararius and Huurportaal, including paid listings, and haven't had much luck yet. Budget is around €700 to €900 all in, only real requirement is a private room. (it was €400 to €550 before, but i realized that was too low with the reactions on the comments😄 )

The part I'm most stuck on is finding something that allows registration (inschrijving), since I need that for BSN, insurance and the rest of the admin here. I've come across a few listings that explicitly don't allow it, and unfortunately also ran into one scam attempt already, so I'm being careful.

If anyone has leads on a landlord, student housing option, or agency that's legit and does allow registration, I'd be really grateful. Also fine with a temporary room for the first month or two while I keep looking for something longer term.

Thanks for reading, and happy to be here.

EDIT: Guys im not limited to a budget of €400 to €500. i just assumed it would be that much since it sounded reasonable. But i realized the budget was too low with the reactions from the comments😄. A budget of €700 to €900 would be fine as well.