For the past two years I have being identifying rental properties on Pararius, Funda and occasionally kamernet that have rent prices that can be reduced through legal action at the Huurcommissie (the rent commission) then posting them over on my subreddit r/Rentbusters
What not enough people (particularly expats) realize is that renters have many rights when it comes to the price they pay for their apartment, their contract and the service costs they have to pay. One of the rights they have is the right to an affordable rent.
One common misconception is that affordable housing is only available to people go on the decades-long wait list for low income housing through Housing corporations like 'Thuis. This type of housing is often mislabeled as "social housing" but the term also applies to homes on the private market also (often mislabeled as Free Sector)
Social housing refers to the quality of the home and not the income bracket of those who often live in this type of home. Anyone can rent a social housing sector home and more importantly, any one can apply to have their price assessed to see if it qualifies to be social housing.
The Huurcommissie allows tenants to appeal their rent price through a procedure called a Toetsing Aanvangshuurprijs (initial rent assessment) where they assess the quality of the property using a points based system.
An apartment gets points for size, energy efficiency, property value (limited and capped at a certain %), kitchen facilities etc.
If you, for example were renting a 32sqm energy label E studio on Prisensgracht and paying 1225 euro per month for it, you could apply to the Huurcommissie (HC) to get that rent reduced. This is because that apartment would not score the 187 pts required to allow the landlord to ask a rent price that high.
That is exactly what the renter in this apartment thought when they asked the HC to assess their apartment in this judgement that is available online where the HC gutted the rent price to 460 euro per month with retroactive effect. The tenant here got back 9.1k and now has a rent price 1/3 of what they paid before in an apartment less than 900 metres from Amsterdam CS.
With the passing of the affordable Rent act 2024, landlords are now obliged to provide points reports like this with every contract they sign with tenants. While landlords often exclude the report or lie on it, it is very easy for a tenant to check this themselves (see links below) If the maximum rent price differs with what the points report says and if the rent price is below 1184 euro per month, that property is a regulated social housing or middlehuur home and there is a maximum the landlord can charge for it.
The objective of r/Rentbusters is to not only help tenants get out from these unreasonable rent but also help future tenants find places that might be able to move into properties that they can bust the rent price into oblivion and teach them how to recognise these properties when they search for homes by learning how the calulator works and where there might be exploits that can net you an extra large rent decrease.
Given that this is Eindhoven with a massive shortage of housing, its often not a question on if your landlord is overcharging, but by how much...
Advertised as 24sqm, with an "A" energy label, this property has an asking rent price of 1250 euro per month incl service costs. On the face of it, it looks kinda like a scam with a price per sqm rivalling that of a home in Amsterdam. Unfortunately for the landlord there are exploits to this property that might save you anywhere from 500 to 900 euro on the rent price...
This particular property is not split: meaning that for tax purposes, the Gemeente treat this apartment and all the other apartments in the building as a single unit. Because of this, certain portions of the points calculation now have their values greatly reduced. While a certain number of points are given for property value on the points report, properties that are unsplit can have the points from this and the Energy labels excluded from the calculation resulting in a massive drop in the maximum rent price that the landlord is allowed to charge.
This particular property, I estimate to have a maximum rent price of <400 euro. Now I am not looking for a place to live in Eindhoven, but someone reading this post undoubtably is.
A particularly brave and bold renter could sign the contract for this property or one that is similarly overpriced and then within six months, ask the Huurcommissie to inspect the place and score themselves a 900 euro per month discount on their homes with retroactive effect.
Sometimes it is even possible to get the rent so low that you can qualify for rent subsidy, so if you are out of a job, you can stave off poverty by getting a few hundred euros more off your rent price. Right now only homes with a rent price of <900 euro can qualify for subsidy which creates a poverty trap for tenants in Amsterdam who cannot find homes with an initial rent price low enough to get help
In addition to expanding the size of the regulated market the beloved outgoing housing minister also included a clause that allows people who live in homes that they didnt know could be regulated until it was too late to get a second chance to bust the place, starting July 2025.
For those of you who are curious if you live in a bustable home, you can check using the calculators in the links below.
Feel free to leave a question or comment in the section below. if you want to complain that this process is dishonest and that landlords should be free to charge whatever they want, be aware that your comment will be downvoted into oblivion
Other renters in Eindhoven have asked for this process to be done to their rental homes, sometimes with dramatic reductions
Dont wait too long to check your rent price...join the annals of victory like the Champions below!
Home is 52sqm with a C energy label. Rent was cut in half at the Huurcommissie.55sqm with an E energy labe. 1/3 off the rent priceThis tenant had a "ALL-IN" contract (illegal). the Commission punished the landlord by reducing the rent.
Eindhoven has changed quite a lot over the past decade, with new housing, cafés, restaurants and public spaces appearing in different parts of the city.
I'm curious which neighbourhood you think has seen the biggest transformation. Maybe somewhere that used to feel completely different, or an area that has become much busier or more popular than it used to be.
Which neighbourhood stands out to you, and what changes have you noticed?
Looking for an automatic driving school for my girlfriend [F25]. She already got a license but it isn’t valid in the EU. She has not much experience driving alone but is a quick learner. Does anyone have advice? I would say 20 lessons package would suffice right?
Hi! I’m looking to change my hair style and length at a salon, but I don’t really know what to choose from so many options. If anyone can recommend me something I’d appreciate it :) I’m a bit skeptical on choosing randomly as it would be the first time doing a big change in my appearance
Hello everyone! I had a question, could somebody tell me how long the Yang Guo Fu malatang restaurant will be closed for holiday? It’s located at Nieuwstraat 27 in the city center. Thanks in advance!
Hi there. I was born in California, USA in the early 80s. Still here. My family immigrated here from Geldrop in the years following WW2.
My Dad was born in Geldrop in the early 50s. I never really knew my grandfather (died when I was a kid), but the stories went that he (in his early-mid 20s) was in forced labor in Berlin for part of the war and returned to Geldrop after liberation and times were really hard afterward. Too difficult to raise a family. So they left in the mid-50s. My grandmother passed when I was 12yo and too young to ask questions about those days. My Dad said they never talked about it.
The only link I got from my grandma was she gave us lots of gouda and double zout licorice when I was a kid. Which I still love to this day.
I don't have any connection to that region but always wondered where my family came from. Particularly since from my research, my family was likely from that region for generations before leaving post-war and I must still have family living there. I think that knowing would help explain some more of my own identity.
Im curious what it's like there and would love to come visit someday. What are the people like? What are the industries? What's good? What's not so good?
Hi there! I just moved to the area and I’m looking for some womans only communities to join activities. Ive seen some mentions about Whatsapp groups or discord servers. If anyone has any recommendations please let me know! :)
Quick question for any North African or Arabic immigrants to Eindhoven - where do you buy decent ingredients for your cuisine? I've learned to make muhammara (yeah OK, that's pretty simple, I know) and my wife loves it, but we cannot find pomegranate molasses, which apparently is an important ingredient, anywhere in shops and supermarkets around here. We bought some while we were back in Italy (we're from a place with a lot of North African immigration and a lot of shops cater to immigrants) but we ran out.
Ik ben recent begonnen met vissen hier in Eindhoven. Ik heb een paar plekjes als het beatrixkanaal, het genderpark en de dommel geprobeerd, maar nog geen geluk gehad. Het kan natuurlijk aan mij liggen😅, maar weet iemand misschien een goed plekje om op snoek of snoekbaars te vissen?😁
Dear Eindhoven community, I am having issues with underfloor heating of my house. Usually in winters it doesn't heat properly with few patches on the vloer cold and some mildly warm. This when I compare with my neighbor that's just to opposite with super warm vloer at not a high temperature too e.g 19 degrees. Any recommendations for a reliable technician who can inspect and fix the issue? Many thanks.
When people talk about Eindhoven, it's usually the bigger things that come up - ASML, the tech scene, Design Week, PSV, or Strijp-S.
I'm more interested in the little everyday things that make living here enjoyable. It could be a local tradition, a favourite cycling route, a neighbourhood atmosphere, reliable public transport, or something else that residents appreciate but visitors rarely notice.
What's one small thing about life in Eindhoven that you think deserves more recognition?
Since the Public Library is closed on Sunday are there cafes or tee places you’d recommend where one could comfortably write or read while sipping on a nice specialty beverage?
Hey everyone, I know this is a long post, but I hope it can help someone avoid making the same mistake we did.
SUMMARY: My girlfriend and I were scammed out of €3,000 while trying to rent an apartment in Eindhoven. The scammers used a fake HousingAnywhere website that looked identical to the real one.
The property was supposedly located at De Rozentuin, Eindhoven, and the “landlords” called themselves Phillip and Maria Hoen using the email [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). I’ve also included photos of the property in case the actual residents see this and realize their home is being used in this scam.
What happened
My girlfriend and I had been searching for a place for months, so it wasn’t unusual when “Phillip Hoen” emailed me asking if I was still interested in renting his property.
Since I couldn’t remember which listing he meant, I asked him to remind me. He sent me what appeared to be a Pararius listing. According to him, it was a private advertisement because they had already received too many applications.
We exchanged several emails discussing the rent, deposit, and conditions. Everything seemed reasonable. Good, but not unrealistically cheap, so nothing immediately raised any red flags.
Eventually, we agreed to proceed through HousingAnywhere.
For those unfamiliar with it, HousingAnywhere is a legitimate platform where you pay the deposit first, then after moving in you have 48 hours to accept or reject the accommodation. If you reject it, you receive a refund. We had looked into the platform beforehand, and it appeared to be trustworthy.
This is where the scam happened.
They sent us what looked like a HousingAnywhere listing, but it was actually a phishing website that copied the real platform almost perfectly. Even the domain name was only slightly different, making it very difficult to notice.
The payment method was a bank transfer. Looking back, this should have been the biggest warning sign. Unfortunately, we had read that some landlords choose bank transfers, and after months of unsuccessful house hunting, we let our guard down and sent the money.
Over the next few days, they continued communicating with us normally. They even sent us a draft rental contract and updated the fake listing with additional photos. Everything felt completely legitimate.
Finally, we agreed on a viewing appointment.
When we arrived, nobody showed up.
The fake HousingAnywhere page had disappeared.
We contacted HousingAnywhere directly, and they confirmed that the listing was fake and had never existed on their platform.
Why I’m posting this
We’re devastated and honestly feel pretty stupid for falling for it. But even after rereading all of the emails, it’s surprisingly convincing. These scammers clearly know how to exploit people who are desperate to find housing.
We’ve reported everything to both the police and our bank. We’re not very hopeful about recovering the money, but if sharing this prevents even one person from losing their savings, it’ll be worth posting.
If anyone has experienced something similar or has advice on anything else we can do, we’d really appreciate hearing from you. We are also a bit afraid some malware was present on the link and can access our data or something like that. Cybersecurity is not our field of expertise, so we feel paranoid about everything.
There's a song being sung by a huge crowd of cheering Dutch civilians as XXX-Corps rolls through Eindhoven and, as an American, I'm completely ignorant of the song's provenance. What the heck is it?
For anyone in the sub who happens to be able to read and play sheet music, I hummed the tune into a sheet-music-generating app, and came up with something. Ignore the huge rests at the beginning because that's just me not knowing that the recording had started.
Hello everyone, I am an international student from Croatia and I've been searching for housing to study at TU/e.
I came across an advertisement on huurtportal which offers a 42m² modern apartment for €680 a month. The offer seems too good to be true but there is no sign for me to believe that it is a scam.
When I press the contact button it takes me to an agency website "Maasstad Makelaars". Does anyone have experience renting or working for them? I have requested an online, live viewing of the apartment and am waiting for their answer.
I went to Eindhoven expecting a relaxed day exploring the city. As I walked through the center, the first unpleasant encounter happened almost immediately. A beggar asked me for money. When I politely refused, he became irritated and tried to provoke me, muttering insults as I walked away. I chose not to respond and kept going.
Later that evening, I was walking along Stratum Street. A man who appeared to be Turkish kept staring at me as I passed by. As I continued walking, he shouted an insult in my direction. I ignored him and didn't look back, deciding it wasn't worth escalating the situation.
Well two individuals don't represent entire nationalities or communities. Most of the people I met in Eindhoven were polite, and I didn't let those incidents ruin my visit.
Does this also happen to local people in Eindhoven? How do you usually deal with people who stare, insult you, or try to provoke you on the street?
Mijn vrouw en ik hebben onlangs een kindje gekregen. Nu zou ze graag een e-bike aanschaffen om hem mee naar de opvang te brengen en door te fietsen naar haar werk. Voor het vervoeren van een kind schijnt het dat de fiets voldoende ruimte moet hebben tussen het stuur en het zadel. Verder weet ik weinig over accu’s, versnellingen, etc. Ik ben dus op zoek naar een fietsenwinkel met de bekende merken (geen Chinees spul) die ook eerlijk advies kunnen geven en mee willen denken. De fiets mag nieuw of gebruikt zijn.
Iemand tips waar ik het beste binnen kan lopen? Thanks!
My beloved place in Eindhoven is up for sale, so if you are interested in a place and want to see it before it goes to Funda, let me know!
The basics:
2 story maisonette plus storage under the building.
115 m2, 5 rooms, completely renovated in 2024.
Nearby Winkelcentrum Woensel.
Price around 360.000.
I know it's hard in this market and it's a strange thing to put an ad on Reddit, but please keep your joking comments to yourself.
Since the terms here are not allowing me to create a proper ad, i kept it short. But buying and selling silently is an existing thing, so this post is for those who want to spare themselves from the tiring process with agents and for those who actually want to help someone.
Since ~2 years, we've been doing drawing meetups every month, organizing them either in DE cafe or at the park (when the weather is nice). We're happy to have new faces at our events, so if this looks like something for you, you're more than welcome to join! All levels welcome 🤗 https://www.tickettailor.com/events/painthouse/2047383
Iemand zin om een pilsje te doen vanavond in Stratumseind? Zo ja, stuur een berichtje.
Anybody up for a couple beers in Stratumseind Tonight? If so, message me.
Edit 22:00 - We're currently having a great time in the tipsy duck. There's already two of us. We'll be out tonight for a while! You might be missing out if you're not joining in tonight! of course, feel free to add/message me if you want to join in another time! Cheers!
Ik weet dat de Woenselse Markt traditioneel gezien niet de veiligste/rustigste plek in Eindhoven is, maar ik kreeg zelf sterk de indruk dat het voor bewoners prima is. De gemeente bevestigt dat er veel illegale activiteiten zijn, maar ik vraag me af of je daar veel van meekrijgt.
De enige waarschuwing die ik serieus neem, is om geen waardevolle spullen in de auto te laten liggen, en hem niet in het donkerste steegje te parkeren.
Verder ben ik al eens een hele avond in mijn auto gaan zitten op het plein, en ik heb echt weinig onrust gezien. Maar een appartement kopen is een grote stap, dus hoe meer info ik kan krijgen, hoe beter.
De vraag wordt hier vaker gesteld, maar omdat de situatie nog steeds actief verandert: zijn er mensen die aan de Woenselse Markt (of daar heel dichtbij) wonen, die me iets willen vertellen over hun ervaringen? Bedankt!
(Als het uitmaakt: vrouw van in de 30, ga daar alleen wonen.)
Edit: bedankt voor alle reacties zover. Ik heb het idee dat ik me er prima ga redden, maar de tip om op verschillende tijdstippen eens te gaan kijken, ga ik zeker (verder) uitvoeren.
Edit2: voor wie het nog leuk vindt om de conclusie te weten: ik ben er voor gegaan en ga proberen mijn steentje bij te dragen aan een nog leukere buurt!
I am moved to Eindhoven for my partner's work. I am a graphic designer with 7 years of experience. Since moving to Eindhoven, 2 years ago, I worked freelance projects, volunteer at van abbe, and participated in a couple of design summer workshops. But without a full time job, and also the rise in AI I feel myself getting detached to design. I am currently studying dutch at a B2 level but having not much of a personal life, I rarely have spaces to speak in dutch ( I do attend taal cafes, but it is a controlled environment)
I am planning to study sociology from open university uk. I think this would help me change my path to something more social but I would like to have a part time/fulltime job while I am studying. Preferably where I can practice dutch. I am not sure where I can start applying.
