Answer five short questions and see whether you may be entitled to Dutch housing allowance under the 2026 rules. This pre-check deliberately does not calculate the amount: for that we always refer you to the official Dienst Toeslagen trial calculation. Since 2026 your rent can no longer be too high to apply.
The rent calculation cap is €932.93 per month. For households where everyone is under 21 it is €498.20, unless a (foster) child lives in the home or a housemate under 21 has a disability.
Your assets on 1 January 2026 may be at most €38,479; with a benefits partner at most €76,958 combined. You also need to be at least 18 and rent self-contained housing, with an own lockable front door, own kitchen and toilet, and since 1 March 2024 also an own shower or bath.
The hard rent limit is gone: since 2026 your rent can no longer be too high to apply for housing allowance. The part of the rent above the calculation cap simply receives no allowance.
Service charges no longer count: since 2026 the calculation uses the base rent from your contract. And the youth boundary moved from 23 to 21, so 21 and 22 year olds fall under the regular cap since 2026.
Since 2020 there is no fixed maximum income limit for the Dutch housing allowance. The allowance gradually decreases as your income rises, until it reaches zero; where that point sits differs per rent, age and household. A pre-check cannot give an honest yes or no on that, and we do not guess. This tool therefore only tests the conditions that are hard (age, housing and assets) and always refers you to the official Dienst Toeslagen trial calculation for the real answer.
Since 2026 there is no longer a hard rent limit to apply for huurtoeslag. There is a calculation cap: the part of the base rent above €932.93 per month (2026) receives no allowance. For households where everyone is under 21 the cap is €498.20 (2026), unless a (foster) child lives in the home or a housemate under 21 has a disability. Source: the Dutch Housing Allowance Act and Dienst Toeslagen.
On 1 January 2026 your assets may be at most €38,479. With a benefits partner the joint limit is €76,958. Every co-occupant may also hold at most €38,479. Above the limit you receive no housing allowance. Source: Dienst Toeslagen.
No. Since 2020 there is no fixed maximum income limit: the allowance gradually decreases as your income rises, until it reaches zero. How much income is too much depends on your rent, age and household. That is why the official Dienst Toeslagen trial calculation is the only real test.
Not since 2026: Dienst Toeslagen only uses the base rent from your contract. Up to and including 2025, certain service charges still counted in the calculation.
Yes, housing allowance in principle starts at age 18. If you are 18, 19 or 20 and everyone in your household is under 21, a calculation cap of €498.20 per month applies in 2026. With a (foster) child in the home, or a housemate under 21 with a disability, the regular cap of €932.93 (2026) applies. From age 21 the regular cap always applies; up to and including 2025 this youth boundary sat at 23.
All amounts and rules on this page: retrieved 23 August 2026.
This is one slice of the data. The full study (prices, affordability, WWS compliance, speed and geography over March–May 2026) is free and quotable with attribution.