Free tool · Income requirement

Income requirement calculator for Dutch rentals

Landlords usually ask a gross monthly income of a few times the base rent, but how much exactly differs per landlord and is far from always stated. This calculator works both ways: which income belongs to a rent, and which share of active listings is within your reach. Based on stated requirements from 1000+ sources.

What landlords ask at €1.400 base rent
n=172
gross €/month · price band €1.250-€1.500
Measured p25
€4.200
Measured median
€4.900
Measured p75
€5.600
Rule of thumb 3x
€4.200
Rule of thumb 4x
€5.600
Measured rows are stated requirements on active listings; the rule of thumb is what landlords commonly quote.
Nationally, the stated requirement sits at a median of 3,2x the base rent. Measured across 903 active listings with a stated requirement. 91% of listings state none; we never quietly fill one in. median 3,2x
Median requirement€/mnd
5.327
Medianx base rent
3,2
Listings stating one%
9
Active listings
10.071
What is actually asked
Explainer

What is an income requirement?

The income requirement is the minimum gross monthly income a landlord wants to see before you can rent a home. It is usually phrased as a multiple of the base rent: at 3.5x and €1,400 rent, the requirement is €4,900 gross per month.

The requirement differs per landlord and per listing, and is far from always stated in the ad. Second incomes often count, sometimes partially. Just below it? You can usually still respond; some landlords accept a guarantor or savings as a supplement.

Income requirement per city
n=903
median of stated requirements · gross €/month · active listings
CityMedian req.x rent% statedn
Amsterdam€4.8043,1x10,7%225
Rotterdam€5.9853,11x9,4%133
Utrecht€3.9403,08x19,8%114
The Hague€5.5833,19x3,9%21
Eindhoven€5.8904x30%80
Almere€4.9453,27x19,4%24
Only cities with at least 20 stated requirements on active listings.
Highest median requirement: Rotterdam (€5.985); lowest: Utrecht (€3.940).
Requirement factor per price band
median x base rent · national
up to €1.000
3x
€1.000-€1.250
3,2x
€1.250-€1.500
3,5x
€1.500-€2.000
3,5x
€2.000-€2.500
3x
from €2.500
3x
The factor is not a constant: landlords use a different ratio per price band. The calculator therefore uses the band of your rent.
Method

What a missing requirement really means

91% of active listings state no requirement in the ad. That does not mean there is none: for apartments and houses landlords usually apply one anyway, often 3 to 4 times the rent; only for rooms is a formal requirement often genuinely absent.

The calculator therefore leads with the share within stated requirements, and shows the count that includes unknowns only as an upper bound. In our search filters and alerts, unknown does stay visible: filtering out a home there over a requirement that may not exist costs you more than responding once too often.

We never attach a requirement to a listing ourselves: if nothing is stated, the requirement is unknown. The 3 to 4 times rule of thumb is shown next to the measured figures, never mixed into them.

Frequently asked questions

What is an income requirement for a Dutch rental?

The minimum gross monthly income a landlord asks before accepting you as a tenant, usually expressed as a multiple of the base rent. It differs per landlord and per listing, and is not stated in every ad.

How much do I need to earn to rent in the Netherlands?

As a rule of thumb, landlords ask 3 to 4 times the base monthly rent as gross monthly income. What is actually asked differs per city and per landlord; the calculator on this page shows measured requirements from our active listings.

Does my partner’s income count?

Often, yes. Many landlords count a second income fully or partially. This too differs per landlord; check the conditions on the listing or on our agency pages.

What if I fall just short of the requirement?

You can usually still respond. Some landlords accept a guarantor, savings or a second income as a supplement. A stated requirement is the landlord’s guideline, not a legal rule.

Is this calculator free?

Yes, no account needed. The numbers come from the active rental listings we continuously collect from 1000+ sources.

The full market report

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.