Rent benefit (huurtoeslag)

• you must be 18 years or older
• you reside in an independent living space (private living/bedroom; private kitchen with countertop and water, sewer and stove connections; private toilet, your own frontdoor that locks from inside and outside). If you live in a split dwelling with only one house number or a shared dwelling, beware that co-occupants may count as fellow residents at this address. Usually, only one occupant of the same address (postal code and house number) can apply for rent benefit! Check your signed rental contract address with the address that you are registered at with the Municipality to see if they agree exactly (both must say, for example, 1b). If different, check with the Tax Service before applying.
• your rent does not exceed 879,66 euros if you are more than 23 years old; or 454,47 euros if you are between 18 and 23 years old;
• you (and any ‘co-occupants’^# or your ‘benefit-partner’*) are registered with the municipality at that address
• you (and any ‘co-occupants’^# or your ‘benefit-partner’*) have Dutch or EU nationality or are in possession of a valid residence permit
• your world-wide, taxable income and those of any ‘co-occupants’^# or your ‘benefit partner’* do not exceed a certain amount
• your capital and those of any ‘co-occupants’^# or your ‘benefit partner’* do not exceed a certain amount

^# co-occupants:  people who live with you and are registered at the same address with the Municipality (medebewoners, in Dutch)

If you want to find out how much rent benefit you are eligible for, you can make a calculation on the website of the Dutch Tax Office (in Dutch).

* The term ‘benefit-partner’ (toeslagpartner, in Dutch) needs some clarification. It can be your spouse, your registered partner, or someone else registered at your same address who falls into one of the following categories:

• you have a notarized living-together contract
• you are parents of the same child
• you or your partner have acknowledged one of the other’s child
• you are a partner in the same pension scheme
• you are joint owners of a house
• you or one of the residents have a child younger than 18 living with you
• you are each other’s tax partner for income tax
• you were ‘benefit-partners’ in the previous year

Read more about it on the website of the Tax and Customs Administration