The rental prices in the free sector went up again throughout the Netherlands last quarter. And in no province it went as fast as in Drenthe.
The average rental price of a free sector house in our province was 14.94 euros per square meter in the past quarter. A year earlier that price was 12.81 euros, reports the Pararius Woningplatform. That is an increase of 16.7 percent.
Of the other provinces, only Limburg comes close to Drenthe. There, the average rent in the free sector increased by 16.3 percent. Nationally, you pay an average of 20.06 euros per square meter, an increase of 7.9 percent compared to a year earlier.
As the causes of the price increase in the free sector, competition between house seekers and the tighter range are mentioned. Competition is the most increased in the cheapest free sector homes, with rents between 1185 and 1500 euros per month, according to the platform. More than 35 percent of the reactions went to these houses, while 27 percent of the offer fell in this price range.
Pararius notices that the shortage can now also be felt in the middle segment (1500 to 2000 euros per month) and that people are now looking more often at even more expensive homes.
Social rental homes are homes with a rental price below 879.66 euros per month (reference date 2025) and are intended for households with a lower income. They are often allocated through waiting lists of housing associations and are subject to government rules for maximum rental prices and annual rent increases.
Free sector homes have a higher rental price and fall outside those regulations. Landlords may in principle determine the rent themselves, as long as it remains within reasonable limits. As a result, rental prices in the free sector are usually considerably higher than in the social sector.