The Municipality of The Hague is changing a significant number of housing regulations as of April 1st. The amended housing ordinance makes it easier to share homes. With this adjustment, the municipality aims to provide more people with a place to live in the city by making smarter use of the existing housing stock. “How nice is it when you can take someone into your home who is desperately looking for a room?”
The housing ordinance is the body of rules in which the municipality establishes how homes are allocated, which permits are required for modifications, and which rules apply to, for example, tourist rentals (such as Airbnb). These rules provide clarity for residents regarding what is and is not permitted with their home.
Ahead of national policy
The amendment focuses on relaxing rules regarding the splitting of houses into multiple dwellings, room rentals, and host family rentals. Host family rentals involve someone renting out a room in their home to, for example, a student or a young professional. With this, The Hague is anticipating national intentions to relax these matters.
The new rules will be available on the Municipality of The Hague website as of April 1. Permit applications submitted from April 1 onwards fall under the new, relaxed rules. A permit is usually required for room rentals and splitting properties. Host family rentals only need to be reported.
The municipality expects residents and developers to make use of the relaxed rules. Alderman Co Engberts: “Both residents and market parties indicate that there is a need for more options to share a home. This is understandable, as many homes in our city were built at a time when households were larger than they are now. By expanding home splitting, room rentals, and lodger rentals, we are creating living space that better meets current housing needs.”
Add more affordable homes
The reason for the change is the growing housing shortage. New construction alone offers an insufficient solution. Therefore, The Hague has chosen to create additional options within the existing housing stock as well. This makes it easier to structurally divide a home into multiple independent dwellings, to rent out rooms, or to take in a tenant as a landlady. Structural division and room rentals are not permitted everywhere: where the livability of the neighborhood is under pressure, municipalities do not allow these practices.
The amended regulation follows the Housing Stock Memorandum, which was adopted in February 2026. This document substantiates why specifically these measures are necessary and how they contribute to better use of the available homes.
Alderman Co Engberts emphasizes the importance of the new rules: “With this amended housing ordinance, we are tackling the housing shortage in The Hague quickly. Building new houses takes a long time, and there is not much space left for that within the municipal boundaries. That is why we are also focusing on making better use of what is possible within the walls of the houses that are already standing.”
Social function
Alderman Engberts also points out the social function of these new rules: “When the children have left home, people are often left with an empty nest. How nice is it to be able to take someone into your home who is desperately looking for a room? For elderly people living in homes that are a bit too spacious, having a young person in the house often works well against loneliness. This housing ordinance is therefore an enrichment for the city in several respects.”
Text: Gemeente Den Haag
Translation: The Hague Online