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Applying for a vacancy permit in Eindhoven and Den Bosch

Is your house for sale and do you want to rent it out until it sells? In Dutch this is called leegstandsverhuur, and it requires a permit from your municipality under the Vacancy Act (Leegstandwet). The permit is known as the leegstandsvergunning.

The law is national, but you apply at the municipality where the house is. Below you read what Eindhoven and Den Bosch ask for, what the application costs, what the lease must contain and how things continue until the sale.

Not sure yet whether temporary rental is wise in your situation? Read house not selling, rent it out in the meantime first.

Let us arrange the application ›

House for sale in Eindhoven rented out temporarily with a vacancy permit

+31 40 304 0400

eindhoven@123wonen.nl

/Eindhoven

Does your house qualify?

The municipality only checks the conditions in the law. If you meet them, the permit for an owner-occupied home that is for sale may not be refused.

The house is for sale

You must be able to show in writing that the house is for sale and easy for buyers to find. An asking price clearly above market value can be a reason to refuse the permit.

The house is empty

According to the municipal personal records database (BRP), nobody may be registered at the address when you apply. So make sure you are registered at your new address first.

You lived there yourself

You lived in the house fully or mostly during the twelve months before it became empty. A new-build home that was never lived in also qualifies, as does a home that was rented out for no more than three of the last ten years.

Two limits

As a private owner you may hold a valid vacancy permit for at most two homes for sale at the same time.
If this house already had a vacancy permit in the last five years, you cannot get a new one.

Did you buy the house after 1 April 2022? Check the buy-to-let protection first

Large parts of Eindhoven, including all of Meerhoven, have buy-to-let protection (opkoopbescherming). If you bought an existing home after 1 April 2022, and its WOZ value in the year before purchase was below € 355,000, you may not let someone else live there in the first four years without a separate rental permit.

The municipality grants that rental permit only in a few cases, for example when you lived there yourself for at least twelve months and rent it out for twelve months at most. The Eindhoven regulation does not list temporary rental under the Vacancy Act as an exception. If your house falls under it, have this checked in advance, because the fine can go up to € 21,750.

Buy-to-let protection at Gemeente Eindhoven (in Dutch) ›

How to apply at Gemeente Eindhoven

Fill in the form

Eindhoven uses the national application form of the Dutch government, in Dutch. Fill it in, print it and sign it.

Add the attachments

A copy of your identity document and written proof that the house is for sale and can be found by buyers.

Send it

By email to omgevingsloket@eindhoven.nl, or by post to Gemeente Eindhoven, sector Ruimtelijke Expertise, Postbus 90151, 5600 RB Eindhoven.

Decision and payment

You receive the decision by email within eight weeks. You pay the fee even if the permit is refused or you withdraw the application.

€ 130

application fee in 2026

8 weeks

decision period of the municipality

5 years

validity, cannot be extended

3 months

minimum notice period for you as landlord

Sources: Gemeente Eindhoven, page Leegstandvergunning (consulted November 2026); Vacancy Act (Leegstandwet), articles 15 and 16

Vacancy permit in Den Bosch and other municipalities

The conditions come from the Vacancy Act and are the same everywhere. The application, the costs and the forms differ per municipality.

Municipality of Den Bosch

You apply with the online application form of the municipality
The fee in 2026 is € 58.25
Den Bosch also has buy-to-let protection for recently bought homes

Application form of Den Bosch (in Dutch) ›

Other municipalities in the region

Is your house in Veldhoven, Best, Nuenen, Helmond or another municipality? The same law applies, but you arrange the application with that municipality. We coordinate this for you with the municipality where your house is.

Ask us ›

Source for the Den Bosch fee: 2026 fee regulation (Legesverordening) of the municipality of Den Bosch

Shall we arrange the application for you?

123Wonen Eindhoven guides the permit application at the municipality and the permission from your mortgage lender, and drafts a lease that meets the Vacancy Act. Leave your details and we will contact you. Free and without obligation.

+31 40 304 0400

eindhoven@123wonen.nl

/Eindhoven

What the lease must contain

A lease under the Vacancy Act has to follow a few fixed rules. If the permit is not mentioned, the tenant gets normal tenant protection after all.

Rule	What it means for you
Mention the permit	The lease is in writing and names the vacancy permit and the period it is valid for. So only sign once you have the permit.
Minimum term	The lease runs for at least six months.
Notice period for the landlord	At least three months, by registered letter or by bailiff notice.
Notice period for the tenant	At most one month. A longer period in the lease is not valid.
Rent	For an owner-occupied home for sale, the permit sets no maximum rent. You agree the rent freely with the tenant.
End of the permit	The lease ends automatically when the permit expires. If you let the tenant stay after that, a normal lease for an indefinite period arises.

Vacancy rental from start to finish

This is how vacancy rental usually goes, from the moment you move out until the handover to the buyer.

You move and register at your new address

Only when nobody is registered at the old address anymore is the house empty in the eyes of the municipality.

Apply for the permit and the bank permission at the same time

Both requests can run side by side, so you do not lose time.

Look for a tenant while the municipality decides

Presentation and screening can already start. You only sign the lease once the permit is in, because the lease has to mention it.

The tenant moves in, the sale continues

The house stays for sale. Agree in the lease how viewings for the sale will work, to avoid discussion later.

There is a buyer

You give notice of at least three months, by registered letter or bailiff notice. Plan the transfer date around that. After the final inspection you hand over the house empty.

No buyer within five years

The lease then ends automatically on the day the permit expires. After that you can rent out the house with a normal lease or leave it empty. A new vacancy permit for the same house is only possible after five years without one.

Who rents a house through vacancy rental?

A lease that can end as soon as the house is sold does not suit every tenant. It does suit the people we most often rent to in Eindhoven.

Expats and knowledge migrants at ASML, the High Tech Campus and Philips often come for an assignment of one or two years. International military staff at Eindhoven Air Base are here for a posting of several years. American entrepreneurs who move to the region under the DAFT treaty usually rent for about two years before they buy.

We screen every candidate on employer, income and references, including references from abroad.

The team of 123Wonen and iQ Makelaars Eindhoven

What else to arrange besides the permit

Your mortgage lender

Almost all mortgage terms forbid renting out without permission from your bank. Ask for permission before you sign a lease, and state that it concerns rental under the Vacancy Act.

Your insurance

Inform your insurer about the rental, so that your buildings insurance stays valid.

Your tax return

Renting out affects your tax return, including the mortgage interest deduction on the rented house. Discuss this with your tax adviser beforehand.

The rules may change

A bill before the Dutch parliament would limit temporary rental of homes for sale to two years and make the points system apply to it. Owners would also have to show that the house is hard to sell. This is not law yet. This page describes the rules as they apply now.

Renting out and selling, one team

With a vacancy permit the sale simply continues. 123Wonen Eindhoven and iQ Makelaars Eindhoven share the same address: 123Wonen handles the rental, iQ Makelaars the sale.

123Wonen Eindhoven, rentals

The rental until the sale

Help with the permit and the permission from your bank, a lease under the Vacancy Act, and screened tenants from our international network.

Let us arrange the application

iQ Makelaars Eindhoven, sales and purchases

The sale that continues

iQ Makelaars sells homes in Eindhoven, Den Bosch and Tilburg, to owner-occupiers and to investors.

Go to iQ Makelaars

Frequently asked questions

When may I rent out the house?

Only once you have the permit, because the lease must mention the permit and its period of validity. Gemeente Eindhoven decides within eight weeks, so allow up to eight weeks between the application and the moment you may rent out.

Can I extend the permit?

No. A permit for an owner-occupied home for sale is granted for five years at once and cannot be extended. A new permit for the same house is only possible after five years without one.

What do I do when I find a buyer?

You give notice of at least three months, by registered letter or bailiff notice. Plan the transfer date around that period, so you can hand over the house empty.

Do I need a vacancy permit for a permanent lease?

No. The permit is only needed if you want to rent out temporarily without normal tenant protection. With a permanent lease the tenant also stays after a sale. If your house falls under buy-to-let protection, you do need a separate rental permit for that.

Is vacancy rental the same as a temporary lease?

No. The regular temporary lease of up to two years was abolished on 1 July 2024 by the Permanent Leases Act (Wet vaste huurcontracten). Vacancy rental is a separate exception in the Vacancy Act and still exists, but only with a permit from the municipality.

I sometimes read that the notice period is two months. Is that right?

Not for your situation. Two months only applies to rented homes that are being sold, for example by a housing association. For an owner-occupied home for sale, the notice period for the landlord is at least three months.

Must the house stay for sale while I rent it out?

The permit is meant for a house that is intended for sale. So keep the house on the market while you rent it out. If you want to keep the house and rent it out for longer, a normal lease suits you better.

What does the application cost?

That differs per municipality. In 2026 Eindhoven charges € 130 and Den Bosch € 58.25. In Eindhoven you pay the fee even if the permit is refused or you withdraw the application.

Can I arrange this while living abroad?

Yes. The application is a written procedure, and we handle the viewings, the tenant screening and the contact with the municipality locally. Communication is in English.

Help with your vacancy permit

Leave your details. We will contact you, check whether your house qualifies and arrange the application, the permission from your bank and the lease. In the comment field, please mention since when the house has been for sale and when you bought it.