Relocation services in the Netherlands: what they do, what they cost, how to choose
Relocation services in the Netherlands explained: full relocation, housing search or alerts, what each costs by published price, and how to pick one.
Written by Giorgi ChumburidzePublished 1 hour ago6 min readRelocation services in the Netherlands come in three kinds: a full relocation company that handles immigration, housing and settling in, a housing search agent who finds and secures the rental, and an alerts feed you search yourself. Many providers publish no price. Those that do charge either a fixed fee or one month's rent, in roughly equal numbers. The housing search is the part that sets your move date.
What relocation services in the Netherlands include
A full package covers five things: immigration and permits, the housing search, registration at the municipality for your BSN and the rest of settling in, a school search for families, and moving your goods. Moving goods is a separate trade: removal companies ship furniture.
An employer often pays for some of this, as part of the job offer. If yours does, ask which parts. If it does not, you are buying only what you cannot do yourself.
Three kinds of relocation service, compared
| Full relocation company | Housing search agent | Alerts (do it yourself) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Immigration, housing, registration, schools, settling in | Search, viewings for you, application, offer, contract review | Every new listing in one feed; you contact landlords |
| Who it suits | Families and employer-paid moves | Anyone who cannot view in person or has a start date | People already here, with time to view |
| Examples | RSH (relocation-holland.nl), Expat Help (expathelp.nl), WE4EXPATS (we4expats.nl) | Relocify Plus and Premium, HomeCrew, Expat Home Finders, Talcom, Rentbird Plus, Housing & Co, TNG Real Estate, Hausing, Your Expat Butler | Relocify Alerts, Rentbird |
| Published prices | None of the three publishes a price | Fixed fees: Relocify EUR 2,250 (Plus) and EUR 3,085 (Premium); HomeCrew Smart EUR 1,499, Complete EUR 2,199; Expat Home Finders Unaccompanied EUR 1,499 + 21% VAT; Talcom EUR 1,850; Rentbird Plus EUR 1,794 in total. One month's rent: Housing & Co + 21% VAT; TNG Real Estate + 21% VAT, min EUR 1,800 excl. VAT; Hausing min EUR 2,000 excl. VAT. Your Expat Butler: not published | Relocify Alerts EUR 29/month; Rentbird EUR 29 for 1 month, EUR 39 for 2, EUR 49 for 3 |
| When you pay | Quote on request | Relocify: down payment to start, the rest when you sign. HomeCrew and Housing & Co: no cure no pay. Rentbird Plus: EUR 299 at the start (non-refundable), EUR 1,495 on success. Your Expat Butler: not published | Up front, per period |
The full relocation companies quote on request. Among the housing search agents, about half charge a fixed fee and half tie the fee to the rent; the cheapest fixed fees, from EUR 1,499, assume you attend the viewings yourself. Both alerts feeds cost EUR 29 for a month.
A full relocation company in the Netherlands
A full relocation company in the Netherlands takes the whole move: home finding, municipal registration, schooling, and immigration either in house or through a partner. RSH (relocation-holland.nl) lists home finding, registration and schooling with immigration via partners; Expat Help (expathelp.nl) offers relocation and immigration, housing and an executive package in Amsterdam; WE4EXPATS (we4expats.nl) lists housing, immigration and schooling. None of the three publishes a price.
A relocation agency or rental agency in the Netherlands for the housing search
A relocation agency in the Netherlands that only does the housing search works for you, the tenant: they shortlist, attend viewings, prepare the application, negotiate the offer and review the contract. Some charge one month's rent, usually plus 21% VAT: Housing & Co, TNG Real Estate (minimum EUR 1,800 excluding VAT) and Hausing (minimum EUR 2,000 excluding VAT) publish that formula. Others charge a fixed fee: HomeCrew EUR 1,499 or EUR 2,199, Talcom EUR 1,850, and Relocify EUR 2,250 (Plus) or EUR 3,085 (Premium), whatever the rent, with a down payment to start and the rest when you sign, see the pricing page. A fixed EUR 2,250 equals one month's rent plus VAT at a rent of EUR 1,859.50, so above that rent the fixed fee costs you less.
One rule decides whether you should be paying anyone at all. A letting agent working for the landlord may not charge the tenant mediation costs; only an agent you hire yourself may. The Dutch government sets it out at Rijksoverheid: must I pay mediation costs?. If a rental agency in the Netherlands shows you a home it markets for the owner and then asks for a fee, the fee is not yours. For Amsterdam specifically, 16 companies are compared side by side in relocation agencies in Amsterdam compared.
Alerts: do the search yourself
If you are already in the Netherlands and can attend viewings, you can run the search without an agent. Relocify Alerts puts every listing in one feed for EUR 29 a month, and you contact the landlord yourself. Rentbird sells a comparable feed at EUR 29 for one month.
Real estate in the Netherlands: renting versus buying through a makelaar
Most people searching for real estate in the Netherlands as newcomers are renters, and the word to know is makelaar. A makelaar sells or lets a home for its owner; a huurmakelaar or search agent works for you. Renting first is the normal route for someone arriving on a new contract, and you can sign a rental from abroad. If buying is the plan later, the steps are in buying property in the Netherlands.
The housing part in numbers
More than 2,000 internationals have rented through Relocify, 251 of them in 2026 to 27 September.
The Netherlands median asking rent is EUR 1,950 a month across 11,793 listings, unchanged from the same 90 days of 2025 (EUR 1,950, 11,693 listings). Relocify listing index, listings first seen 29 June to 26 September 2026, duplicates removed, short-stay excluded. At that median, a rent-linked fee of one month plus 21% VAT is EUR 2,360.
To plan your own budget, area and dates against those numbers, book a free consultation with a Relocify agent: 20 to 30 minutes, no obligation. The full process, from the income rule to the 2024 contract law, is in renting in the Netherlands as an expat.
How to choose a relocation company in the Netherlands
Six checks, in the order they save you money:
- Does it publish a price? If not, get the quote in writing before anything starts.
- Is the fee fixed or a month's rent? A month's rent means a EUR 2,500 home costs you more in fees than a EUR 1,800 one, for the same work.
- Who attends viewings if you are abroad? Ask whether they film, and whether you can watch before deciding.
- Is the contract reviewed before you sign?
- Do you pay anything if no home is found? A down payment, a deposit, or nothing: it should be in writing.
- Who pays, you or your employer? If your employer relocates staff regularly, they can run it through employee housing for companies and you use the same agent.
Frequently asked questions
How much do relocation services in the Netherlands cost?
Full relocation companies quote on request and publish nothing. Housing search agents that publish a price charge either one month's rent, usually plus VAT (about EUR 2,360 at the national median rent of EUR 1,950), or a fixed fee, from EUR 1,499 where you attend the viewings yourself to EUR 2,250 for Relocify Plus. Alerts feeds cost EUR 29 a month.
Does my employer pay for relocation?
Often, as part of the job offer. Ask which parts are covered and whether you choose the provider. Companies that relocate staff regularly can set it up through Relocify for companies.
Do I have to pay a rental agency?
Only one you hired yourself. A letting agent working for the landlord may not charge the tenant mediation costs under Dutch law, and you can report one that does to the municipality.
Can I find a rental in the Netherlands before I arrive?
Yes. A Relocify presenter can attend and film the viewing while you are abroad, and the offer and the contract review happen remotely.
What does a relocation agency do?
For the housing part: it shortlists homes, attends viewings for you, prepares the application, negotiates the offer, reviews the contract and handles the check-in. A full relocation company adds immigration, registration and schools.
Book a free consultation to plan the housing part with a Relocify agent.