Rent reduction

This depends on the amount you pay for rent and your household income. Rent reductions are only available to tenants living in social housing and are calculated based on 2019 tax returns. You can see whether you qualify by checking the table here.

If you did not qualify based on your 2019 tax return, but your household income has since fallen into the qualifying threshold, please refer to question #8.

If you meet the conditions based on your 2019 tax returns, you do not need to do anything. You should have received a letter from us about this in March. If you did not qualify based on your 2019 tax return, but your household income has since fallen into the qualifying threshold, please refer to question #8.

The rent reduction only applies to the amount you pay for basic rent, also referred to as 'net rent'. To get a rent reduction, your net rent must be higher than the amount shown in the second column in the table . Please note: the amount you pay us each month may be higher than your net rent. This will be the case if your monthly payment also includes costs for gas, water, electricity and service charges, which are not part of your net rent and therefore not part of the rent reduction calculation.

You receive a letter from us each year about adjustments to your rent and monthly payments. This letter gives a breakdown of your payments, so you can see how much is charged for net rent, utilities and service costs. The rent reduction only applies to the amount for net rent.

The rent allowance (housing benefit) you receive is dependent on your income, the size of your household and the amount you pay for rent. If your rent is reduced, you might therefore find that your rent allowance also decreases a little. Don’t worry, because any consequential reduction to your rent allowance will always be less than the rent reduction itself. So in real terms, you will still pay less.

No, you do not need to do anything. As long as you qualify for a rent reduction, based on your 2019 tax returns, this will have happened automatically and you will have received a letter from us about it in March. If you did not qualify based on your 2019 tax return, but your household income has since fallen into the qualifying threshold, please refer to question #8.

If your combined household income fell after the end of 2019 to a level that qualifies for rent reduction, and has continuously been below the threshold for at least 6 months, then you have to apply for the rent reduction yourself. You should do this now. We will process your request after the Tax Office confirms to us that your income falls within the qualifying level.

Yes. Tenants who apply for rent reduction (because income has fallen after 2019) must be able to prove that their household income has fallen below the required threshold for at least six months. Accepted forms of proof include recent salary slips, benefits statements or a statement from your accountant if you are self-employed. You also need to provide a signed statement declaring your current household composition. You may prepare this household composition statement yourself – you do not need to pay for an official document from the municipality.

You can do this at any time of de year. 

You should only apply for a rent reduction if your household income has fallen to within the qualifying threshold after the end of 2019 (refer to questions #1 and #8). To apply, you can send an e-mail to info@stadswonenrotterdam.nl

In most cases, rents will be reduced from 1 May 2021.