Looking into the idea of renting a home with a residential mortgage can be interesting. We often get asked, "Can I rent my home with a residential mortgage in the Netherlands?"

The answer is NO unless your mortgage lender gives you consent to rent your home for a limited time. When you buy a home, you sign a legally binding contract with your mortgage lender. Almost every mortgage deed contains a section called the “rental clause,” which means subletting property to a third party without written consent from a bank is not permitted.

Different banks have different laws for breaching mortgage agreements. The mortgage lender has a right to sell a property through foreclosing procedure if the borrower does not comply or breaches a mortgage deed. For example: if the borrower does not pay monthly payments or a bank finds out about tenants living in the property, a mortgage lender can demand to repay a loan in full.

Tenants are well protected in the Netherlands, which means landlords have no right to force tenants to move if a property is listed for sale. In many cases, the property’s value decreases significantly if a landlord needs to sell a property with tenants. Banks are not interested in keeping the tenants in a property. The most likely scenario is that banks will sell a property immediately, with or without the tenants.

If your mortgage lender cannot grant you rental consent, you can refinance your loan from a residential to buy to let mortgage. In this case, you are legally allowed to rent your property.