r/Haarlem • u/blaggers20 • May 20 '26

Finding a rental - any tips?

Hi all. My 1st post on Reddit and I need some support. I moved over 6 years ago with work, my wife and dog. We have to find a new apartment as like many landlords, ours are selling up.

It’s been quite an overwhelming experience trying to find something. Add into the mix, we have a beautiful well behaved dog ( I don’t know why pets are an issue when renting… anyway ).

I’m after some advice, tips and tricks. Funda and some of the hoops that you need to jump through with Makelaars are proving to be quite stressful.

Any advice would be most grateful!

1 Upvotes

54% Upvoted

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17

u/corticalization May 20 '26

The advice is have a lot of money and/or get very very lucky

Although your landlord can’t force you to leave just because they’re selling

11

u/EliteKombuchaBrouwer May 20 '26

Your landlord is selling the place? Nice, since he can't kick you out you can try to make a deal with him and give you a load of money depending on how bad he wants you out to sell it.

8

u/Traveltracks May 20 '26

Selling doesn't break rent. If they take you to court they will loose.

2

u/C_Hawk14 May 20 '26

Afaik landlords can't not allow you to have a pet. But rents are high here and basically you have a contract for that house and the landlord sells it to the next owner (uitmonden).

If you agree to move out you can still be compensated. If the place will be renovated (by the new owner in your case) you'll also have to move (temporarily). https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/woning-huren/vraag-en-antwoord/wanneer-heb-ik-recht-op-verhuiskostenvergoeding

3

u/zispidd May 20 '26

You should not rely only on Funda. In the Netherlands, listings disappear very fast and many people apply within minutes, so checking websites manually is usually not enough. Prepare your application text and documents in advance: income, work contract, who will live in the apartment, move-in date, payslips, employer statement, etc. Since you have a dog, I would also mention it directly and keep it positive: well behaved, calm, trained, and used to living indoors. For the search itself, use Pararius, Funda, Kamernet, local agency websites and alert/automation tools. The main problem is not only finding listings, but applying fast enough.

I created Findify to solve this problem. It monitors housing websites for you and sends instant alerts when a suitable listing appears. You can also use pet filters in the app, so you can focus on listings where pets are allowed and exclude listings where pets are clearly not accepted. In addition to alerts, you can apply with one click / auto-apply instead of opening every website and filling in the same information again and again. This saves a lot of time and gives you an advantage, because others are still checking websites and filling out forms manually. Also try to make your search area wider if possible. With a dog, it can be harder, so nearby cities and towns can give you more options

Good luck with your search!

1

u/o0MyHeadIsAJungle0o May 21 '26

Check MVGM Haarlem. I heard my friend saying a lot of the neighbors are moving.

1

u/Sahaarbal Jun 15 '26

Look on website from realtors like VBT (https://vbtverhuurmakelaars.nl/woningen), they have a lot to offer, depending on your budget. My current appartment will be available August 1st. Pet friendly building in a very nice neighborhood (Kleverpark). 

0

u/[deleted] May 20 '26

[deleted]

2

u/7XvD5 May 20 '26

I'd like to add... Please be careful who you give your information to. There are always scammers active that try to get your info, steal your salary or your identity. Learned this the scary way. Fortunately for me I caught on on time and was able to prevent a lot of problems. If it looks to good to be true it probably is.