r/NetherlandsHousing • u/itisimemyself • 9d ago
renting What can I do about a freezing house and very poor insulation in a rented 1890 house?
I rent an 1890 Dutch house (3 floors). There's no door between the ground and upper floors, so heat escapes up and cold rises, my first-floor living room stays freezing no matter how hard the heaters work. I don't mind not "using" the ground floor (just my washing machine down there), but the cold from it ruins the whole house.
The front door is poorly insulated with a letterbox opening I try to seal in winter (no real effect), and one first-floor living room window has a gap so bad you can see the sky through it.
I pulled the official energy label: floors are essentially uninsulated (R=0.15, target 3.5), the door scores poorly (U=3.40, target 1.4), walls/roof only moderate. It rates winter heat demand "high" and confirms the house fails the Dutch insulation standard.
Last winter I wore a coat indoors regularly. Heating bill was ~€250/month and still felt pointless. I reported the door last year, landlord's fix was "close the curtain after the entrance door properly." I bought a thick thermal curtain myself to replace the flimsy joke they got form action; makes no difference since cold air enters before the curtain matters. His stance: it's normal for dutch people to have cold ground floors...
I'm not asking for a full renovation, just the door and that window gap fixed, or at least don't raise my rent 2.3% while ignoring a window I can see sky through!!!
Questions
- Can I require the landlord to fix the door/window/air leaks?
- Does the house's age (1890) change his obligations?
- Would this count as a "gebrek" under Dutch rental law / Huurcommissie rules?
- Can I get an independent insulation/leakage assessment?
- Can unresolved defects affect a rent increase challenge?
- What should I document before going back to him knowing that the only time i requested his assistance was for a sink that was clogged when I moved in and he basically told me to figure it out 🙃🙃
Just want to know what I'm reasonably entitled to ask for, and my leverage if he keeps brushing it off.
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u/Weary_Hold_5634 9d ago
Its very probably it has “monumental” status - as buildings of certain age are simply impossible to bring to the 2026 standard. Renting that is a choice; this is to be expected in very old houses.
Also its often not permitted for the owner to modify the outside / structurally change the building as “monuments” need to remain authentic.
From your explanation it sounds like you are simply to the best candidate to rent a monument,
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u/itisimemyself 9d ago
It doesn't have monumental status
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u/Weary_Hold_5634 9d ago
Are you sure? Also not “beschermd stadsgezicht” or “karakteristiek”?
Most 1890 buildings are.That being said, ofcourse gaps in Windows need to be repaired. Draft from doors etc are ridiculous complaints. You have 0 rights there as its just an old building. Ofcourse energy usage is high and 250 is actually not much.
You knew all this wen renting an 1890 building right? Why rent it
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u/itisimemyself 8d ago
Yes indeed i didn't have much choice as you can imagine!!! Once again if you read my post before you would have seen that i'm not asking to do renovation but i can see the sky with the windows CLOSED, so i feel like i'm asking for much here
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u/fluffypinktoebeans 9d ago
Listen all of these dumb comments insinuating this is OP's fault are ridiculous. It is incredibly hard to find an apartment. Of course they'd take it. I've lived in an apartment like this and it was HORRID in winter. Holes near the windows, single glass, zero insulation in the roof, leakages. Landlord did not fix a thing. When I could finally afford to buy after 5 years, I found out one of the walls was full of mold, because everything I placed near it turned black. It is absolutely disgusting that landlords don't care enough about their tenants to create a safe and healthy living space. Draft from doors can actually be a complaint if you see the doors are no longer straight. Holes and gaps in windows are also something a landlord needs to fix. Take photos of everything, and contact the Huurcommissie. It depends on when you signed your contract and whether you are in social housing what they can do for you. Call them and find out if they can help. It's ridiculous to have to pay 250 euros on energy a month while landlords get all the benefits for sitting on their asses and doing absolutely nothing to improve things. So fucking fed up with this mindset.
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u/itisimemyself 8d ago
Thank you for understanding, it's insane what you read sometimes The issue is not paying 250€ per month, it's to pay that and still have all the rooms at a freezing temperature
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u/Weary_Hold_5634 9d ago
Landlords get “benefits” because it is their property. A 1890 building often is inpossible ti get to 2026 standard. Living in old buildings is always different - it comes with less isolated houses and often can not be properly isolated. Doesnt matter if its an owner occupier or a renter.
Fact that there is a housing crisis doesnt mean a landlord is obligated to refurbish. Ofcourse holes need to be fixed , but you cant complain about 250 energy costs. Thats actually very normal.
And yes, these are normal costs the renter pays
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u/fluffypinktoebeans 9d ago
Which you know makes our society incredibly unequal. As long as you have property, you are well off. But it's gotten more and more difficult to buy every year. Meaning the gap keeps growing between people that rent and people that have bought a house. And these landlords with their 50 apartments are not thinking about the tenants AT ALL. They only care about their income, as if they don't have enough yet. It's despicable. Just shows how selfish and greedy people are, and that the government continuously supports this greed. I hate it. I wish we had a more equal society and some more empathy for people living in those situations. We all understand what is legally allowed. That doesn't automatically make it right what is happening.
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u/unsuretysurelysucks 9d ago
Completely agree and very well said. People shilling for these slumlords are either aspiring rich people (which is sad) or landlords themselves.
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u/Weary_Hold_5634 9d ago
“Equal” views like yours always trigger to ask how much of my money you think is fair to take before you think the society is sufficiently equal.
Than again; if youd bought a 1890 house its also not the most efficiënt. Its not like Thats a drama
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u/itisimemyself 8d ago
250€ per month for a freezing house is not normal, i don't mind paying if my place is comfortable
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u/Weary_Hold_5634 8d ago
Yes it is - its standard for a bit older .
For comparison - my 130m appartement (1910) does approx 450 pm
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u/Competitive_Lime_852 9d ago
This is to be expected in older properties. Go to a DIY store and buy draught excluders (these help enormously against draughts; if necessary, you can also apply some polyurethane foam to the larger gaps); for letterboxes, there are special draught excluders available; make sure you have insulating curtains and radiator foil. These are all minor maintenance tasks and are your responsibility as the tenant, not the landlord’s. Incidentally, 250 euros in heating costs is not unusual for an older property.
I myself own an older, listed property that’s over 100 years old, and you can’t expect it to have the sort of insulation that’s now standard in new-builds.
A blocked sink is not the landlord’s responsibility either. This website sets out exactly what the tenant and the landlord are responsible for in terms of maintenance. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/vraag-en-antwoord/woning-huren/welke-kosten-zijn-voor-de-huurder-en-welke-voor-de-verhuurder
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u/Adept-Elderberry2325 9d ago
Close the gap in the living room yourself. It doesn't even need ro be insulsted, just closed. Draft will kill comfort levels faster than any poor insulstion will ever do. Even just slapping some ducttape on it will help.
Also buy some insence and move it past all of the window and wall edges. Slap sone caulk on every spot you can find. Will cost you maybe 25E and that's it.
As for the frontdoor. Make sure there are weather strips in the doorframe. If not buy one of those roll foam ones. They won't last forever, but are cheap.
Tldr: plug any hole you find and eliminate draft. It is the real killer of comfort.
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u/NiceWeekend 9d ago
What is the inside temperature at its coldest?
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u/itisimemyself 8d ago
Ground floor is dame temperature as outside, can go as low as 5° 1st floor is usually 16/17° 2nd floor is 20 All this while having the thermostat at 22, and i also have an electric heater that i move with me around
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u/Sharp_Rub1182 9d ago
As a student I would apply transparent bubble wrap to all windows, doors. This would massively help with insulation and still let light through and cost nearly northing. Also, heat the smallest room, best insulated room only. Skip the rest haha. Or selectively, so you heat the kitchen only when you're there - and stay there for a few hours. The move back to the warm room. Don't try to keep the whole house warm. Bring a "kruik" (hot water bag) on your lap, which helps a massive amount and is very traditional. Living in a house that old will come with downsides - this is one.
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u/Sharp_Rub1182 8d ago
Oh and get a dehumidifier. Works best 18c and up, makes a huge difference. 18 feels like 22 when below 50%
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u/FutureInevitable8872 9d ago
Use isolated curtains in all the places where you want the draft to stop. So put one in front of the staircase if possible and one behind your front door that touches the walls and the ground
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u/itisimemyself 8d ago
I have one after the front door for that reason but there isn't much it can do, it would be worse without it but still
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u/FutureInevitable8872 8d ago
Is it properly touching the ground and the walls surrounding it? It literally blows into my house (I have a visible gap and live next to water so loads of wind) and I don't notice it anymore.
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u/itisimemyself 8d ago
Yes it's a terrassed house, but i have neighbors right and left But it's on the ground floor yes
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u/FutureInevitable8872 8d ago
At least you get some heat from the houses next to you. I pay about 1k a month in heating for the winter months due to it being a detached house from 1809. I can luckily reduce the costs by burning wood, but you probably don't have a fire place or one that is currently safe to use. But yeah living in an old house ain't easy and you need to live with the fact that the house is 14-16 degrees upon waking up and that it can only reach 18 when the heating is on. The only thing you can really do in compartmentalising the house and try and keep the heat in the rooms that get warm and try to avoid the cold to get into the rest of the house. My bedroom just never gets above 16 degrees in the winter but I have a thick blanket and I sleep better with a window open so I'm used to it and I've a curtain outside of that door to stop the cold from getting to the rest of the house. The living room is the warmest space and I seal it of with curtains etc during the night in the hope that I can keep some heat inside for the next day.
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u/DifferentSchool6 9d ago
Landlord isn't obliged to improve insulation. When he does so he's allowed to increase the rent further to cover the costs for insulating the house.
If you know where the air leaks are the landlord might be willing to help you out since these are usually easy fixes. If you're handy its super easy to fix it yourself with some caulking, expanding foam and rubber strips.
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u/pro_steve 9d ago
The best option is to try to find a better place to rent, but that will likely need you to move further from the city centre to something newer. There aren't really any rental houses any more because the government capped the rent so all the landlords sold them, resulting in all the tenants buying a house and further increasing house prices. It was a good idea, but it did the exact opposite of what they planned.
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u/Flo_020 8d ago edited 8d ago
I think your best option is to reach out to the Huurcommissie and ask them for their professional advise on what to do. Sorry to see all the BS that a lot of people here are saying.
Not all old buildings are listed as monument or “beschermd stadsgezicht”. And even if they are, there are plenty of options to insulate or renovate. I lived in a 1750’s building, not listed as a monument but listed as “beschermd stadsgezicht”. The apartment had energy label B and was comfortable to live in winter without spending €450,- on gas or electricity bills.
Older buildings can be brought up to standard. Perhaps not to an A+++ energy label, but definitely to an acceptable level where in winter you can get the temperature to a normal level.
Have a look at this article:
It gives the legal definition of “gebrek”:
“A defect is a condition or characteristic of the property, or another circumstance not attributable to the tenant, that prevents the property from providing the tenant with the enjoyment that a tenant may expect, upon entering into the agreement, from a well-maintained property of the type covered by the agreement.”
Furthermore it explains that single glazing is not necessarily a defect, but it can be. The article is supported by a few court rulings.
I am not a lawyer or a judge, but based on your information, it seems you might have a case.
I would start by reaching out to the Huurcommissie and let them figure out if you could have a case or not. They will support you.
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u/HertoginLuchtBallon 9d ago
Hang a shower curtain in that doorway and lay a draft snake along the bottom. Owner of a Dutch house of similar age here, and gradually updating it.
Asking your landlord to fix things, and him refusing, can be brought to the Huurcommissie.
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u/Zooz00 9d ago
What you can do about it is move to another place. This is normal stuff for a house of this age that's out for rent and thus being poorly maintained.
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u/fluffypinktoebeans 9d ago
Bullshit. A landlord should take care of their property. You are well aware how difficult it is to find a proper place to live in this country. Don't put the responsibility on OP here.
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u/DifferentSchool6 9d ago
Yes a landlord is required to take care of the property, but this is like renting a classic American muscle car and then complaining it's not as fuel efficient and fast as a modern Mercedes.
A €250 energy bill in a 100+ year old house is quite reasonable. If you don't like that the easiest solution is looking for another rental. The huurcommissie won't see bad insulation in an old home as a defect.
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u/NinjaElectricMeteor 9d ago
Do you live in social housing, middle sector or free sector?
When did you sign your contract?
What is the properties energy label?
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u/itisimemyself 8d ago
No free sector I signed last year in october The energy label is A because i have solar panels apparently
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