Buy or rent furniture in the Netherlands? How to decide as an expat
When you move to the Netherlands into an unfurnished or semi-furnished home, you have roughly three options: rent furniture, buy second-hand, or buy new. Each has its place. The right choice mostly depends on one question: how long are you staying?
Option 1: Renting furniture
Several companies in the Netherlands rent out furniture packages for a monthly fee.
Pros
- Low upfront cost
- Often delivered and collected for you
- Easy if you're staying only a few months
Cons
- You keep paying every month, and after a year or so you've often paid more than the furniture is worth
- Minimum rental periods, deposits and conditions for damage
- Limited choice of style
- You never own anything
Option 2: Buying second-hand
Marktplaats, the Dutch equivalent of eBay or Craigslist, and second-hand shops (kringloopwinkels) are full of affordable furniture.
Pros
- Cheap
- Sustainable
Cons
- Hard to arrange from abroad
- You need transport, and most newcomers don't have a car
- Lots of messaging in Dutch, viewing appointments and pickups
- Mismatched items, unknown condition, and no bedding or mattresses you'd want to reuse
Option 3: Buying new, delivered and installed
Buying new used to mean spending your first weekends in furniture stores and assembling flat-packs. That's no longer the case.
Pros
- Brand new, chosen by you
- Can be ordered from abroad and ready on arrival
- A one-time cost, no monthly fees
- Everything is yours, to take with you or resell
Cons
- Higher upfront cost than renting
The tipping point: how long are you staying?
- Less than 6 months: renting or a fully furnished home can make sense.
- 6 to 12 months: do the math. Buying new and reselling when you leave is often already cheaper.
- More than a year: buying almost always wins. The monthly rental fees add up quickly, while your own furniture keeps its value.
What happens when you leave?
This is the part people forget. When you've bought your furniture, you can:
- take it with you to your next home in the Netherlands
- sell it on Marktplaats. Good-quality furniture sells quickly, especially to other newcomers
- leave it for the next tenant, if your landlord agrees, and agree on a price
Our take
We're obviously not neutral: Welcome2Holland sells new furniture and essentials. But we built the service because we kept seeing the same thing: internationals paying high rental fees for years, or spending weeks hunting for second-hand items without a car. For anyone staying longer than about six months, buying new, delivered and installed before you arrive, is usually the smartest and least stressful choice.
Build your own home setup.
See how our assembly service works, or tell us about your move through our contact form.
