What a relocation agency costs in the Netherlands

What do Dutch relocation agencies charge a private client?

Most agencies in the Netherlands do not publish prices for private clients. Corporate packages are negotiated with the employer, and our research on 5 October 2026 recorded three price lists that agencies publish on their own sites. We read all three again on 7 October 2026. Every price below excludes 21% VAT.

Agency and model	Price excl. VAT
Xpats-Service, fixed package by household	EUR 2,950 (one adult), EUR 3,950 (couple), EUR 4,950 (two adults, two children)
Goodman Relocation, success fee on the rent	One month’s rent, at least EUR 1,495, no cure no pay
Housing & Relocation Rotterdam, fee on the rent plus single services	One month’s rent, at least EUR 1,000 (one person) or EUR 1,500 (couple or shared home)

These are three examples of three different models. They are not a market average, and we do not rank them.

What is in each price?

The Xpats-Service page lists the same core services in all three packages: home search and mortgage support, utility registration, insurance registration, a bank account, BSN registration, healthcare enrolment, internet and TV, a Dutch mobile contract, tax ruling support, relocation and transport assistance, visa inclusion (not the DAFT visa), an airport taxi and a welcome gift. The family package adds school or kindergarten enrolment and a childcare service. The page adds that bureaucracy costs may come on top, and it does not say how many viewings are included or what happens if no home is found.

Goodman Relocation charges one month’s rent on a no-cure-no-pay basis, with a minimum of EUR 1,495. BSN registration, a bank account and school or daycare help are available on request at separate prices.

Housing & Relocation Rotterdam says its home-search fee covers property search, up to five accompanied viewings, contract review, inspections and utility set-up help.

What do settling-in services cost on top?

Only Housing & Relocation Rotterdam lists single services (price page, read 7 Oct 2026), all excluding VAT:

Service	Price
BSN registration, with an accompanied appointment	EUR 250
Bank account set-up	EUR 150
Health insurance registration	EUR 200
Driving licence conversion	EUR 200
Mobile and internet set-up	EUR 150
General settling-in support	EUR 150
School information call (one hour)	EUR 210
School search, with up to three visits	EUR 700

If you bought the first five, the list prices add up to EUR 950 before VAT. That sum is our own addition, not an offer. See our guide to settling-in services in the Netherlands for what each task involves and which ones need you at the counter.

Which price models exist?

• Fixed package. One price per household, as at Xpats-Service. Easy to compare, but check what is and is not inside.
• Success fee on the rent. One month’s rent with a minimum, as at Goodman and Housing & Relocation Rotterdam. The fee grows with the rent, and a minimum protects the agency on cheap homes.
• Single services. A price per task, as on the Rotterdam list.
• Hourly rates. We found no Dutch agency that publishes one.
• Negotiated corporate price. Set per case between the agency and the employer, and not public.

What moves the price?

Household size. Xpats-Service steps up from EUR 2,950 to EUR 4,950, and the Rotterdam minimum is EUR 1,000 for one person and EUR 1,500 for two.

The rent you choose. When the fee is one month’s rent, a EUR 2,500 rent means a EUR 2,500 fee before VAT. For homes below the minimum rent, the minimum applies. This is an illustration of the rule, not a quote.

VAT. As a private client you pay it on top. At 21%, EUR 2,950 becomes EUR 3,569.50, and a EUR 1,495 minimum becomes EUR 1,808.95 (our arithmetic).

Scope. Viewings, school search, a bank account and a driving licence exchange are separate lines at some agencies and bundled at others.

Who pays: you, the landlord or your employer?

Three different people can pay, depending on who hired whom.

• The landlord pays the landlord’s agent. If your landlord uses a rental agency, the landlord pays the agency’s fee and the agency may not charge you as well. A fee asked by the landlord’s agent is a reason to stop and ask (Government of the Netherlands, read 7 Oct 2026).
• You pay your own intermediary. If you hire someone to search for you, you pay that person. That is what the prices above are.
• Your employer may pay. On the highly skilled migrant route the employer applies for the permit and pays the EUR 423 fee (IND). Relocation help may be part of the same conversation, so ask HR first.

What does a third-party guide say?

One publisher, Expat Netherlands Hub, gives “indicative” ranges of EUR 1,500 to EUR 3,000 for a basic single-person package and EUR 7,000 to EUR 15,000 for a full family package with school search (Expat Netherlands Hub, updated 6 Oct 2026). The author says he has not run a controlled comparison, and the page does not say how the figures were derived. Treat them as one opinion. The only published full-family price we found is Xpats-Service’s EUR 4,950 before VAT, which sits below that range.

What to ask before you pay

1. Is the price a fixed fee or a share of the rent, and what is the minimum?
2. Is VAT included?
3. What exactly is included: number of viewings, school search, appointments?
4. What happens if no home is found?
5. When is payment due, and how much up front?
6. Is there a written quote and a contract?

Our guide to choosing a relocation agency in the Netherlands has more questions and the red flags. The home search guide and the renting rules show how an agency fits into the search. The Netherlands hub lists agencies, and you can get matched with one that serves your city.

What we could not source

We found no published hourly rate, and no price list for the other agencies in the directory, so most Dutch prices are not public. The pages of Xpats-Service and Housing & Relocation Rotterdam do not say what happens when no home is found, and Xpats-Service does not say how many viewings it includes. We did not find a typical employer budget. Prices change, so check each page before you decide.