How to Rent Out a Warehouse in the Netherlands (2026 Guide)

How do you rent out a warehouse in the Netherlands? In six steps: set a realistic rent, get the building and its paperwork ready, decide the lease terms you want, choose between a VAT-exempt and a VAT-taxed lease, market the building, and check the tenant before you sign. This guide walks through each step for owners of warehouse and light-industrial space from 500 m², whether you own the building as an investor, have moved your own operation out, or are a tenant with space to spare.

The market in 2026: tenants have more choice

After years in which almost every warehouse let itself, 2026 is a more selective market. Savills puts Dutch logistics vacancy at 6.8% in the first quarter of 2026, up from 5.2% a year earlier, and Cushman & Wakefield reports available space rising from about 6.8 to 7.7 million m², with secondary locations facing higher vacancy. Demand has not disappeared: take-up in the second quarter was 12% higher than a year earlier. But tenants now compare, and the gap between modern, well-located buildings and older stock is widening.

For an owner that means two things. A good building at a realistic rent still lets well. A building that is overpriced, poorly presented or vague about its specifications loses months, and every month it stands empty is rent you never get back.

1. Set a realistic rent

Start from what comparable buildings actually let for, not from what you hope to get. Rents differ strongly by region: indicative prime rents run from roughly €55–72/m²/year in the eastern and southern regions to €95–125/m²/year around Schiphol (see our warehouse rent prices by region). Within a region, these factors move the rent up or down:

• Unit size. Smaller units (500–1,500 m²) achieve a higher rent per m² than large boxes.
• Clear height, floor load and docks. Modern logistics users look for around 10 m of free height or more, dock levellers and enough yard for trucks.
• Office and staff facilities. A sensible office share helps; a large, dated office rarely adds rent.
• Power. With grid congestion (netcongestie) across much of the country, secured capacity, or solar panels on the roof, is a real selling point.
• Condition and sustainability. Insulation, LED lighting, the energy label and an asbestos-free roof all matter to tenants and their insurers.

Decide early what you are willing to give. Tenants with an adviser will ask for rent-free months or a fit-out contribution. It is usually better to price slightly sharper and keep incentives small than to quote high and concede later.

Keep the cost of vacancy in mind: a 2,000 m² unit at €70/m²/year brings in about €11,700 a month. Three extra months of vacancy cost more than most rent discounts.

2. Get the building and the paperwork ready

Tenants and their advisers decide fast when the facts are on the table. Before you go to market, collect:

• Floor plans and specifications: lettable area, clear height, floor load, docks and doors, power (kVA), sprinklers, office space and parking.
• Zoning and permits: check that the local zoning plan (omgevingsplan) allows the uses you are targeting, such as storage, distribution or light industry, and note any limits on hazardous goods.
• Energy label: a valid label is usually required when you let or sell a utility building; some buildings, such as factory halls, are exempt (Rijksoverheid). Office buildings must have at least label C, but that obligation generally doesn’t apply where offices take up less than half of the building, as in most warehouses. Check your building with an energy adviser.
• Condition: recent maintenance, the roof, the asbestos position for buildings from before 1994, and anything a tenant’s surveyor will find anyway.

3. Decide the lease terms you want

Most Dutch warehouse leases use the ROZ model lease for offices and other business space, updated in 2025. The model is a starting point, and almost every clause is negotiable. Decide your position on these points before the first viewing:

• Term. Five years plus five is common for warehouses; large or tailor-made buildings let for ten years or more.
• Indexation. Rent is usually indexed every year to the consumer price index (CPI). Since 2025 the ROZ model also allows other indices, if the lease names them.
• Security. A bank guarantee or deposit is standard, in practice often three months’ rent plus service charges and VAT.
• Service charges. Since 1 January 2025, a service-charge item only has its own VAT treatment if the tenant can choose the supplier or decide how much it uses; otherwise it follows the VAT treatment of the rent.
• Maintenance and reinstatement. Who repairs what, and the condition in which the tenant must hand the building back.

Unlike shops, warehouses fall under article 7:230a of the Dutch Civil Code: the tenant has no right to renew when the lease ends, only limited protection against eviction. Our guide to the ROZ lease, clause by clause explains each point from both sides.

4. Choose a VAT-exempt or a VAT-taxed lease

Letting property is exempt from VAT by default. Landlord and tenant can opt for a VAT-taxed lease instead, which lets you reclaim the VAT on buying, building or maintaining the warehouse. The conditions of the Belastingdienst are strict:

• The tenant must be a VAT entrepreneur and use the building for at least 90% for activities that give a right to deduct VAT (70% in a few sectors).
• The choice is recorded in the lease: that the rent is subject to VAT, from which date, the tenant’s statement on its use, a description of the property with its cadastral data and the start of the tenant’s financial year, signed by both parties.
• If the tenant’s use later falls below the threshold, the right to a taxed lease lapses, with VAT consequences.

Most logistics, e-commerce and industrial tenants qualify; banks, insurers, healthcare providers and many non-profits do not. If you reclaimed VAT when you bought or built the warehouse, letting it VAT-exempt within the ten-year revision period can cost you part of that VAT, so get tax advice before you choose a tenant.

5. Market the building and host the viewings

A clear presentation with good photos, floor plans and the specifications above does most of the work. Beyond the listing platforms, the best tenants are often companies already looking that never see an advert: we approach them directly, Dutch and international, through our network and our English-language site and campaigns. Answer technical questions quickly, and keep a record of every candidate and what they need.

6. Check the tenant before you sign

The lease is only as good as the company that signs it. Before you agree heads of terms, check:

• the company’s registration with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK), its annual accounts and, for a young company, a parent company guarantee;
• the intended use: hazardous goods, cold storage or heavy production may need permits or affect your insurance;
• how long the company has operated, and references from earlier landlords;
• the security on offer, and that the bank guarantee follows the agreed wording.

International tenants are common in the Dutch warehouse market. Many set up a Dutch BV for the lease; our guide to getting set up to lease shows what they need, which also tells you what to ask for.

Letting part of a building, or subletting

You can let part of a building if the units can work on their own: separate access, fire compartments and preferably separate meters. If you are a tenant with surplus space, check your own lease first. ROZ-based leases normally require the landlord’s written consent to sublet, and you stay responsible for the whole lease.

What it costs to rent out a warehouse

• Agent fee: usually a percentage of the first year’s rent, agreed up front. With us: no tenant, no fee.
• Energy label and any small repairs before the building goes to market.
• Legal review of the lease and its special provisions, if you want one.
• Incentives you agree with the tenant, such as rent-free months or a fit-out contribution.

As the owner you keep paying the owner’s share of property tax (OZB), insurance and structural maintenance; service charges for shared facilities are passed on to the tenant under the lease.

Frequently asked questions