Rent an Apartment in Delft

Delft faces a housing challenge that is exceptional for a city of its size. The municipality aims to add around 15,000 new homes and create 10,000 jobs by 2040, but has little room for expansion. The result: Delft is building inwards. A completely new urban area is emerging on the roof of the railway tunnel that has run directly beneath the city since 2015. Along the Schie, industrial estates are being transformed into mixed-use residential-commercial districts. And on the TU campus, former laboratory buildings are being converted into residential complexes. For those looking for an apartment, Delft is a city in motion — with new construction literally stacked on top of the existing city.

This makes the rental market two-tiered. On one hand, there's the historic city center with canals, monumental buildings, and upper-floor apartments where supply is tight and turnover is low. On the other hand, there's a wave of new rental apartments in areas that were fallow or consisted of offices just five years ago. Both markets serve different types of tenants — and require different search strategies.

Nieuw Delft: An Entire District on a Tunnel Roof

The most extensive construction project in Delft is called Nieuw Delft. Where the railway used to run at ground level through the city until 2015, a 24-hectare strip has been freed up after the construction of the railway tunnel — right in the city center, between the station and Voorhof. Approximately 2,100 homes are being built there, largely apartments.

The Coendersbuurt, the first sub-area, has already been completed — a small-scale residential neighborhood with streets deliberately designed in historical Delft style. In the Abtswoudse Hof, student complex X-Ray, The Family (94 mid-range rental apartments), and Poortmeesters have now been built. The Van Leeuwenhoekkwartier will get Guldenwater (177 apartments and 7 park homes) and a housing cooperative with 33 affordable rental apartments. Whoever finds a rental apartment in Nieuw Delft lives within walking distance of the station, next to a park designed using TU climate models.

Modern penthouse with roof terrace in the heart of Delft

€2,500 / month

De Vlouw, Delft

1

100 m²

Immediately

Apartment

Energy-efficient living on the 7th floor

€1,495 / month

Nijverheidspad 142, Delft

62 m²

1/1/2026

Apartment

Energy-efficient living: 91 m² apartment in Delft

€1,895 / month

Nijverheidspad 34, Delft

91 m²

1/1/2026

Apartment

Furnished apartment with roof terrace in the center of Delft

€2,500 / month

Jacob Gerritstraat, Delft

3

86 m²

1/12/2026

Apartment

Energy-efficient studio in De Porseleinen Toren

€1,073 / month

Nijverheidspad 110, Delft

Immediately

Apartment

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Apartment on Rotterdamseweg

€734 / month

Rotterdamseweg, Delft

Apartment

Schieoevers and the Kabeldistrict: Living Amongst Workplaces

South of Nieuw Delft, along the Schie, lies the next major transformation area: Schieoevers Noord. Between 6,500 and 7,500 homes will be built here, but unlike Nieuw Delft, existing businesses will not be cleared out. The municipality opts for mixing: living and working side-by-side, with a fixed ratio per sub-area.

The Kabeldistrict, around the former cable factory, will be the most visible part. Mei Architects is designing a high-density mixed-use residential-commercial neighborhood there where the industrial heritage will remain visible. The Nieuwe Haven, adjacent to the TU campus, will have apartments along an old waterfront. For renters, Schieoevers means that a large volume of new apartments will come onto the market in the coming years — in an environment that is rawer and more urban than Nieuw Delft.

The City Center: Canals, Upper-Floor Apartments, and Limited Space

Between the Oude Delft, Nieuwe Gracht, and the canals around the Markt are the apartments with the most character — and the least floor space per euro. Delft's city center is compact. Many buildings date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and have been divided over time into upper and lower apartments with surprising layouts: narrow steep stairs, slanted floors, ceilings with stucco you shouldn't touch.

The rental apartment on Oude Delft with a canal view sounds romantic, and it is — but don't expect built-in closets or bicycle storage. Parking in the center is difficult and expensive. Insulation in monumental buildings is rarely optimal. Those who can live with that will reside in one of the most beautiful historic city centers in South Holland, within walking distance of the Beestenmarkt, the Markt, and the canals painted by Vermeer.

The TU Zone: Wippolder and the Campus

Between the city center and the TU campus stretches Wippolder, the district colored more than any other part of Delft by the university. Students, PhD candidates, postdocs, and TU staff from all over the world live here. The apartment offering is a mix of 1950s construction, renovated flats, and newer complexes.

On the campus itself, a quiet transformation is taking place. Former university buildings — including monumental laboratories from the early twentieth century, designed by government architect Johannes Vrijman — have been transformed into residential complexes. Architectural firm cepezed established itself in a former shipbuilding laboratory. The old main building of the TU, Rode Scheikunde (1917, architect Gerard van Drecht), now houses the Faculty of Architecture after the original building burned down in 2008. Around these monuments, student housing and short-stay apartments are being added, including a 70-meter tower with space for hundreds of units.

For non-students who appreciate the campus atmosphere: Wippolder offers regular rental apartments within cycling distance of both the TU and the city center. The neighborhood is more international than the rest of Delft, with more English-speaking neighbors than you would expect in a Dutch city of this size.

Voorhof, Tanthof, and the Suburbs

Further from the center are the post-war neighborhoods where the largest volume of apartments is located.

Voorhof is Delft's largest district, with many high-rise buildings from the 1960s and 1970s around Martinus Nijhofflaan and Poptahof. The district is undergoing phased renovation — the De Reiger complex in Poptahof is currently being renewed. Rent here is lower than in the center or Nieuw Delft, and the metro stop (tram 19 towards The Hague) is within walking distance.

Tanthof, south of the A13, is a spacious, green neighborhood from the 1980s. More single-family homes than apartments, but there are flats and new construction is being added. Those seeking peace and green space and who don't need to be in the city center every evening will find Tanthof a significantly cheaper alternative.

Vrijenban and the Bomenwijk, north of the center, offer a mix of construction periods and housing types. Less distinctive than Nieuw Delft or the city center, but solid neighborhoods with decent apartments and short cycling distances.

What Does Renting an Apartment in Delft Cost?

Delft is wedged between The Hague and Rotterdam, and this is reflected in rental prices. The free sector is dominant in the apartment supply. Landlords typically require an income of three to four times the basic rent. The deposit amounts to one to two months' rent.

The difference between locations is significant. An apartment in a new construction complex in Nieuw Delft or along the Schieoevers is in a different price segment than a flat in Voorhof or Tanthof. The city center is somewhere in between: the square meters are smaller, but you also pay for the canal view. For expats and international employees of the TU or companies in the region, there are furnished apartments — scarcer and more expensive, but they exist, especially in Wippolder and around the station.