Rent an Apartment in Diemen

Diemen is proof that a municipality can reinvent itself. Ten years ago, Bergwijkpark, the office area at Diemen-Zuid station, was one of the Amsterdam region's saddest places: thirty hectares of vacant office blocks from the seventies and eighties, ninety percent uninhabited, without any reason to be there. Today, that same spot hosts Holland Park — a completely new urban district with canals, courtyards, and over five thousand apartments, designed by Sjoerd Soeters, the architect of Java Island in Amsterdam and Sluseholmen in Copenhagen. It is the largest office-to-residential transformation in the Netherlands, and it has completely shifted the focus of Diemen's housing market.

Those considering renting an apartment in Diemen now are stepping into a municipality in full motion. Besides Holland Park, there's Plantage de Sniep (over a thousand homes, completed in 2019), Hof van Saan (135 homes, delivery 2025-2026), the Steigerblok (over 400 homes), and plans for Holland Park Zuid. Diemen now has over 33,000 residents, and sixty percent of all homes are rentals. The average WOZ value is €460,000 — significantly less than Amsterdam, while the metro takes you to the Amstelveen line or Central Station in ten minutes.

Holland Park: An Office Graveyard Becomes a Canal District

The story of Holland Park begins with developer André Snippe, who, in the midst of the economic crisis, bought most of the vacant offices in Bergwijkpark for a fraction of their original value. Sixteen different owners, buildings that sometimes hadn't had any users for years. Snippe had a hundred thousand square meters of office space demolished and engaged Sjoerd Soeters for the urban plan.

Soeters opted for closed building blocks of five to six layers around green courtyards, separated by artificially constructed canals — a concept he had previously applied on Java Island and in Copenhagen. Each of the 23 building blocks was designed by multiple architects: Rijnboutt, Jo Coenen, Geurst & Schülze, Inbo, Bedaux Brouwer, Boparai. The result is a neighborhood that looks as if it grew organically, with variation in facade style, color, and material from block to block.

Modern studio at Campus Diemen Zuid

€1,587 / month

Dalsteindreef 6208, Diemen

30 m²

Immediately

Studio

Bright 2-bedroom apartment in Diemen-Noord

€1,950 / month

Hermelijnvlinder, Diemen

96 m²

3/1/2026

Apartment

Example Image

Spacious 3-room apartment of 86 m² in Diemen

€1,610 / month

Jan Sluijtershof 10, Diemen

86 m²

Immediately

Apartment

Example Image

2-bedroom apartment of 81m² in Diemen

€1,425 / month

Gerrit Rietveldsingel 493, Diemen

81 m²

Immediately

Apartment

Example Image

Spacious 3-room apartment Diemen (96 m²)

€1,685 / month

Karel Appelhof 122, Diemen

96 m²

Immediately

Apartment

Example Image

Spacious 2-bedroom apartment of 93m²

€1,585 / month

Gerrit Rietveldsingel 215, Diemen

93 m²

Immediately

Apartment

For tenants, Holland Park is particularly interesting due to the type of apartment available here: new-build from 2015-present, with modern insulation, a lift, an underground parking garage beneath the courtyards, and often a balcony with canal views. The apartments range from compact studios to spacious family homes. A common type has a grid size of 7.80 meters with a living room at the front and two bedrooms at the back — a layout that Soeters deliberately chose, based on what young professionals can afford.

Plantage de Sniep: The Family Part of New Diemen

While Holland Park is urban and compact, Plantage de Sniep — on the north side of the railway — has a completely different character. This new-build district of over a thousand homes, developed by Dura Vermeer and BPD between 2009 and 2019, is designed to be child-friendly with plenty of green spaces, water, and architecture that nods to the 1930s style. No closed building blocks, but detached and semi-detached houses alongside apartment blocks, partly surrounded by water.

The WOZ value in Plantage de Sniep, averaging €737,000, is the highest in Diemen — almost double the municipal average. This translates into higher rental prices for the apartments that become available here. The advantage is the tranquility, the space, and the proximity to the De Kersenboom comprehensive school. The last sub-project, the Rietschuurhof, will be a residential courtyard for seniors with a mix of social and mid-priced rental homes.

Diemen Centrum: The Village Behind the Apartments

Amidst all the new construction, it's easy to forget that Diemen was a polder village well into the twentieth century. The Ouddiemerlaan, the historic village street, still reminds us of that time. The center has been renovated in recent years, with the Diemerplein shopping center (renovated and doubled in size), the De Omval theater (designed by Sjoerd Soeters in 1996), and the Wednesday market.

The apartments in Diemen Centrum are predominantly older: post-war buildings from the fifties to seventies, supplemented by some newer complexes. The WOZ value here is around €419,000. The advantage of the center is the village atmosphere that still needs to grow in Holland Park: this is where you'll find the baker, the GP, the cafe everyone knows. The apartments are smaller and less modern, but you live in the functioning heart of the municipality.

Diemen-Zuid: More Than Just Holland Park

Diemen-Zuid is broader than just new construction. The district also includes Bergwijkpark Zuid — a smaller office area that has remained in use — and the nature park with water features, bridges, and walking paths situated between them. Diemen-Zuid station offers both train and metro connections, and Inholland University of Applied Sciences has been there for decades.

For tenants looking in Diemen-Zuid but outside Holland Park, there are apartments in the older residential buildings along Dalsteindreef and Daalwijkdreef. These are literally on the border with Amsterdam-Zuidoost: Bijlmerweide and the Arena area are within walking distance. It's a hybrid position — administratively Diemen, functionally Amsterdam.

What an Apartment Costs Here

Diemen is cheaper than Amsterdam, but the difference is getting smaller as Holland Park progresses. New construction is driving up the average price level. At the same time, Diemen offers something Amsterdam doesn't: no leasehold on the land in Holland Park. All buildings stand on private land, which reduces the total housing costs.

A relevant detail for tenants: sixty percent of all homes in Diemen are rentals. This is exceptionally high for a municipality of this size and means there is structurally more rental supply available than in comparable suburban municipalities. The downside is that competition is proportionally high — popular apartments in Holland Park are sometimes gone within hours.

A Municipality Not Yet Finished

Diemen continues to build. Holland Park West (750 homes) is in full construction. Holland Park Zuid awaits initiative from landowners. The Steigerblok is delivering over 400 homes. The Campus may be expanded with senior housing. And the Duran project in Diemen-Zuid will start in the coming years. The municipality that thirty years ago consisted mainly of a village center and an empty office park is growing towards 40,000 inhabitants.

For those considering renting an apartment in Diemen now, the practical consequence is that new offerings regularly come onto the market — more than in municipalities where construction is stagnant. The flipside is that you might end up in a neighborhood that isn't quite finished yet: construction cranes as a view, shops that still need to open, a sense of community that still needs to grow. But the infrastructure — metro, train, highways A1 and A9 — is already in place.