Rent an Apartment in Emmen

Emmen is located at the southern tip of the Hondsrug, a seventy-kilometer-long sand ridge that forms the only UNESCO Global Geopark in the Netherlands. That sounds like a geological fact, but it explains why the city looks the way it does: the center on the ridge itself, thirty meters above sea level, and the residential areas as lobes that grew into the lower-lying areas over the course of the twentieth century. Each lobe — Emmermeer, Angelslo, Emmerhout, Bargeres, Rietlanden, Parc Sandur, Delftlanden — was built in its own decade and has its own shopping center, its own atmosphere, and its own position in the housing market.

The result is a city that feels larger than you might expect (with over 100,000 inhabitants, the municipality is the second-largest in the Northern Netherlands), but where the center is relatively decentralized compared to all those neighborhoods. Renting an apartment in Emmen mainly means choosing: centrally located in the high-rise buildings around Raadhuisplein, in a gallery flat in the green suburbs, or in the new developments on the city's edge.

City Center and Raadhuisplein

Emmen's city center is modern. Historic buildings are found in the northern part — the Grote Kerk, the Marktplein with over a hundred market stalls every Friday — but the face of the center is defined by the De Weiert shopping center, the Hondsrugtoren (65 meters, Drenthe's tallest building), and Raadhuisplein. This square was constructed in 2015 on top of the Hondsrugweg, designed by the German firm Latz + Partner, featuring water, a skate park, and a playground. It connects the shopping area with Wildlands Adventure Zoo and the Atlas Theater, which opened in 2016 with two auditoriums.

The apartment offerings in the center are concentrated around Hondsrugweg, Boslaan, and Wilhelminastraat. These are partly upper-floor apartments above shops, and partly flats and residential towers — the Angelino and Boshof towers are the most striking. De Klokkenslag, a complex on Westeind, offers apartments in the heart of the center. Prices here are higher than in the suburbs, but you have everything within walking distance. The station is a fifteen-minute walk away — the train to Zwolle runs every half hour.

4-room apartment with unobstructed views

€720 / month

Varenkamp 167, Emmen

3

80 m²

In consultation

Apartment

3-room apartment with balcony and parking space

€1,290 / month

Karbeel 147, Emmen

2

86 m²

7/15/2026

Apartment

1-bedroom apartment with balcony in Emmen

€1,015 / month

Raadhuisplein, Emmen

1

56 m²

5/1/2026

Apartment

Emmerhout

Emmerhout, northwest of the center, was built in the 1960s and 1970s and garnered international attention upon completion as an urban planning experiment. The neighborhood is still considered part of urban architectural heritage. It is a neighborhood of gallery flats, low-rise buildings with flat roofs, and abundant greenery — the three-hundred-hectare Emmerdennen forest directly borders the neighborhood.

The apartment supply in Emmerhout is extensive: the gallery flats along Laan van de Bork and Laan van de Iemenhees offer many two- and three-room apartments. The neighborhood is aging — there are more elderly and fewer young people than the city average — and housing corporations Lefier and Domesta are working on sustainability and adapting the housing stock. Rental prices are low compared to the center and the new development areas. The downside: parts of the neighborhood feel outdated, and energy bills in unrenovated flats can be significant.

Angelslo

Angelslo, southeast of the center, was once a farming settlement with two dolmens (D46 and D47 — they are still there). The neighborhood was built in the 1950s and 1960s to accommodate the influx of industrial workers: identical homes, designed by a duo of architects, with eleven so-called Egmond flats scattered along the neighborhood's edge. Facilities — shops, schools, mosque, general practitioner practices — are concentrated along the Statenweg.

The Emmen Revisited program, a collaboration between the municipality, Lefier, and Domesta, specifically targets Angelslo, Emmerhout, and Bargeres: not only housing renovation but also addressing social issues. Lefier is actively 'in-ponding' private property in Angelslo — buying up and renovating homes to improve the quality of the neighborhood. For tenants, this means that gradually more renovated and sustainable housing will become available, but the neighborhood is in transition.

Bargeres

Bargeres is located southwest, on both sides of the Oranjekanaal. The name refers to the communal field (es) of the villages Noordbarge and Zuidbarge — heath villages that have been absorbed by Emmen's growth but are still recognizable as hamlets. Bargeres was built in the 1970s and 1980s and has a Brinkenweg as its central axis. The neighborhood has its own vision, developed with residents and corporations, and receives funding from the National Housing Fund for renewal.

The apartment offerings in Bargeres are predominantly in porch flats and small-scale complexes. It is one of the more affordable neighborhoods, with a relatively large proportion of corporate-owned properties (Domesta is active here with homes on Spehornerbrink, Zweelerbrink, and the surrounding area).

Rietlanden and Parc Sandur

Rietlanden, built from 1983 onwards, is the fifth large expansion district and popular due to the variety of housing types and its location on the Kleine and Grote Rietplas. It was the neighborhood that required the most preparatory work — twelve years of planning before the first stone was laid, delayed by recession and decreasing influx. The first residents looked out over a sandy plain and had to travel to Bargeres for groceries. Now it is a mature neighborhood with its own shopping center on Valkenveld, schools, and the DZOH football club.

Parc Sandur, the southernmost neighborhood, is located at the very tip of the Hondsrug on the Grote Rietplas. The name comes from the geological term 'sandur' — the outwash plain of a glacier. It is a quiet neighborhood with limited shopping options, but its waterside location compensates.

Delftlanden

Delftlanden is the new development area on Emmen's eastern edge, under construction since 2008. It is the newest neighborhood, ideally situated near the arterial roads to Groningen, Zwolle, and Germany. The homes are modern and energy-efficient, with a mix of single-family homes and apartments. The concept of 'rural living' is central here: spacious plots, low density, plenty of greenery. The rental housing supply in Delftlanden is limited but growing.

Responding to an apartment

Emmen's rental market is less strained than in the west of the country. The supply is large, prices are low, and waiting times at corporations are shorter. This makes Emmen attractive for those coming from the Randstad, but it also means you must accept what the city is: a former industrial center in transition, with neighborhoods being refurbished and a center reinventing itself. Set up an alert on our platform so you get immediate notification of new listings.