Renting a Home in Emmen

With over 109,000 inhabitants, the municipality of Emmen is the second largest in the Northern Netherlands, but it spreads these over an area of 285 square kilometers. This is no coincidence. After the Second World War, when industry attracted workers and the city grew explosively, Emmen deliberately chose the concept of an 'open green city': new residential areas at a distance from the existing core, with forests, esdorps (historic agricultural fields), and heathlands in between. The Emmerdennen, three hundred hectares of forest, are not on the city's edge but right in its heart — sandwiched between Emmerhout, Emmerschans, and Emmermeer.

The result is a municipality that consists of two worlds. The city of Emmen itself, with its lobe-shaped residential areas on the Hondsrug. And around it, a ring of villages: esdorp villages on the sandy soils that have been inhabited for five thousand years, and peat colonies in the lowlands that only emerged in the nineteenth century along the peat canals. Anyone considering renting a home in Emmen is not just choosing a house but a landscape.

The Esdorp Villages: Noordbarge, Zuidbarge, Westenesch

The oldest layer of settlement in the municipality is not in the center but in the esdorp villages surrounding the city. Noordbarge and Zuidbarge are on the foothills of the Hondsrug and have formally become city districts due to urban growth, but they still function as recognizable villages with their own commons (brinks), farms, and neighborhood associations. Westenesch, west of the Emmeresch, has remained the most independent and has a protected village scape due to the old Saxon farms along the brink.

The housing supply in these esdorp villages is limited but unique. These are former farms converted into homes, detached houses on spacious plots, and occasionally new builds that respect the village scape. The rental market here is minimal — if a home becomes available, it's more the exception than the rule. But for those with patience, it offers a living environment unlike anywhere else in the municipality: esdorps that turn golden yellow in autumn, sandy paths to the Emmerdennen, and a silence you won't find in the city districts.

Weerdinge, to the northeast, follows the same pattern. It is an esdorp village with dolmens in the immediate vicinity and an agricultural character that is slowly changing as newcomers discover the area.

Semi-detached house of 116 m² with large garden

€1,100 / month

Bruntingerbrink 160, Emmen

4

116 m²

4/1/2026

Semi-detached House

The City Districts: Family Homes in the Lobes

The large city districts — Emmermeer, Emmerhout, Angelslo, Bargeres, Rietlanden — have already been described in our overview of apartments in Emmen from the perspective of flats and complexes. But each district also has a substantial stock of single-family homes: terraced houses, corner houses, semi-detached houses, and here and there a detached home.

The difference between the districts lies in the construction period and layout. Emmermeer and Angelslo (1950s and 1960s) have smaller homes with compact gardens, built for the industrial workers who moved to Emmen. Emmerhout (1960s and 1970s) combines gallery flats with more spacious single-family homes in a green setting. Bargeres (1970s and 1980s) has wider streets and larger plots. The Rietlanden (from 1983) offer the most variety in housing types, and its location by the Kleine and Grote Rietplas makes it attractive for families. Parc Sandur, the southernmost district, borders the Grote Rietplas and has a recreational character.

In all these districts, housing corporations Lefier and Domesta are major players. The Emmen Revisited program focuses on Angelslo, Emmerhout, and Bargeres: demolition of outdated homes, new construction of age-friendly houses, and making the existing stock more sustainable. This means that more renovated and new rental homes will become available in the coming years, but also that some neighborhoods are in transition.

Delftlanden: The New-Build District

Delftlanden, on the eastern edge of the city, is the youngest district and the only part of Emmen that truly feels like a new-build area. The homes are modern, energy-efficient, and spaciously designed. The concept of 'rural living' is paramount here: low density, lots of greenery, and direct access to the main roads to Zwolle and Groningen. The rental housing supply is growing slowly, but it is predominantly an owner-occupied district. Finding a rental home here is fortunate.

Klazienaveen

Klazienaveen is the largest community outside Emmen-city and functions as an independent village with its own shopping center, schools, sports clubs, and unique identity. It is a peat colony — formed along the canals dug through the Bourtangerveen in the nineteenth century for peat extraction. The village has a linear structure typical of all peat colonies: buildings along a straight road or canal, with fields on either side.

The housing supply is broader than in the city: more single-family homes, more gardens, lower prices. The Molenbuurt is a renovated neighborhood with modern homes. It is the place for those who want the amenities of a large village without the city's prices. The distance to Emmen-center is ten minutes by car.

Nieuw-Amsterdam and Erica

Nieuw-Amsterdam, west of Emmen on the Oranjekanaal, and Erica, to the north, are the other two large peat colony villages. Nieuw-Amsterdam has a fruit and vegetable auction (now largely gone, but the structure remains), a station on the Emmen–Zwolle line, and a compact village center with shops and hospitality. Erica is a former buckwheat colony — the village arose not from peat extraction but from buckwheat cultivation on the burned-out peat. It has its own greenhouse horticulture sector.

Both villages offer single-family homes that would be unaffordable in the city, on plots that are two to three times larger than in the city districts. The downside: the level of amenities is more limited, and without a car, you are dependent on the bus.

The Rest of the Municipality

The municipality of Emmen comprises dozens of villages and hamlets: Barger-Compascuum, Emmer-Compascuum, Nieuw-Dordrecht, Nieuw-Weerdinge, Roswinkel, Schoonebeek, Veenoord, Weiteveen, Zwartemeer. Each is a peat colony with its own character, its own neighborhood association, and a housing stock consisting predominantly of single-family homes. Housing corporation Woonservice is active here alongside Lefier and Domesta.

The Bargerveen, the last remnant of the Bourtangerveen, is located in the southeast of the municipality — a high moor reserve unique in the Netherlands. The Veenpark in Barger-Compascuum tells the story of peat cutting. These are not mere tourist attractions but the context in which you live if you rent a house in one of the outer villages.

Renting a Home in Emmen: Responding

The market in Emmen is more spacious than in the west of the country. There is choice, prices are low, and waiting times are short. This makes it attractive for families from the Randstad looking for space, but it does require acceptance of what the municipality is: a former industrial center with neighborhoods undergoing renewal, peat colonial villages with their own dynamics, and distances that you cannot always cover by bike. Set up a notification on our platform so you receive an immediate alert for new listings.