Renting a Home in the Haarlemmerhoutkwartier

The Haarlemmerhoutkwartier is located on the south side of the city center, wrapped around the Haarlemmerhout. The district has about 13,000 inhabitants (2025) and is, with the exception of the Rozenprieel neighborhood, the most prosperous part of Haarlem. Wide avenues, city villas and mansions from the early twentieth century, deep gardens that merge into the park landscape.

63% of the homes are owner-occupied, 37% are rental. The average WOZ value is among the highest in the city. Renting a home in the Haarlemmerhoutkwartier is not impossible, but it requires budget and patience. The supply is limited, and the competition comes from tenants who know what they get here.

The Haarlemmerhout: Sixty Hectares of City Forest

The Haarlemmerhout is not a park with flowerbeds and benches. It is a forest. Sixty hectares, divided into three parts: the Kleine Hout with a petting zoo and pancake house, the Grote Hout with ancient trees and rare plants, and the Eindenhout. Nineteen trees are registered as monumental.

The forest has been destroyed and replanted multiple times. During the Hook and Cod Wars in 1426, during the Cheese and Bread Riots in 1492, and during the Spanish Siege of Haarlem in 1572-1573. Each time it grew back. On a map from 1560, the Haarlemmerhout already had its current shape. Between 1955 and 1961, the park was given its current layout.

It is a national monument and the oldest city park in the Netherlands. For residents of the Haarlemmerhoutkwartier, it is the daily route: jogging, walking the dog, cutting through on the way to the center. The Grote Markt is a fifteen-minute walk through the forest.

City Villas and Mansions

The homes around the Haarlemmerhout mostly date from 1900-1925. This accounts for 35% of the total housing stock. The architecture is what you expect from that period: wide facades, high rooms, bay windows, decorative elements in the facade. Many properties have never been split. The houses that have been divided offer apartments with the dimensions of an average single-family home.

A second construction peak occurred in 1980-1990: 14% of the homes date from that period. This is new construction on former parcel land, more compact than the original villas but still more spacious than the Haarlem average.

The residents have, on average, the highest incomes in the city. 49% of the homes are apartments, 34% are terraced houses. Detached and semi-detached houses make up the rest. It is not an apartment complex area. It is a villa district where some of the villas have been converted into apartments.

Frederikspark: The Villa Park

Frederikspark is the showpiece of the quarter. Designed in 1862 as a villa park with an oval central lawn bordered by walking paths. The villas stand on spacious plots, separated by green hedges. Each house overlooks the lawn. The entire ensemble is a national monument.

The Houtplein forms the hinge between Frederikspark and the city center. The square is being transformed into a green space that marks the transition from city to park. For renters in the Haarlemmerhoutkwartier, Houtplein is the daily hub: this is where you walk from the Grote Houtstraat into the greenery.

Connection to the City Center

The Kleine Houtweg and De Dreef run from the center to the Haarlemmerhoutkwartier. By bike, the Grote Markt is five minutes away. On foot, fifteen minutes, straight through the forest. Haarlem Station is a ten-minute bike ride. The Leidsevaart runs along the west side of the district towards Leiden.

It is this combination that makes the Haarlemmerhoutkwartier the most sought-after part of Haarlem. City center within walking distance. Forest as a front garden. Pre-war architecture. No noise. No traffic. Renting a home in the Haarlemmerhoutkwartier means living in the greenest and quietest part of the city, a stone's throw from the Grote Markt.

The rental supply in the Haarlemmerhoutkwartier is small. 37% of the homes are rental, but the free sector segment is a fraction of that. What becomes available are upper floors in mansions and apartments in split villas. The prices match the location. Have documents ready, respond the same day, and be realistic about the budget. This is the most expensive part of Haarlem. Those who can find a home here live in a place that exists nowhere else in the city.