Renting a Home in IJmuiden

IJmuiden only came into existence in 1876. Before that, there was nothing but dunes and sea. When the North Sea Canal was opened, King William III named the settlement at its mouth: IJ-muiden, mouth of the IJ. Fishermen discovered the breakwaters as a safe mooring. By 1886, there was a railway connection to the inland. In 1896, its own fishing port. By 1914, the fleet consisted of 155 trawlers, a third of the entire Dutch fishing fleet. And in 1918, Koninklijke Nederlandsche Hoogovens chose this location for the first Dutch steel factory, due to its direct access to the sea. These two industries, fish and steel, have shaped IJmuiden. Those considering renting a home in IJmuiden are renting in a city that owes its existence to the canal that runs right through it.

IJmuiden has 32,695 inhabitants (2025) and is the largest town within the municipality of Velsen, which has a total of about 70,000 inhabitants distributed over seven towns. The housing stock: 16,200 homes, of which 55 percent are rental properties. Nearly sixty percent was built before 1965. This explains the streetscape: post-war porch flats, terraced houses from the reconstruction era, and here and there pre-war workers' homes from the time when the port and the Hoogovens attracted workers from far and wide. IJmuiden no longer has a train station. Passenger service ceased in 1983, and the railway line was converted into a bus lane in 2017. Bus 385 takes you to Haarlem Centraal in 27 minutes, every fifteen minutes. Line 382 runs directly to Amsterdam Sloterdijk. It's not a train, but it works.

IJmuiden-Noord: The Oldest Streets of the Port City

IJmuiden-Noord is the part of the city closest to its origin. With 9,485 inhabitants (2025) and 4,584 homes, it is densely populated: 8,394 inhabitants per square kilometer. Almost half of the homes date from before 1945. These are the streets that were built when the port and the Hoogovens needed workers, and those workers needed a place to sleep.

In the 1920s and 30s, the Kennemerlaan was IJmuiden's main shopping street. The architecture from that period is still recognizable. Most of the shopping has shifted to Lange Nieuwstraat in IJmuiden-Zuid, but the pre-war buildings give the street character. The neighborhood is a mix of terraced houses, post-war porch flats, and some new constructions. Those who rent here live in the oldest part of IJmuiden, close to the harbor, the fish market, and the locks.

Oud-IJmuiden: From Fishing Quarter to New Development Area

Oud-IJmuiden is the former heart of the fishing town. After the canal opened in 1876, a neighborhood with shops, pubs, churches, and hotels emerged around Willemsplein. There was a cinema, an annual fair, the kind of life that accompanies a growing port city. After World War II, the neighborhood largely lost its residential function. City architect Dudok designated the area for trade and industry. For decades, it was a forgotten corner.

This changed from 2009. The Oud-IJmuiden redevelopment project delivered approximately 550 homes, based on the pre-war street pattern. The last completions ran until 2023. The result is a neighborhood that is new but feels old in its design. At the edges, there are blind facades due to the noise from industry and the DFDS ferry to Newcastle. This is not a detail to ignore: those who rent on that side of Oud-IJmuiden will hear the harbor. It fits the city, but you must want it.

Zee- and Duinwijk: Modernism in the Dunes

To the west of the North Sea Canal are Duinwijk and Zeewijk. Duinwijk, approved in 1954, was built in the 1950s and 60s according to plans by city architect W.M. Dudok. Single-family homes and small porch apartment buildings, accessed via Planetenweg as the central axis. Heerenduinweg forms the border with Zuid-Kennemerland National Park. Cross that road, and you're in 3,800 hectares of dunes and forest.

Zeewijk is more ambitious. Designed by Wissing in collaboration with Dudok, built from 1965, in seven years. The concept: four identical subdivision stamps, loosely placed in the dune landscape. Each stamp combines high-rise, mid-rise, and low-rise buildings. The idea was that residents would feel free from what was then called "oppressive social control." Today, most of the 10,185 residents of Zee- and Duinwijk live here. Zeewijkpassage functions as an indoor shopping center. In the 1980s, a small neighborhood was added, and in the late 1990s, a master plan followed that maintained the structure but modernized details. The total: 1,785 homes, built in a place where rabbits still ran through the dunes in 1960. Those looking for a single-family home within walking distance of the dunes start here.

IJmuiden-Zuid: Seven Neighborhoods Around Lange Nieuwstraat

IJmuiden-Zuid has 8,520 inhabitants (2025), divided among the Paterskerkbuurt, Tussenbeeksbuurt, Velseroord, Schildersbuurt, Bomenbuurt, Rivierenbuurt, and Vogelbuurt. Dudok planned an east-west axis here that would connect the city: Lange Nieuwstraat. Today, it is the main shopping area, with more than fifty shops and catering establishments.

The Rivierenbuurt, with 2,170 inhabitants on 69 hectares, is a direct elaboration of Dudok's urban plan. Green zones such as Moerbergplantsoen and Gijzenveltplantsoen break up the buildings. The neighborhoods in Zuid are predominantly post-war, with a mix of single-family homes and porch flats. Less dense than IJmuiden-Noord, greener, and a logical choice for families.

Velserbroek: The Polder District

Velserbroek is strictly speaking not part of IJmuiden but a separate residential area within the municipality of Velsen. With 15,420 inhabitants (2025), it is even the largest district of the municipality. The first pile was driven into the ground on November 22, 1985, in the former Velserbroekpolder. For centuries a swamp area, then dairy farming and flower cultivation, now a residential area with approximately 6,000 homes.

The buildings date from the 1980s and 90s: varied architecture, lots of greenery, water features, and the Westbroekplas as a recreational spot. It is a different world than pre-war IJmuiden-Noord or modernist Zeewijk. Velserbroek feels like a Vinex-avant-la-lettre (a precursor to Dutch suburban development). Spacious family homes, wide streets, parking in front of the door. For those who want space but can do without the character of the port city, it is an alternative within the same municipality.

The rental market in IJmuiden is smaller than in Haarlem or Amsterdam, but competition is growing. The combination of sea, lower rents, and acceptable travel times to the Randstad attracts an increasing number of seekers. The lack of a train station deters some, which keeps the pressure lower than in coastal towns with direct rail connections. But don't count on renting a home in IJmuiden being easy because of this. Set up a search alert so you receive immediate notification of new listings, and have income proof and identification ready digitally. In a city with 16,200 homes, most of which do not come onto the market, speed counts.