Renting a Home in Lelystad
A polder city with an image problem and homes that are twice as large as what you'd get for the same price in Amsterdam.
Lelystad has only existed since the 1960s. The polder was reclaimed, the city was drawn on a blank sheet of paper, and the first residents came from Amsterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht. This is still the profile: people who don't find elsewhere what they get here. Space. Greenery. A garden. The municipality has approximately 84,000 inhabitants (2024) and is growing by about 2,300 per year. The ambition is to reach 100,000 inhabitants around 2032. Anyone considering renting a home in Lelystad will find themselves in a city that is reinventing itself, with over five thousand new homes planned.
Houses in Lelystad
Lelystad's image isn't great. Lelystad residents know this themselves. The city scores low on livability rankings. But residents who actually live there consistently mention the same things: the space between houses, the greenery around the corner, the affordability. The train to Amsterdam takes 57 minutes. That's long. But the home you get for the same budget is twice as large as in Almere and four times as large as in Amsterdam. This calculation means that more and more people are seriously considering the option.
Atolwijk: The Family Neighborhood with Courtyards and Play Areas
The Atolwijk, in the heart of Lelystad, is locally known as the “mama of Lelystad.” Built in the 1980s and 1990s, it's designed with a courtyard structure and traffic-calmed residential areas. Six neighborhoods: Atolwijk, De Meent, De Schans, De Stelling, De Veste, and Oostrandpark. Located between the Stadshart (city center) and shopping center Lelycentre.
The homes are predominantly single-family houses: terraced houses, corner houses, semi-detached houses. Many have been recently renovated. The courtyard layout means children can play outside in areas where no cars drive. This may sound like a detail, but for families with young children, it's one of the reasons they want to live here. The neighborhood is complete: schools, supermarkets, doctors, all within cycling distance.
€1,650 / month
€1,660 / month
€1,050 / month
€2,500 / month
€2,500 / month
Waterwijk and Zuiderzeewijk: The First Generation
The Zuiderzeewijk is the oldest neighborhood in Lelystad, located near the City Park. The homes have largely been renovated. Lots of greenery, quiet streetscape, the kind of neighborhood where you know your neighbors and take a walk in the park in the evenings.
The Waterwijk, northeast of the center, is spacious, designed according to a structural plan from 1976. The neighborhood has the character of an early polder expansion area: wide streets, low-rise buildings, water as a structuring element. Schools, shops, and sports clubs are within the neighborhood itself. These aren't neighborhoods that stand out for architecture, but they offer what Lelystad does best: space, greenery, and functional family homes with gardens large enough to do something with.
Warande: The New Lakeside Neighborhood
Warande is Lelystad's newest inhabited neighborhood, in the south of the city, with construction started in 2009. The neighborhood is located on the Markermeer and is surrounded by canals, avenues, and young forests. The layout is different from the older neighborhoods: more variation in housing types, more attention to sustainability, and energy-efficient construction methods.
The homes are a mix of terraced houses, semi-detached houses, and detached houses. Projects like Nordlys, De Notentuin, and Het Eiland (houses on a peninsula) give an idea of the type of construction. Affordable rental properties in the free sector will also become available. The neighborhood is not yet completely finished. The last parts of De Nooten and De Elzen will be delivered around 2027. This means: construction traffic and unfinished streets, but also a neighborhood that is becoming increasingly complete.
Lelystad Haven: Where the City Began
Lelystad Haven is where the first residents of the polder lived. Wooden workers' houses from the early days of land reclamation. Meanwhile, it has become a waterfront neighborhood: the Bataviahaven with historical ships, Batavialand as a museum, and the Fashion Outlet as a crowd-puller.
The supply of rental homes here is limited. The neighborhood is small, and turnover is low. But for those seeking the water and willing to wait, Lelystad Haven offers something that the inland neighborhoods cannot: views of the harbor, boats at your doorstep, and the atmosphere of a place that is more waterfront than polder city.
Houses Price Breakdown in Lelystad
| Bedrooms | Average | Median | Price Range | Available |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | €1,650 | €1,650 | €1,650 - €1,650 | 0 / 1 |
3 | €1,562 | €1,660 | €800 - €2,350 | 1 |
4+ | €2,176 | €1,975 | €1,650 - €2,750 | 3 |
Zuiderhage: The City Doubles
The largest new construction plan in Lelystad is called Zuiderhage. The numbers are substantial: nine to sixteen thousand homes planned. This could eventually double the city. The project is designed to be sustainable and climate-adaptive, but most plots are still in the planning phase.
For renters, Zuiderhage means that the supply will grow structurally over the coming decades. Not tomorrow, not next year, but in the longer term. The first plots are going out to tender. It is a dot on the horizon that shows Lelystad is not standing still but building towards a bigger future.
Oostvaardersplassen within cycling distance
The Oostvaardersplassen, the wetland area with Konik horses, red deer, and sea eagles, borders the city. The train route along the area has been voted the most beautiful train ride in the Netherlands. This is nature of European level, directly accessible from a residential area. No other Dutch city offers that.
A city built on a blank sheet of paper
Lelystad has no medieval center, no organically grown structure, no historical layers. The city was designed all at once, placed in the polder, and has since been expanded neighborhood by neighborhood. This explains the space between buildings, the wide streets, the abundant greenery. It's urban planning without the limitations of an existing city.
Batavialand and the harbor
The reconstructed VOC ship the Batavia, the museum about the history of Flevoland, the historic shipyard: Batavialand at the harbor is the cultural anchor point of the city. Bataviahaven itself combines living, culture, and recreation in a way that the polder neighborhoods do not.
Anyone looking for a home in Lelystad has more choice and more time than in most Randstad municipalities. That doesn't mean you can sit back and relax. Desirable neighborhoods like Warande and Atolwijk attract plenty of interest. Have your documents ready: employer's statement, payslips, copy of ID. Set up a search alert so you receive a notification immediately. And drive through it once before you decide. The image you have of Lelystad is probably not the image you'll get when you're there.
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