Rent an Apartment in Rotterdam

Rotterdam is an apartment city. More than in any other Dutch city, apartments are the dominant housing form here. This began with the post-1940 reconstruction, when the devastated city center was rebuilt upwards. It continued with the post-war neighborhoods in the South, where portico flats and gallery flats became the standard. And it persists with the towers that have shaped the skyline over the past twenty years: Rem Koolhaas' De Rotterdam, Montevideo, Boston, New Orleans. Nowhere else in the Netherlands can you live higher than in Rotterdam.

The city has approximately 655,000 residents (2025) and nearly 298,000 homes, 66 percent of which are rental properties. The apartment offerings range from penthouses on the Wilhelminapier to upper floors in Delfshaven, from new-build towers in the Central District to portico flats in Lombardijen. Anyone considering renting an apartment in Rotterdam has a choice of more types, more price ranges, and more atmospheres than in any other city. The Rotterdam rental housing page covers neighborhoods with single-family homes. This guide focuses on the layers of the city.

The Central District: Living in the Skyline

Over fifteen years, the area around Rotterdam Central Station has transformed from an office district into an urban residential area. De Delftse Poort, the Groothandelsgebouw, and the new station form the backdrop. Around them, towers with hundreds of apartments have risen: the Calypso, First Rotterdam, the Depot quarter. These are homes for those who prioritize urban living above all else. City views, the station within walking distance, the Coolsingel just around the corner.

The apartments in the Central District are predominantly new builds. Efficient layouts, good insulation, often with a balcony or roof terrace. Rental prices are in the upper echelons of the Rotterdam market. The downside of the city center is what every city center has: hustle and bustle, construction activity, little greenery. Those who rent here consciously choose the city in its most concentrated form.

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4-room apartment with balcony in Oud Charlois

€907 / month

Boergoensevliet, Rotterdam

2

52 m²

Apartment

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Furnished 4-room apartment in Middelland

€1,810 / month

Beukelsdijk, Rotterdam

3

77 m²

Immediately

Apartment

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3-room student apartment with garden near Rotterdam Central Station

€1,267 / month

Molenwaterweg, Rotterdam

2

75 m²

Apartment

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72 m² maisonette near Rotterdam CS

€1,020 / month

Molenwaterweg 11, Rotterdam

2

72 m²

4/15/2027

Apartment

Furnished studio in Kralingen

€1,090 / month

Taborstraat, Rotterdam

1

35 m²

Immediately

Studio

Short stay in Cool, the heart of Rotterdam

€1,315 / month

Mauritsstraat 249N, Rotterdam

5/5/2026

Apartment

Kop van Zuid and the Wilhelminapier: Towers on the River

Kop van Zuid is the most frequently photographed part of Rotterdam. The Erasmus Bridge connects the city center with the Wilhelminapier, where De Rotterdam (three towers, 44 floors), Montevideo, and New Orleans define the silhouette. These buildings are designed to be seen, with apartments offering views over the Maas, the city center, and the port.

The Rijnhaven, directly behind the Wilhelminapier, is the next area undergoing transformation. The Floating Office, the Fenix Food Factory on the Katendrecht side, plans for floating homes. It's an area where architecture and water converge in a way unique to Rotterdam. Rental prices on the Wilhelminapier are the highest in the South, but the location is unparalleled. For those with the budget, living on the Maas in a Koolhaas tower is the most Rotterdamesque experience one can have.

Kralingen: Upper Floors by the Forest

Kralingen is the neighborhood that makes all the lists. The Kralingse Bos with its lake, Oudedijk as a shopping street, the mansions along Kralingse Plaslaan. Most of these mansions have been divided into apartments and upper floors. High ceilings, sliding doors, original details in homes on the better streets. More modest upper floors in the side streets, where buildings are smaller and staircases narrower.

The Kralingse Bos is 200 hectares of green space and water in the middle of the city. Runners, rowers, terraces by the lake. This combination of urban neighborhood and park makes Kralingen one of Rotterdam's most expensive districts, and this is reflected in the offerings. Apartments are snapped up quickly, and competition is high. Those who want Kralingen but lack the budget can look at Crooswijk, directly to the west: pre-war buildings, comparable housing types, lower rental prices.

Delfshaven and the Nieuwe Westen: The City's Upper Floors

Delfshaven is the part of Rotterdam that resembles a traditional Dutch town. The historic harbor, the Pilgrim Fathers' Church, the facades along the Voorhaven. It's the part of the city center that survived the 1940 bombardment, and it shows. Around this historic core are streets with pre-war upper-floor apartments: three or four layers, narrow staircases, high rooms. These are the apartments Rotterdam had before the towers came.

The Nieuwe Westen, directly south of Delfshaven, has a similar housing stock. Pre-war building blocks with upper and lower apartments, intersected by the Nieuwe Binnenweg as a shopping and hospitality street. The neighborhood is multicultural, lively, sometimes a bit chaotic. Rental prices are below the city average. For renters looking for an affordable apartment with character in a neighborhood not yet fully gentrified, Delfshaven and the Nieuwe Westen are excellent areas to search.

The Scheepvaartkwartier: The Quiet Side of the City Center

Between Central Station and Erasmus MC lies the Scheepvaartkwartier, one of the smallest and quietest neighborhoods in the city center. The Veerhaven, the Westelijk Handelsterrein, the mansions along the Westzeedijk. The quarter owes its name to the shipping companies and maritime businesses that were once located here. The buildings are nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century, with apartments in former mansions and office buildings.

Museum Park, directly to the south, adds the Boijmans van Beuningen Depot, the Kunsthal, and the Nieuwe Instituut as neighbors. It's the cultural heart of Rotterdam, and living next to it offers a different urban feeling than the Central District or Kralingen. The supply is small, turnover is low, and prices are high. But whoever finds an apartment here lives in the part of Rotterdam where maritime history lies closest to the surface.

South Beyond the Towers: Charlois and IJsselmonde

Not all apartments in South Rotterdam are in towers along the Maas. Behind the Wilhelminapier and Katendrecht lie the neighborhoods that make up the largest part of the southern bank. Charlois features portico flats from the 1950s and 60s along wide streets with plenty of greenery. IJsselmonde, the former island, offers gallery flats and multi-story homes from the 1960s to 80s, with Oud-IJsselmonde as a historic core nestled within.

Rental prices in these neighborhoods are significantly lower than in North Rotterdam or along the Maas. The metro connects Charlois and IJsselmonde to the city center in ten to fifteen minutes. These are neighborhoods where the supply is larger and competition is less fierce. Not every apartment is renovated, not every street is picturesque. But for renters who prioritize price over aesthetics, South Rotterdam beyond the towers offers the most options.

Renting an apartment in Rotterdam means choosing from a market with more variety than any other Dutch city. From penthouses on the Maas to upper floors in Delfshaven, from new-build towers to portico flats in South Rotterdam. Make sure income proof and identification are ready, set up a search alert, and respond quickly. Look beyond the city center and Kralingen: Delfshaven, Nieuwe Westen, and the South offer more opportunities, more square meters, and sometimes more character for less money.