Renting an Apartment in The Hague
The city where canal houses became apartments — and that's precisely the opportunity.
The Hague was not built as an apartment city. It was built as a city of mansions. Generations of civil servants, diplomats, and returned colonials had thousands of large residences built in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries — from Neo-Renaissance in the Archipelbuurt to Art Nouveau in Duinoord. When these houses became too large for individual residents, they were split. Upper and lower apartments, floor-by-floor flats, split mansions: the vast majority of apartments for rent in The Hague consist of former single-family homes given a second life.
Apartments in The Hague
This makes renting an apartment in The Hague fundamentally different from Rotterdam or Amsterdam. The ceilings are higher, the rooms larger, and the architecture has more character than in a typical apartment complex. But it also means: poorer insulation, steeper stairs, and noise nuisance from upstairs or downstairs neighbors if the building has not been properly converted. Anyone who understands The Hague market knows where the quality lies — and where the pitfalls are.
The Split Mansion: The Hague Standard
Nowhere else in the Netherlands will you find as many split mansions as in The Hague. The architecture lends itself to it: the buildings are wide, the floors high, and most houses already had separate front and back doors on the ground floor and upstairs. Over the course of the twentieth century, tens of thousands of these buildings were officially split into independent upper and lower apartments.
Ground-Floor Apartment
Private front door at street level, often a garden or patio. More space, fewer stairs, but sometimes less light.
Upper Apartment
Higher floors, more natural light, often a balcony at the rear. Steep Hague stairs are the price.
Porch Apartment
Post-war flat building with a shared staircase. More compact, but often better insulated than pre-war divisions.
When viewing a split mansion, it is essential to pay attention to the quality of the division. Is the building well insulated between floors? Are the pipes separate? Is there a subdivision deed? A professionally split property with its own energy label and separate meter cupboard is a very different story from a makeshift divided house where you can hear the downstairs neighbors' television.
€1,410 / month
€1,625 / month
€1,981 / month
€498 / month
€1,012 / month
€809 / month
Archipelbuurt and Willemspark: Where Embassies and Apartments Coexist
The Archipelbuurt — also called 'the Indian Quarter' by locals — was built between 1860 and 1890 on the former estate of Duinweide. The district owes its name to the streets named after islands and places from the former colonies: Javastraat, Sumatrastraat, Borneostraat. The residents were exactly who you would expect in a civil servant city with colonial ties: retired Indies-goers, government officials, and military officers.
The mansions they had built are the type of property that dominates The Hague's apartment offerings today. Wide facades in Neo-Renaissance style, high ceilings, spacious rooms. Along Riouwstraat and Nassauplein are the most impressive examples. In Willemspark — the neighboring district on the other side of Javastraat — many of the original villas are now used as embassies or offices, but some are being re-transformed into residential homes. Approximately sixty percent of the homes in Willemspark are private rentals.
You can shop in Bankastraat, Frederikstraat, and the narrow part of Javastraat, which is full of restaurants. Westbroekpark and Scheveningse Bosjes are within walking distance. The apartments here are not cheap — expect higher price ranges — but the combination of architecture, location, and international atmosphere is unparalleled in The Hague.
Duinoord and Statenkwartier: The Wide Boulevards
West of the city center lie Duinoord and Statenkwartier, two districts that together form the heart of what in The Hague is called the 'international zone'. Most embassies are located here, the Peace Palace is here, and here runs Laan van Meerdervoort — one of the longest streets in the Netherlands, at over five kilometers.
Statenkwartier was built at the end of the nineteenth century in a mix of Art Nouveau and Jugendstil. Frederik Hendriklaan — known locally as 'De Fred' — is considered one of the most beautiful shopping streets in the country. The apartments in Statenkwartier are predominantly upper-floor apartments in split mansions, often with bay windows, stained glass, and original ornaments. The district is a protected cityscape.
Duinoord connects directly and has a slightly different character: the buildings are somewhat smaller, the streets a bit narrower, and there are more porch-style apartments from the interwar period. This makes the rental prices slightly more accessible than in Statenkwartier, while the amenities are identical. From both districts, you can cycle to the beach in ten minutes.
The Bomen- and Bloemenbuurt: Affordable with Character
Not every resident of The Hague can or wants to live in the embassy district. The Bomen- and Bloemenbuurt in the Segbroek district offers an alternative often overlooked by apartment seekers. The Bomenbuurt was built around 1910–1930, the Bloemenbuurt slightly later, and the result is a quiet residential area with wide streets, lots of greenery, and recognizable 1930s architecture.
The apartments here are predominantly porch-style apartments: three or four floors, a shared staircase, and compact but well-designed homes. Fahrenheitstraat and Thomsonlaan form the local shopping heart. The district borders the dunes and Westduinpark, which provides a surprising amount of nature for a city district. The residents are a mix of young families, elderly people who have lived there for decades, and starters who appreciate the affordability. Prices are noticeably below the level of Statenkwartier or Archipelbuurt.
Scheveningen: Apartments with Salt in the Air
Scheveningen is technically no longer a separate village but a district of The Hague, and the apartment offerings reflect that duality. Around the harbor and along the boulevard, you'll find modern new-build complexes with sea views, elevators, and parking garages. In Keizerstraat and the old village, there are smaller, more characteristic properties — former fishing houses converted into apartments.
Prices in Scheveningen vary enormously. A studio on the boulevard costs fundamentally different from an upper apartment in Keizerstraat. What all Scheveningen apartments share is their proximity to the beach and sea — and the hustle and bustle that comes with it. In summer, parking can be a nightmare, and the boulevard attracts tourists who don't always contribute to residential peace. Those who can live with that get a living space in return that doesn't exist elsewhere in The Hague.
The Binckhorst: The Apartment of the Future
Between the city center and Laan van NOI station lies the Binckhorst, a former industrial area undergoing The Hague's largest residential transformation. The former headquarters of the State Printing Office has already been converted into apartments. The Caballero Factory houses creative businesses. And complexes like Binck City Park — a vertical residential area with almost nine hundred apartments and a rooftop park — and residential towers up to 130 meters high are emerging on the site.
The Binckhorst is not a finished district. It is a construction site that will grow into a district with an expected thousands of homes over the coming years. For tenants who want to get in now, this offers opportunities: the first complexes have been completed, rental prices are competitive compared to established neighborhoods, and the location — central, with a station and highways around the corner — is strong. The disadvantage: you live among construction cranes, and amenities (shops, restaurants, green spaces) are still under development.
What an Apartment Costs
The Hague apartment market has a price spectrum wider than in most Dutch cities. A porch-style apartment in the Bloemenbuurt and a mansion apartment on Nassauplein are in completely different segments but both appear as 'apartment The Hague' on the same search engine.
Apartments Price Breakdown in The Hague
| Bedrooms | Average | Median | Price Range | Available |
|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | €1,131 | €1,016 | €875 - €1,615 | 1 |
1 | €1,227 | €1,070 | €477 - €3,250 | 91 |
2 | €2,132 | €2,195 | €498 - €5,000 | 61 |
3 | €2,264 | €2,060 | €792 - €5,750 | 42 |
4+ | €2,796 | €2,750 | €1,750 - €4,000 | 8 |
Most landlords apply an income requirement of three to four times the basic rent. For an apartment costing €1,500 per month, this means a gross monthly income of at least €4,500 to €6,000 — depending on the landlord. Dual earners are generally allowed to combine incomes. Have your pay slips, employer's statement, and ID ready before viewing; in the higher segments, apartments are sometimes taken the same day.
Pre-War vs. Post-War: A Conscious Choice
The difference between a pre-war and a post-war apartment in The Hague is not just aesthetic — it affects living comfort, energy costs, and maintenance.
Pre-war apartments (roughly everything before 1940) offer character: high ceilings, panel doors, ornaments, and often more square meters per room. But the insulation is weaker, the stairs are steeper, and the energy label can be disappointing. Post-war porch-style apartments (1950s to 1970s) are more compact and functional. Less charm, but better sound insulation, wider stairwells, and lower heating costs.
New builds in Binckhorst and around Scheveningen Haven combine modern insulation with urban architecture but inherently lack the character of a split nineteenth-century mansion. The choice is personal — but it helps to know what you're choosing.
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