Rent an Apartment in Zwolle

The Zwolle rental homes page covers the city district by district, focusing on single-family homes and gardens. Here, the emphasis is on stacked construction: the upper-floor apartments in the star-shaped city center, the portico flats in Diezerpoort and Holtenbroek, the residential towers rising along the city canal, and the Hanzekwartier where a completely new high-rise residential area is being planned. Zwolle has over 134,000 residents (2026) and is growing. The station is the most important hub in the North and East of the Netherlands: intercity trains to Amsterdam, Groningen, Leeuwarden, and Enschede split here. Renting an apartment in Zwolle means living in a city compact enough to cycle through, with a train connection that takes you everywhere.

Upper-Floor Apartments in the Star-Shaped City Center

Zwolle's city center has a medieval, star-shaped layout, surrounded by canals. The Thorbeckegracht, the Stadsgracht, the Blijmarkt: these are streets where the facades date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the homes behind are divided into floors. Living in the center here means upper-floor apartments above shops, flats in former warehouses, and floors in canal houses with steep stairs and crooked doors.

The supply is small and competition is high. Freestanding homes are scarce here; everything is stacked. Parking is limited to resident permits or a parking garage. But you live within walking distance of everything: the Grote Markt, Museum de Fundatie, the Peperbus, the Sassenpoort. For those who prioritize atmosphere over square meters, the city center offers Zwolle's most idiosyncratic apartment selection.

Penthouse with Roof Terrace in Zwolle

€2,375 / month

Diezerpoortenplas, Zwolle

2

75 m²

7/1/2026

Apartment

Apartment with 40 m² roof terrace in Zwolle

€1,138 / month

Rodeleeuwsteeg 20, Zwolle

1

45 m²

6/1/2026

Apartment

Sustainable 1-bedroom apartment Zwolle

€1,056 / month

Koningsplein 5F, Zwolle

1

35 m²

5/1/2026

Apartment

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Energy-efficient 1-bedroom apartment in Oud-Assendorp

€933 / month

Bartjensstraat 13A, Zwolle

1

38 m²

5/1/2026

Apartment

Upper-floor apartment in the heart of Zwolle

€1,000 / month

Diezerplein 9, Zwolle

45 m²

5/1/2026

Apartment

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Furnished 1-bedroom apartment in Zwolle city center

€1,297 / month

Vispoortenplas, Zwolle

1

59 m²

5/1/2026

Apartment

De Zwaan: Two Towers on the City Canal

On the Schuttevaerkade, where the city canal opens into open water, “De Zwaan” (The Swan) is being built: six buildings with a total of 106 apartments and four townhouses. The two most striking are the Westertoren (West Tower, 13 floors, 28 apartments) and the Oostertoren (East Tower, 9 floors, with a double-pitched roof). The complex is located at the corner of Schuttevaerkade and Govert Flinckstraat.

De Zwaan is changing Zwolle's skyline. The Westertoren will be one of the city's tallest residential buildings. It's new construction on the city canal, within walking distance of the station and the city center. Further into the center, De Weezen is being developed: approximately 180 homes spread over fifteen buildings along the city canal, from lofts to penthouses. And on Papensteeg are the eleven apartments of De Blijde, ranging from 58 to 151 square meters. Zwolle's center is expanding, and it's happening upwards.

Diezerpoort: Two Thirds Rental Housing

Diezerpoort is located directly east of the city center and is one of Zwolle's oldest districts. It consists of sub-districts with names like Het Noorden, de Schildersbuurt, Bollebieste, and de Indische Buurt. What sets Diezerpoort apart from the rest of Zwolle: two-thirds of its housing stock is rental housing. That's double the urban average.

The buildings are a mix of pre-war laborers' houses and post-war portico flats of two to four stories, built to keep construction costs low. It's a diverse neighborhood, both in residents and housing types. New construction is also underway: Parkpoort will deliver 101 new mid-segment apartments. Diezerpoort may not appear in design magazines, but it is the district with the broadest apartment offering and the highest turnover in central Zwolle.

Holtenbroek: Post-War Flats with Musical Names

Holtenbroek is the post-war expansion district north of Zwolle, built in the 1960s. The district has the most gallery flats in the city, along with the Aa-landen. The architecture is sober but not without character: the portico flats have proportions and details often overlooked at first glance. On Palestrinalaan, four high-rise flats stand at the edge of the neighborhood, two of which are known as the Elvis Presley flat and the Louis Armstrong flat.

The flats are being refurbished. Garage boxes on the ground floor have been replaced by transparent storages, entrances have been enlarged with more glass in the plinth, and eleven new apartments have been built in place of former storage areas. On Telemannstraat and elsewhere in the district, portico homes have been “respectfully upgraded,” as the architectural trade journal called it. Another 74 new apartments for mid-range and social rent are being added. Holtenbroek is not changing its character, but the quality of its existing stock is rising.

The Hanzekwartier: A District on the Drawing Board

Adjacent to Zwolle station is Hanzeland, an office area spanning 200,000 square meters of floor space. It is being transformed into the Hanzekwartier: a mixed-use district with residential towers 50 to 70 meters high, space for 800 to 1,000 new homes, workplaces, and education. Windesheim University of Applied Sciences is already located there. The transformation will start from 2026.

This is Zwolle's largest future apartment project, right next to the station. For those looking for a home now, the Hanzekwartier is still a construction site. But it explains why the area around the station will undergo significant changes in the next ten years. Zwolle is building its own station district, and it will be stacked.

Stacked Searching in a Growing City

The apartment supply in Zwolle is concentrated in a handful of areas. The city center has the most character but the least supply. Diezerpoort has the highest turnover. Holtenbroek offers the lowest entry point. And along the city canal and at the station, new towers and complexes are being built that didn't exist five years ago.

Set up a search query with filters for Zwolle and apartment category, and you'll receive a notification as soon as something new becomes available. Have pay stubs and employer statements ready. And don't limit yourself to the city center: Diezerpoort is right next door, Holtenbroek is a ten-minute bike ride, and the new construction along the city canal combines a central location with contemporary finishes.