Arranging gas and electricity when you move into a Dutch home

In many countries you arrive, the lights work, and a bill eventually turns up in someone’s name. The Netherlands does not work that way. Energy supply is a contract between you and a supplier you choose yourself, and the previous occupant’s contract does not transfer to you when you get the keys.

That difference is behind almost every problem newcomers run into: the fallback tariff that costs far more than a normal contract, the supplier that will not sign you up because you have no Dutch bank account yet, the argument six months later about who used which cubic metres of gas. This page sets out what to check, in what order.

Start with what the property already includes

Before you compare anything, read your huurcontract (rental contract). In the Dutch rental market energy is sometimes included and sometimes not, and the contract is the only reliable place to find out.

Furnished lets and short-stay accommodation often include gas, electricity and heating in the rent, or bundle them into servicekosten (service charges – a monthly amount alongside the base rent covering what the landlord arranges). If energy sits in there, you sign no supply contract. In unfurnished lets, the norm for longer tenancies, energy is your own responsibility.

Confirm in writing with the landlord whether service charges cover actual energy use or only communal costs such as stairwell lighting, and whether any included amount is fixed or settled later against real use.

How the home is heated, and why it decides what you arrange

Dutch homes are not all connected to the same things, and the property determines which contracts you need. The traditional set-up is a gas and electricity connection with a gas boiler. Newer and renovated homes are increasingly all-electric: no gas connection at all, heating by heat pump, so you need only an electricity contract.

The third variant surprises people most. Some homes – often flats in larger developments, particularly around the bigger cities – are on a warmtenet or stadsverwarming (district heating: hot water piped in from a central source). Heating and hot water then come from a heat supplier you cannot choose, because the network serving your address belongs to that company; your electricity supplier remains your own choice. If your home is on one, it is worth reading how heat networks are billed and priced before assuming your costs will resemble a neighbour’s.

Look in the meter cupboard when you view: a gas meter, no gas meter, or a heat meter tells you most of it.

You choose the supplier – you do not choose the grid operator

Two companies are involved in every Dutch connection, and confusing them is the most common misunderstanding. The energieleverancier (energy supplier) sells you the gas and electricity and sends the bill: you pick this one freely, and can switch.

The netbeheerder (grid operator) owns the cables and pipes, the connection and the meter. It is determined by your address: you cannot choose it, cannot switch it, and no supplier can change it. Six operate household connections – Liander, Stedin, Enexis, Coteq, Rendo and Westland Infra – and electricity and gas at one address can have different ones. Look up yours by postcode at mijnaansluiting.nl.

This matters when you compare offers. Grid costs (netbeheerkosten) are billed through your supplier but are identical everywhere for the same address, so any difference between two quotes comes from the energy and the supplier’s own charges, never the network – which is what makes comparing suppliers for your own postcode and estimated use a like-for-like exercise.

Timing: arrange the contract around the date you become responsible

The date that matters is the day you take responsibility for the property – key handover, or the transfer date if you are buying. Your contract should start then, arranged in advance rather than on the day. You will be asked for the address, the start date, an estimate of your annual consumption, your bank details and usually your meter numbers or readings. Sign up online and you have a bedenktijd of fourteen days: a statutory cooling-off period in which you can cancel without giving a reason. Notice periods work in your favour too – no Dutch energy contract may require more than one month’s notice.

The two hurdles that catch newcomers out

This is the part rarely explained to people arriving from abroad. Read it before you book a moving date.

A Dutch bank account and direct debit. Nearly every Dutch supplier collects payment by automatische incasso (automatic direct debit) and expects an account that supports it. Getting one normally means registering with your gemeente (municipality) first, which is how you obtain a burgerservicenummer or BSN (citizen service number), which is what a bank asks for when you open an account. That chain takes time, and appointments are not always available at short notice. Hence the gap that catches so many people: the keys are yours and the meters are running, but you cannot yet complete a supplier’s payment set-up.

A deposit. Some suppliers ask customers with no Dutch payment history for a waarborgsom (deposit) before starting supply. This is not universal and not personal; it is a credit judgement about an unknown customer. Ask when you sign rather than discovering it later.

If you cannot complete the set-up before handover, contact a supplier anyway and explain. A contract starting on the right date, with payment details added shortly after, is far better than no contract at all.

What happens if you arrange nothing

The supply is usually not cut off the moment a property changes hands. Instead the connection falls back on an emergency arrangement, at rates considerably higher than a normal contract. It keeps the lights on; it is not a place to sit for months.

If nothing is regularised, the connection can eventually be disconnected. Reconnection is then a chargeable job running to several hundred euros, on top of settling what was used meanwhile.

Record your meter readings on the day

Take your meterstanden (meter readings) at handover and photograph the meters. Do it even if the agent or landlord writes them down, and especially if the home has an older, non-smart meter, where nothing is transmitted automatically and your readings are the only record. They separate the previous occupant’s consumption from yours, and a dated photograph is usable evidence if an invoice is disputed. Note gas, electricity, and both electricity registers if the meter counts day and night separately.

Estimating your consumption when you have no history

Every contract asks how much gas and electricity you expect to use per year, and you have no Dutch history to quote. Estimate from the property rather than your old bills: type of home, size, occupants and how it is heated. A well-insulated flat and a draughty terraced house of the same floor area are not comparable. Typical annual consumption figures by household type are a reasonable starting point.

The estimate sets your monthly instalment (termijnbedrag), not your final cost: you pay a fixed amount and the difference is settled in the annual statement. Too low means a bill later, too high ties up money. Adjust it once you have real data.

Moving again within the Netherlands

If you move house within the Netherlands, an existing contract can usually come with you: you notify your supplier of the new address and date, and it continues. Whether that is right depends on how long you are staying – a fixed-price deal suiting a five-year stay is a different proposition for someone leaving in eight months, so a move is a natural moment to check which contract type matches your likely stay.

Either way, tell your supplier you are leaving the old address: that is what triggers the closing invoice, and why meter readings matter at both ends.

Checklist for the move

Work through these in order; the first three are best done before you have the keys.

1. Read the rental contract; check whether energy and heating sit in the rent or service charges.
2. Establish how the home is heated: gas plus electricity, all-electric, or a heat network.
3. Book your municipal registration appointment early – the BSN and bank account depend on it.
4. Look up your postcode’s grid operator at mijnaansluiting.nl; gas and electricity may differ.
5. Estimate your annual consumption from the property type and household size.
6. Compare suppliers for your address and pick a contract type matching how long you will stay.
7. Sign with a start date equal to the day you take possession.
8. Ask directly whether a deposit applies before you commit.
9. Photograph every meter on handover day, with readings for gas and each electricity register.
10. Check the first invoice against those readings, and adjust the instalment once use is known.

Frequently asked questions