You may request permission for a home sitting arrangement if you:
- Go to work (or complete a work placement) abroad or outside the region for a minimum period of three months.
- Are admitted to a nursing home, are sent to prison or go travelling for a period of at least three months.
- Move back to your country of origin (repatriation).
- Move in with another person on a trial basis.
When is home sitting not allowed?
- If you have rent arrears.
- If you have been involved in causing a nuisance to neighbours or misusing your home.
- In case of cohabitation on a trial basis, if you are married or have registered partnership.
- In case of cohabitation on a trial basis, if your new home is already registered in the name of both residents.
- In case of cohabitation on a trial basis, if you are students.
- In case of temporary contracts in the private rental sector.
What do you need to arrange yourself?
- Propose a home sitter yourself. The home sitter should be at least eighteen years old and have no home of his or her own, either rented or owned.
- Nominate a representative (who lives in the Netherlands).
- During the home sitting period, you remain responsible for rent payments yourself.
- In communal or shared homes, written consent is required from the residents(s).
- You must deregister from the local municipality if you are not living at the address for a period of eight months or more.
- If you know already that you will not return after the home sitting period has finished, you must make a statement to this effect in writing. You will need to give a notice period of one month for this.
What does the home sitter need to watch out for?
The home sitter needs to register with the municipality.
Rent and housing benefit
- You may not charge the home sitter more in rent than the amount that you yourself pay in rent to De Key.
- If you receive housing benefit, a home sitting arrangement will usually affect the amount that you are entitled to.
- The home sitter will not be eligible for housing benefit.
How long can I have a home sitter in my home?
It is possible to have a home sitter in your home for a minimum of three months and a maximum of one year. Sometimes it is possible to extend this period by up to one year. However, this is not possible if you live in a student home, if you return to your country of origin, if you move in with someone else on a trial basis and detention.
At the end of the home sitting period, you must demonstrate that you have returned to your home.