We're building an Amsterdam with less housing shortage and less hunting-stress.

Huismaatje isn't a room marketplace. It's a platform with two clear missions: make searching for a room less stressful, and create much more housing by encouraging and helping people to become a hospita.

The problem grows worse every year

Waiting for a social housing unit in Amsterdam now takes 14 years on average. In 2018 it was 8 years. The system is grinding to a halt, and the pain shows up in every waiting list.

Average waiting time, Amsterdam social housing

Average years on the wait list for a regulated rental

+75%

in 7 years

Source: WoningnetRegio Amsterdam annual reports 2018-2025. Figures rounded to whole years.

Our two missions.

A better search engine alone doesn't solve the housing shortage. A live-in landlord platform alone doesn't help a 22-year-old who needs a room this month. Both are needed, simultaneously.

Young man on an Amsterdam street, looking for a room

Pillar 1

Make searching for a room less stressful

A free, easy-to-use platform that lets you find your next room without sinking your evenings into the search. Clear, safe, and without paywalls, subscriptions or agencies skimming off the top.

We're different from the existing sites because we're not paid by the landlord. That lets us stay strict: every profile is verified, every asking price runs through the WWS checker, and the match is about how you actually live.

•Selfie verification + email check on every profile
•Every room is auto-checked against the legal WWS points system, you instantly see if you're overpaying
•Matching on lifestyle (sleep, cleanliness, guests, work-from-home), not just price
•One clean map, instead of fragmented social media groups

Browse live rooms

A live-in landlord in her own living room, ready to rent out a room

Pillar 2

Create more housing with new hospitas

Research shows 8% of Dutch homeowners are open to becoming a hospita (live-in landlord). That's over 1.4 million people with a spare room they'd happily share, if only it were simple. Today it still feels daunting: tax, contracts, and what happens if things go wrong with the tenant.

We remove that friction, and that's our biggest lever on the housing shortage. One new hospita is one extra room that never reached the market. And it's not a stopgap: our own hospita relationships regularly last 12 to 24 months, often longer.

•Free hospita contract template, legally reviewed
•Rent calculator based on the official WWS points system
•House-rules generator and conversation checklist for the first meet
•Hospi-evenings where multiple candidates visit at once

Become a hospita

One of our co-founders wrote:

“Out of the desperation of my own house hunt, two friends and I built this platform. We want to contribute to solving the housing shortage in Amsterdam, mainly through the hospita route. And at the same time, create some structure in the search itself, because what's happening in fragmented social media groups right now is just chaos. We have a unique concept and a promise: free forever, for room seekers. Unlike virtually every other site that eventually charges.”

Written while still searching for a room himself. May 2026.

The founders

We started as three, out of personal frustration and the conviction that this can be better. Below, the two co-founders in the spotlight, plus a third co-founder who prefers to stay out of it. He's currently in the middle of his own room search.

Dianne van den Assem

Legal & partnerships

Keeps Huismaatje legally sound and makes sure every template we give away does too. Responsible for compliance with the 2024 Affordable Rent Act, partnerships with municipalities and housing organizations, and the free hospita and rental contract templates on the site.

Klaas van Raaij

Product & marketing

Decides what the site does and makes sure people find it. Responsible for the product as it presents itself, the voice Huismaatje speaks with, and the fact that at some point journalists will start calling us instead of the other way around.

Our promises

Three principles every design and business decision comes back to.

Free forever

No subscription for seekers, no listing fees for hospitas, no premium tier for messaging. Future revenue will come from optional add-on services, never from a paywall that locks out seekers.

Honest about prices

Every room is auto-checked against the WWS points system. If a host is asking €200 above the legal max, you see that before you reply.

Match on lifestyle

Price and location matter, but your housemate shapes your year more. We ask the questions that actually predict whether you'll get along: sleep schedule, guests, work-from-home patterns, cleanliness.

This isn't work we can do alone.

Whether you're looking for a room, have a room to share, or just want to use our data for an article or research project, you can join in today.

Find a room Become a hospita Read our report