Passing on service charges as a hospita: a fair approach

Renting out a room in your own home sounds simple. Until the moment you sit down with a calculator and ask yourself: what exactly do I pass on to my tenant? Energy bills have been volatile in recent years, internet is not free, and your municipal taxes are not nothing either. Get it wrong and you risk being dragged before the Huurcommissie (Dutch Rent Tribunal) afterwards and having to pay money back.

Good news: passing on costs is allowed, provided you do it fairly and transparently. In this article we explain which costs you can pass on as a hospita, how to split them fairly, and what you shouldn't do. We give indicative numbers and examples so you can update your contract without hassle.

What exactly are service charges and what do they cover?

Service charges are all costs that don't fall under the bare rent but do relate to living in the home. Think gas, water, electricity, internet and the cleaning of communal areas. The law distinguishes between two categories: utilities with an individual meter (gas, electricity, water if separately metered) and other service charges (everything collective, like stairwell lighting in a communal entry).

For a hospita situation where you live together and everything runs on a collective meter, your energy costs usually fall under those "other" service charges. That means you can apply a reasonable allocation key, as long as you're transparent about how you arrive at the amount.

What you can pass on to your tenant by default:

• Gas and electricity (if you don't have a separate meter)
• Water
• Internet and any TV package
• Boiler maintenance if it serves the room or is specifically used for it
• Cleaning of shared areas if you hire someone for it
• Minor maintenance of equipment you use together

What does NOT fall under service charges: major maintenance of the building, OZB (owner's property tax) and building insurance. That's your cost as the owner, covered by the bare rent.

How do you fairly split energy costs between two people?

This is where you face the first choice: do you work with a flat rate (fixed amount per month) or an allocation key based on actual consumption? Both are allowed, but each has pros and cons.

A flat rate is a fixed amount you charge per month, for example 80 euros for gas, water and electricity combined. It's predictable for both of you. The downside: if your tenant is home all day and you're at the office, it can work out unfairly. Or vice versa. As an indication, a flat rate for one person in an average single-family home is often around 70 to 100 euros per month for gas and electricity combined, plus 10 to 15 euros for water. Internet comes on top of that, often 10 to 15 euros per person depending on your subscription.

An allocation key works differently. You take the actual annual bill for energy and water, and divide it based on residents. Two people sharing all rooms? Then fifty-fifty is reasonable. Do you have a large house with lots of unheated areas, and your tenant occupies one room? Then you can choose a key based on square metres: your tenant uses, say, 25% of the heated area, so pays 25% of the heating. For electricity, a fixed 50/50 split is often more practical because it tracks square metres less strictly.

In practice, most hospitas work with a flat rate that gets settled after a yearly reckoning. You charge 90 euros per month, you track the actual costs, and at the end of the year you settle the difference. If your tenant has paid too little, they top up. If they've paid too much, you transfer money back. That's legally tidy and keeps it fair.

Can you pass on municipal taxes?

This is where it gets tricky, so be careful. Municipal and water authority taxes are not service charges in the usual sense.

OZB (property tax) cannot be passed on. That's an owner's tax and belongs to your role as homeowner.

Waste-collection charges (afvalstoffenheffing) and water authority taxes are levied on the household, and in a hospita situation the assessment usually goes to you as main occupant. Whether and how you may share those costs with your tenant is not clear-cut. Don't simply add them to the service charges; if you are unsure, keep them out, or ask the Huurcommissie or a legal adviser first.

A useful rule of thumb: taxes you owe as the owner don't belong in the service charges. For anything else you want to share, make sure it is fair, specified and agreed in writing.

How do you properly record service charges in the contract?

The biggest mistake hospitas make: a vague clause in the contract like "service charges 100 euros per month all-in" with no further explanation. That's exactly the kind of clause the Huurcommissie scrutinises. If your tenant feels they're paying too much and goes to the Huurcommissie, you must be able to demonstrate what that amount comprises.

A good contract has three elements for service charges. First, a specification: which costs are included, and which amount applies to which item. For example: gas 40, electricity 25, water 10, internet 12, cleaning of shared areas 8 = total 95 euros. Second, the allocation key: how was that calculated? For example, 50% of the actual annual bill, or "a flat rate based on average consumption of a two-person household". Third, a settlement clause: how and when do you reconcile actual costs? The standard is yearly, within six months of the end of the calendar year.

You can put these three elements in a separate service-charges appendix, separate from the main contract text. That keeps things tidy and lets you adjust the amount yearly without re-signing the entire contract. For everything else that belongs in your arrangement, see our complete guide to renting out a room as a hospita.

Can you use service charges to secretly raise the rent?

No. And this is exactly what the Huurcommissie looks for. A room always falls under the rent rules, so the base rent may not exceed the maximum from the points system. If you're charging 700 euros for a room that may bring in at most 550 euros in base rent, you can't split 700 in two as 550 rent + 150 service charges and think the problem is solved. The Huurcommissie looks at what's realistic. 150 euros service charges per month for a hospita room is high, and if you can't substantiate it with actual costs, the difference can be struck. Our guide to calculating a fair rent for your hospita room explains the rent side.

The rule of thumb: service charges should roughly equal what they actually cost you, not more. If you have a gas and electricity bill of 1,800 euros per year for the two of you together, then around 75 euros per month per person is in line with the costs. If you charge 150, you'll need a very good explanation.

You're also required to give your tenant an overview of the actual service costs every year. Have you structurally charged more than the actual costs? Then you have to repay the difference.

How do you produce a good annual settlement for your tenant?

A neat annual settlement doesn't have to be a complicated Excel sheet. It's enough to send a brief letter or email once a year (no later than six months after 31 December) showing the actual costs of the past year, your tenant's share, what they've paid, and the difference.

An example for a hospita situation:

• Actual annual bill gas and electricity: 2,040 euros. Tenant's share (50%): 1,020 euros.
• Actual costs water: 380 euros. Tenant's share (50%): 190 euros.
• Internet: 540 euros. Tenant's share (50%): 270 euros.
• Total tenant share: 1,480 euros.
• Paid via advance (12 x 130): 1,560 euros.
• Balance: 80 euros refund.

This fits on one A4 page. Attach the annual statements from your energy supplier, water company and internet provider as evidence. Your tenant can verify it themselves, and you'll have it sorted for your records. Should they later go to the Huurcommissie, you'll have a strong case.

There's a nice bonus: by doing this yearly, you prevent a tenant from suddenly hitting you with a hefty claim about overpaid service charges years later. By settling cleanly each year, you remove that risk.

What are reasonable amounts to charge upfront?

Here are indicative guidelines for 2026; your own bills are always leading:

• Gas and electricity combined, average home, two residents: 70 to 100 euros per person per month. If you have a poorly insulated house or a heat pump that draws a lot of power, it can rise to 110 to 130.
• Water: 8 to 15 euros per person per month. Fixed costs plus consumption.
• Internet and TV: 10 to 15 euros per person per month for an average package you share.
• Cleaning of shared areas (if you hire someone): 10 to 25 euros per person per month, depending on frequency.

Adding it up, you often land at 100 to 150 euros service charges per month for a hospita room. Above that, the Huurcommissie will look critically without good substantiation. Keep in mind for the room rental tax exemption that service charges count towards the €6,633 limit as well.

Remember: these are advances. At the end of the year you settle based on what it actually cost. An advance that turns out to be substantially too high, you pay back. That's not optional but mandatory.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make my tenant contribute to the boiler maintenance contract?

Yes, the annual service contract for the boiler can be passed on as a service charge, because your tenant benefits from the heating. You can pass on the portion matching your allocation key. Replacement of the boiler itself does not fall under service charges, that's major maintenance and you pay it as the owner.

What if energy prices rise or fall sharply mid-year?

Then you can adjust the advance mid-year, provided you announce it and act reasonably. A decent approach: show the current consumption figures, make a new estimate of the annual costs, and adjust the advance from the next month onwards. The annual settlement will correct any differences later anyway. Don't do this more than twice a year, otherwise it becomes confusing.

Can I charge a fixed all-in amount with no settlement to avoid hassle?

That's legally unwise. Without any substantiation or yearly check, you risk the Huurcommissie scaling back an excessive amount. A good middle ground: charge a fixed advance, compare it with the actual costs each year, and settle the difference with your tenant.

Can my tenant challenge the service charges separately at the Huurcommissie?

Yes, they can, and it's a separate procedure alongside any review of the rent itself. If your tenant suspects the service charges are too high or don't match the actual costs, they can ask the Huurcommissie to assess them within the statutory period. The Huurcommissie will then look at your substantiation. Without proper records, you'll lose. That's a good reason to keep your invoices in order.

Can I require my tenant to chip in for a Netflix subscription?

Streaming services like Netflix don't fall under the usual service charges and you can't simply require them. What is allowed: you both agree to share Netflix and they voluntarily pay half. That's a private arrangement, not a contract matter. Don't put something like that in the hospita contract, because it doesn't meet the legal definition of service charges.

List your hospita room fairly and transparently on Huismaatje

Ready to rent out your room as a hospita? On Huismaatje you list your room for free, plan a viewing night with time slots and pick your housemate at your own pace. Read the hospita regulation explained for the other rules that apply. List your room →