WWS glossary for landlords
This glossary explains the key terms of the Dutch housing valuation system (WWS) and the Affordable Rent Act in one or two sentences. Each term has its own link and points to the service or WWS component where you can read more.
- Affordable Rent Act
- The act that since 1 July 2024 also makes the WWS mandatory for the mid-rent segment (144 to 186 points).
- Complete WWS guide
- BAG
- The Dutch Key Register of Addresses and Buildings, including construction year and floor area. That area is a starting point, not a WWS measurement.
- Measurement Report NEN 2580 / BBMI
- Base rent
- Rent for use of the dwelling only, excluding service charges. The WWS maximum applies to the base rent.
- Complete WWS guide
- BBMI
- The industry-wide measuring instruction: an elaboration of NEN 2580 that prescribes how the usable floor area of homes is measured.
- Measurement Report NEN 2580 / BBMI
- COROP region
- A regional division of the Netherlands by Statistics Netherlands. The WWS uses these regions for regional WOZ data.
- WOZ value in the WWS
- Energy label
- An official rating of a home’s energy performance, from A++++ to G. In the WWS a better label earns more points.
- Energy Label (residential)
- EP adviser
- A certified adviser who may determine and register an energy label under NTA 8800 after a survey.
- Energy Label (residential)
- EP-Online
- The official RVO database of registered energy labels. Only a registered label counts as an official label.
- Energy label and energy performance in the WWS
- Free sector
- Homes from 187 points. No statutory maximum rent from the points table applies.
- Complete WWS guide
- Habitable rooms
- Living rooms, bedrooms and comparable spaces. In the WWS they count at 1 point per square metre.
- Surface area of rooms and other spaces in the WWS
- Indexation
- The annual adjustment of the rent tables and amounts in the WWS. Always use the table for the correct year.
- Rent check
- Kitchen (WWS component)
- The component that awards points based on worktop length and additional kitchen facilities.
- Kitchen in the WWS
- Mid-rent
- The regulated mid-segment: homes with 144 to 186 points, with a statutory maximum from the same rent table.
- Complete WWS guide
- National monument (WWS)
- For national monuments the WWS awards additional points under the rules in the policy manual.
- Listed monuments in the WWS
- NEN 2580
- The Dutch standard for measuring the areas and volumes of buildings.
- Measurement Report NEN 2580 / BBMI
- Non-self-contained housing
- Housing, such as a room, where the occupant shares the kitchen or toilet. The WWSO applies.
- WWSO Advice (room rentals)
- NTA 8800
- The calculation method for the energy performance of buildings, mandatory for energy labels since 1 January 2021.
- Energy Label (residential)
- On-site survey
- A visit on location where an adviser measures the home and records its facilities as the basis for the assessment.
- Self-calculation vs. official assessment
- Other spaces
- Spaces such as storage rooms and attics that do not qualify as habitable rooms. They count at 0.75 points per square metre.
- Surface area of rooms and other spaces in the WWS
- Outdoor space
- Private or shared outdoor space, such as a balcony, garden or roof terrace, that counts in the WWS.
- Outdoor space in the WWS
- Points assessment
- The calculation of all WWS components of one dwelling into a points total and the corresponding maximum rent.
- Point Scoring (standalone)
- Points threshold
- The 143- and 186-point limits that determine whether a home is social, mid-rent or free sector. Near these limits every point counts.
- Point Scoring (standalone)
- Policy manual (Beleidsboek)
- The Rent Tribunal’s explanation of how it applies the WWS rules, per component and per housing type.
- Complete WWS guide
- Rent ceiling
- The maximum base rent at a points threshold. Under the January 2026 table this is €932.93 at 143 points and €1,228.07 at 186 points.
- Rent check
- Rent table
- The official table stating the maximum base rent per points total. The amounts are adjusted annually.
- Rent check
- Rent Tribunal (Huurcommissie)
- The independent body that rules on disputes between tenants and landlords, including rent levels. It also publishes the policy manuals.
- Self-calculation vs. official assessment
- Sanitary facilities (WWS component)
- The component for toilets, washbasins, showers and baths, including additional facilities.
- Sanitary facilities in the WWS
- Self-contained housing
- Housing with its own entrance and its own kitchen and toilet that the occupant does not share with other households.
- WWS Advice
- Service charges
- Costs for additional supplies and services, such as cleaning of shared areas. They are outside the points assessment.
- Complete WWS guide
- Sustainability advice
- Advice with measures to improve energy performance, showing the effect on the label and WWS points.
- Sustainability Advice (label optimization)
- Usable floor area
- The usable floor area of a home, measured under NEN 2580. An incorrect measurement directly affects the points.
- Surface area of rooms and other spaces in the WWS
- WOZ cap
- The limit under which WOZ points may generally make up no more than 33% of the total when the total would be 187 points or more.
- WOZ value in the WWS
- WOZ value
- The value of a property set by the municipality under the WOZ Act. In the WWS the WOZ value generates points.
- WOZ value in the WWS
- WWS (housing valuation system)
- The statutory Dutch points system that expresses the quality of a rental home in points. The total determines the maximum base rent for regulated homes.
- Complete WWS guide
- WWSO
- The valuation system for non-self-contained housing such as rooms. Points are calculated per room, with shared facilities apportioned.
- WWSO Advice (room rentals)
Need a reliable points total?
Updated on 16 October 2026
Official sources
- Huurcommissie — huurprijscheck en informatie
- Huurcommissie — Beleidsboek waarderingsstelsel zelfstandige woonruimte
Definitions are simplified; the policy manual of the Rent Tribunal is decisive.