Can you get a mortgage with a temporary contract in the Netherlands?

Yes, you can get a mortgage in the Netherlands with a temporary employment contract. Most lenders use your full current salary if your employer provides an intention declaration (intentieverklaring), and there are three other ways to prove your income if your employer will not.

This article is written by Bart Kooijman, our mortgage advisor at OHAO, who helps expats and internationals navigate the Dutch mortgage and housing market. Do you want to discuss your own situation? Contact us.

Can you get a mortgage without a permanent contract?

Yes. You don't always need a permanent employment contract for a Dutch mortgage. Many people working in the Netherlands have temporary contracts, particularly when starting a new job or moving to the country for work.

Mortgage lenders recognise that a temporary contract does not automatically mean your income is unreliable. However, they need sufficient evidence that you can afford your mortgage payments over the long term.

Depending on your circumstances, lenders may consider:

• Your current salary and employment conditions

• Whether your employer intends to offer you a permanent contract

• Your employment and income history

• Your employment prospects

• Your existing loans and financial obligations

The key question isn't simply whether you have a permanent contract, but whether you can prove your income is reliable and how much of it the lender can use to calculate your mortgage. The general Dutch mortgage eligibility rules still apply on top of this.

How do Dutch mortgage lenders assess temporary contracts?

When applying for a mortgage with a temporary employment contract, lenders need to establish your qualifying income (toetsinkomen). This is the income they consider reliable enough to calculate how much you can borrow.

There are several ways to establish this income.

Table showing the income assessment methods Dutch lenders use for a temporary or flexible contract. The right assessment depends on the lender's criteria and your personal circumstances.

Mortgage with an employer's intention declaration

One common way to demonstrate that your income is reliable is to obtain an employer's intention declaration. In Dutch, this is called an intentieverklaring.

What is an intention declaration?

An intention declaration is a statement from your employer indicating that they intend to offer you a permanent employment contract after your current temporary contract ends, provided your performance remains satisfactory and business circumstances do not change.

This statement forms part of the employer's declaration (werkgeversverklaring), the standard form Dutch lenders ask for; Business.gov.nl explains what the form contains and who signs it.

For mortgage purposes, it can allow lenders to assess your current qualifying salary rather than relying on an average of previous earnings. Rabobank, for example, calculates the mortgage on your current income when the declaration is in place.

Example

You moved to the Netherlands and started working for a company in Amsterdam.

Your employment situation is:

• Employment contract: 12 months

• Gross annual salary: €55,000

• Employer intends to offer a permanent contract

• Employer provides the required intention declaration

In this situation, a mortgage lender may use your qualifying annual salary of €55,000 when assessing your borrowing capacity.

This does not mean you will automatically qualify for a mortgage. Your maximum borrowing amount also depends on interest rates, financial commitments and other lending requirements. Read more about how much you can borrow with a Dutch mortgage.

Does an intention declaration guarantee a permanent contract?

No. An intention declaration expresses your employer's current intention to continue your employment permanently. It does not guarantee that you will receive a permanent contract.

For mortgage purposes, the distinction between an intention to offer another temporary contract and an intention to offer a permanent contract is important. Only the second one lets the lender use your full current salary.

What if your employer won't provide an intention declaration?

You may still qualify for a mortgage without an intention declaration.

Some employers cannot or will not confirm that they intend to offer permanent employment. This is common in organisations that regularly use fixed-term contracts.

In that case, you will need to demonstrate your income dependability in another way. Depending on your situation, three alternatives may apply.

1. Using your income history

Mortgage lenders may assess your earnings over the previous three calendar years.

A common approach is to calculate the average gross annual income over those three years. Qualifying income is then the lower of that three-year average and the most recent calendar year's income. Exact rules vary by lender.

Table showing an example of the three-year income average. Here the average (€76,666) is lower than the last year (€80,000), so the lender uses €76,666.

This method can be useful if you have worked consistently but have not yet received a permanent employment contract. You will need your payslips and annual income statements (jaaropgaven) for those years; see the full list of mortgage application documents.

2. Using a Labour Market Scan (Arbeidsmarktscan)

What happens if you have a temporary contract but have not worked for three full years?

A Labour Market Scan may offer another route. Rather than relying only on previous earnings, the scan assesses your position in the Dutch labour market. It takes into account factors such as your occupation, education, age, region and employment opportunities, and estimates your earning capacity for the coming years.

3. Income Assessment for Employees (Inkomensbepaling Loondienst)

Another possible route is Inkomensbepaling Loondienst, often abbreviated to IBL.

This method uses information from your employment and income records held by UWV, the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency. You download your UWV insurance record (verzekeringsbericht) from Mijn UWV, and the lender applies a fixed set of calculation rules to it.

This may be especially helpful if you cannot obtain an intention declaration. However, the resulting qualifying income may differ from your current annual salary. Because IBL is based on historical UWV data, the assessed income may be lower than your current salary if you have recently started work.

What if you have been in the Netherlands for less than a year?

Then there is no Dutch income history to average and usually no UWV record yet, so the first two alternatives fall away. In practice you have two routes: an intention declaration from your employer, or the Labour Market Scan once you have worked 12 of the past 14 months.

Two more things matter in your first year:

• Your residence permit. Lenders check that you have the right to live and work in the Netherlands for the term they need. EU citizens have no issue; for others, the type and length of the permit can limit the choice of lenders.

• Your foreign work history. A Dutch lender cannot use salary earned abroad as income history, but a consistent career in the same field helps when a lender weighs the risk. If part of your salary is still paid abroad, read how a mortgage with a foreign income in the Netherlands is assessed.

If you receive the 30% ruling, the tax advantage does not count as income, but it lowers your monthly costs; read how the 30% ruling and your Dutch mortgage fit together.

How much mortgage can you get with a temporary contract?

Having a temporary contract does not automatically reduce your maximum mortgage. What matters is how much income the lender is willing to include in the affordability assessment.

For example, two applicants both earn €55,000 a year:

• Applicant A has a temporary contract and a valid intention declaration, so the lender uses €55,000.

• Applicant B has a temporary contract without an intention declaration and qualifies for an assessed income of €42,000 based on employment history.

Table comparing two applicants with the same salary but a different qualifying income. The mortgage amounts are indications for a single applicant at a 10-year fixed rate of about 4.5% in 2026, without other debts; the exact figure follows from the national lending norms and the lender.

Although both applicants currently earn the same salary, their maximum mortgage amounts differ by roughly €65,000 because their qualifying incomes are different. An alternative assessment can sometimes support a similar qualifying income, and an intention declaration does not automatically result in a higher mortgage.

Your actual borrowing capacity also depends on mortgage interest rates, existing debts, household income, the property's energy label and other lending criteria. Run your own numbers in the mortgage calculator.

The downside of the alternative routes is choice and time. Without an intention declaration, fewer of mortgage lenders accept your application, the assessment takes longer, and a few lenders charge a slightly higher rate for the extra risk. That is why the route you choose should be decided before you bid on a home, not after.

How OHAO helps you get a mortgage with a temporary contract

We check whether an intention declaration is available or which alternative assessment fits your situation, prepare a personal mortgage report with your borrowing capacity and monthly payments, and compare the Dutch mortgage lenders for expats that accept your employment situation. Once your offer is accepted, we handle the application until the mortgage is finalised.

Keep in mind that every situation is different. The examples in this article are for illustration purposes only. For advice tailored to your personal situation, contact our mortgage advisors at OHAO.

Frequently asked questions from expats

Can I get a mortgage with a one-year contract in the Netherlands?

Yes. With an intention declaration from your employer, most lenders use your full current salary, even on a 12-month contract. Without one, a lender can use your three-year income average, a Labour Market Scan or the UWV-based income assessment, which may give a lower qualifying income.

What if my temporary contract ends before the mortgage is completed?

Tell our mortgage advisor straight away. The lender assesses your income at the moment of the binding offer, so a new contract, an extension or a new intention declaration must be in place before that date. Agree a realistic deadline in the financing clause of your purchase agreement to allow for this.

Does a temporary contract mean a higher interest rate?

Usually not. The rate depends on the loan-to-value, the fixed period and NHG, not on your contract type. A few lenders add a small surcharge for an assessment without an intention declaration, and you have fewer lenders to compare, which can cost you the lowest rate on the market.