Can my landlord enter my room without asking?

No. During the lease the landlord may enter your home or room only with your permission. The exceptions are an emergency that needs action at once, urgent works under article 7:220 paragraph 1 BW, a renovation you agreed to or where a court found his proposal reasonable, works for a neighbouring property under article 5:56 BW, and a viewing for a sale or a new letting under article 7:223 BW. Only in an emergency may he come in without an appointment.

Can he come in to repair something?

Yes, for urgent works: you have to give the opportunity, and you keep your claims to a rent reduction, to dissolution of the lease (ontbinding) and to damages (art. 7:220 lid 1 BW). If you asked for a repair, the landlord has to fix defects on request, unless that is impossible or costs more than can reasonably be asked of him (art. 7:206 BW), so agree a date and time with him.

Do I have to allow viewings when I am leaving?

Yes, to a point. If the landlord wants to relet after your lease ends, or to sell, you have to tolerate the usual notices that it is to let or for sale and give interested people the opportunity to view (art. 7:223 BW). We found no rule that sets how many days of notice he must give, but the explanatory note to the Regeling says he has to make an appointment with you, so agree the times.

Is it a crime if my landlord enters without permission?

It can be. Article 138 of the Wetboek van Strafrecht makes it an offence to intrude unlawfully (wederrechtelijk binnendringen) into a home or enclosed space that is in use by another person, punishable by up to one year in prison or a fine. The statute does not mention landlords and we did not look at case law, so whether a landlord's entry counts depends on the facts.

Does it change if my landlord lives in the same house?

The Wet goed verhuurderschap has no exception for a landlord who lives in the same home, and the Rijksoverheid says that someone who rents out a room in the home they live in has to follow the rules for good landlordship. We found nothing that gives such a landlord a different rule for entering your room. This post is about your own room, not the shared kitchen or hallway.

Can My Landlord Walk Into My Room? What the Rule Says

12 October 2026 · Panagiotis Pelardis

The short answer: no. During your lease the landlord may enter your room only with your permission. The rule has five exceptions, and none of them is "he has a key" or "it is his building". Only in an emergency may he come in without an appointment.

Sources: Regeling goed verhuurderschap, art. 1 sub b, and its explanatory note (Staatscourant 2023, 16746, section 2.2), read 12 October 2026; Wet goed verhuurderschap, art. 2, read 12 October 2026; Burgerlijk Wetboek art. 7:203 and 7:206, 7:220 and 7:223, and Book 5 art. 56, read 12 October 2026; Wetboek van Strafrecht art. 138, read 12 October 2026; Volkshuisvesting Nederland, read 11 and 12 October 2026; Rijksoverheid on renting out a room, read 12 October 2026 (the page carries no date). General information, not legal advice.

Question	Short answer	Source
Can the landlord enter without permission?	No, except in the five cases below	Regeling goed verhuurderschap art. 1 sub b and its explanatory note
Without an appointment?	Only in an emergency	explanatory note, 2.2
Urgent works?	Yes: you have to give the opportunity, after an appointment	art. 7:220 lid 1 BW
Viewing for a sale or a new letting?	Yes, if he wants to relet after your lease ends or to sell: you have to tolerate it, after an appointment	art. 7:223 BW
Can unlawful entry be an offence?	It can: unlawfully intruding into a home in use by another is	Wetboek van Strafrecht, art. 138

The rule

The Regeling goed verhuurderschap does not itself forbid entry. It lists what a landlord has to tell a tenant in writing, if it is not already in the lease. One item is that the landlord may enter the home or room "uitsluitend met toestemming van de huurder", only with the tenant's permission, during the lease, unless one of five things applies (art. 1 sub b). Volkshuisvesting Nederland says the same in plain words: the landlord may enter only with your permission, and only in exceptional cases such as an emergency or an urgent repair without it.

The ban itself comes from tenancy law and privacy. The explanatory note ties it to the landlord's main duty: he has to make the home available and leave it with you as far as the agreed use needs (BW 7:203). You are entitled to undisturbed enjoyment and to privacy, and entering without permission disturbs that. The note adds that outside the listed cases there is no legal basis for the landlord to enter without permission. Article 7:203 itself does not mention entering; the link comes from the note.

The five exceptions

An emergency that needs action at once. The text is "een dringende noodsituatie waarvoor direct ingrijpen noodzakelijk is". The note's examples are a gas leak, a fire or a burst water pipe while you are not at home and cannot be reached.
Urgent works on the home under BW 7:220 lid 1. You have to give the opportunity, and you keep your claims to a rent reduction, to dissolution of the lease (ontbinding) and to damages. The note counts urgent repairs, works that cannot wait until after the lease ends and works that prevent further damage; it names fitting smoke alarms and determining the energy label as examples.
A renovation under BW 7:220 lid 2, if you agreed to it or a court found that his proposal was reasonable.
Works for a neighbour. Under article 56 of Book 5 BW (named in 7:220 lid 1 too) an owner has to allow temporary use of his property when a neighbouring property needs it for works, after proper notice and against compensation, unless he has weighty reasons to refuse or postpone. The note's example is your rented room being used to carry out works at the neighbours.
A viewing for a sale or a new letting under BW 7:223. If the landlord wants to relet after your lease ends, or to sell, you have to tolerate the usual notices and give interested people the opportunity to view.

Only in an emergency may he come in without an appointment. For the other four, the explanatory note says he may not simply walk in, not even when you are out: he has to make an appointment with you, and in principle you then have to let him in.

Everything else needs your permission: an inspection he would like to do, dropping by to see how you are living, or showing a friend around. Permission is yours to give. We found nothing on whether a clause in your lease can give it in advance, for example for a yearly inspection with notice, so if your lease has such a clause, ask the Juridisch Loket what it is worth.

What you have to allow, and what you can ask him to arrange

Repairs you asked for. The landlord has to fix defects when you ask, unless that is impossible or costs more than can reasonably be asked of him, and except small repairs you have to do yourself (BW 7:206 lid 1 and 2). He needs access, so agree a date and time; it is your permission that makes the visit lawful.
Urgent works. You have to give the opportunity, after an appointment, and you keep your claims (BW 7:220 lid 1).
Viewings while you are leaving. You have to allow them when the landlord wants to relet or sell (BW 7:223). We found no rule on how many days of notice he must give, but the note says he has to make an appointment, so agree the times in writing.
A drop-in visit. The rule asks for your permission, so you may ask him to agree a time first.

If it happens anyway

This is our own advice, not a rule. Say in writing that you do not consent to entry without an appointment, with the date, so there is a record. Cite the Regeling goed verhuurderschap, art. 1 sub b, which obliges your landlord to tell you this, and its explanatory note (Staatscourant 2023, 16746, section 2.2), which says there is no legal basis for entering without permission outside the listed cases. Keep any messages. For advice on your own contract, the Juridisch Loket is the place to ask.

Unlawfully intruding into a home or enclosed space that is in use by another person is an offence under article 138 of the Wetboek van Strafrecht, punishable by up to a year in prison or a fine. The statute does not mention landlords and we did not look at case law, so whether a landlord's entry counts depends on the facts, and a permission or one of the exceptions above changes it.

A message you can adapt:

Hi [name], I would like to agree when you come by. I do not give permission to enter my room without an appointment. If it is urgent works, a renovation, works for a neighbouring property or a viewing for a sale or new letting, the explanatory note to the Regeling goed verhuurderschap says you have to make an appointment with me first, and I will help with that. Tell me what you need to do and I will suggest times this week.

What this post does not cover

Keys. We found no primary source on whether a landlord may keep a spare key. The rule is about entering, not about who holds a key.
Lease clauses about visits. We found no source on whether a lease can give permission in advance.
Shared areas. The Regeling speaks of the home or room you rent. We found no source on the shared kitchen, hallway or bathroom of a house you share with the landlord.
A landlord who lives in the same house. The Wet goed verhuurderschap has no exception for such a landlord, and we found no different entry rule for them. How such a lease can be ended is a separate question, which this post leaves out.
Housing corporations. The Wet goed verhuurderschap defines the landlord so that it leaves out housing corporations (toegelaten instellingen) and their subsidiaries. We did not research what applies to rooms they let.
Which body hears a dispute. The Regeling also tells the landlord to explain in writing which topics go to the Huurcommissie or the kantonrechter. We did not verify which of them hears a dispute about entry.

Where Vond fits

We start with Roommates. Vond opens soon in Utrecht, and the first thing that opens is a way to find people to live with.

A Roommates profile describes a person: how you live, when you get up, how you feel about guests. It carries no price, no address and no availability: a profile has no field for any of them. It is free in beta. A house cannot use it to fill a free room.

For rooms that come onto Vond, we speak to whoever is letting the place and build the listing with them. We do not verify identity, we do not check a register, and there is no verification badge on Vond, so read every profile with the care you would give a stranger's message anywhere else.

The waitlist is at vond.house.

The short version

Your landlord may enter your room only with your permission. The exceptions are an emergency, urgent works, a renovation you agreed to, works for a neighbouring property and a viewing for a sale or a new letting. Only in an emergency may he come in without an appointment; for everything else, agree a time.