Can I Register at a Friend's Address? Briefadres Explained
The short answer: two different things hide behind this question. If your friend moves in with you, they register at your address, with your consent. If they want to register at your address without living there, that is a briefadres. As a rule the Netherlands gives one only to people who have no address where they live. The law and Utrecht's rule make a few narrow exceptions (institutions, safety, exceptional cases after assessment), and none of them is "my friend has a flat but wants my address". Utrecht lists the cases.
Sources: gemeente Utrecht, Verhuizing doorgeven, read 11 October 2026; Beleidsregel briefadressen Basisregistratie Personen gemeente Utrecht (in force from 26 June 2024), art. 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 13, read 12 October 2026; Wet BRP art. 2.38 to 2.42, wetten.overheid.nl, read 11 and 12 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.
| Question | Short answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A friend moves in with me. What do I do? | You, as an adult resident, give your consent (Verklaring van inwoning); the friend reports the move | Utrecht, Verhuizing doorgeven |
| A friend wants my address without living here. | Only as a briefadres, and in general only if they have no address where they live | Wet BRP 2.38 lid 1, 2.39 lid 3; Utrecht beleidsregel art. 3 |
| What does a briefadres need? | A written statement from the person who gives the address | beleidsregel art. 5 |
| Can they get one because of benefits problems? | No: refused if the applicant has a residential address | beleidsregel art. 10 sub f |
| How long does it last? | Reviewed after six months (the period can differ); ends when they get a home or you withdraw consent | beleidsregel art. 11, 13 |
A friend moves in: the Verklaring van inwoning
In Utrecht, someone who moves in with another resident "needs the consent of the person they are going to live with. This is a resident of the address aged 18 or over." An adult resident fills in the form Verklaring van inwoning: online, and the newcomer attaches the downloaded PDF when reporting the move online, or on paper with a pen signature and a copy of the resident's ID, which the newcomer scans and attaches to the online report, posts to Burgerzaken or hands in at the counter (Verhuizing doorgeven).
Two things follow. Registration is a duty on the person moving, not a favour: they report the move at the latest five days after it (Wet BRP, art. 2.39), and we set out what the gemeente checks in how many people can live at one address. On Utrecht's page, a newcomer who rents the home lists a copy of the lease, and the Verklaring van inwoning is listed for someone who moves in with another person; if you are not sure which applies, ask Burgerzaken. Our guide to registering at your room's address covers the usual case.
No home of your own: the briefadres
The law ties registration to where you live. Wet BRP art. 2.38 lid 1 and 2.39 lid 3 say that someone who has no residential address chooses a briefadres. A briefadres is "the address where mail meant for the person is received", and the person who gives it, the briefadresgever, can be a person registered as a resident (art. 1.1 and 2.42).
Utrecht applies this in a policy rule in force since 26 June 2024. Its starting point: "everyone is registered, as far as possible, at the residential address where they actually stay." The preamble says a briefadres is for vulnerable groups without a residential address, and art. 3 lists ten reasons, among them homelessness, a short bridge between two homes, an itinerant profession, a stay in a caravan or boat without a fixed mooring, a recent eviction and a recent divorce or end of a relationship (art. 3).
What the friend who gives the address signs up for
- A written statement of consent is part of the application (art. 5).
- The mail. The briefadresgever has to make sure the post reaches the person, or say that there is post for them (art. 7 lid 1).
- Information. On request, they give the gemeente information about the person (art. 7 lid 2).
- A check. After six months, Utrecht checks whether the person still has a right to the briefadres; both have to give the information asked (art. 11).
What a briefadres is not
Utrecht's rule refuses a briefadres in at least these cases (art. 10). Three matter here:
- If the applicant has a residential address and chooses a briefadres because of problems with benefits or toeslagen (sub f).
- If the address is not inhabited, or is a PO box (sub e).
- If the applicant gives no information about where they live (sub g).
If you do have a place where you live, the rule says a briefadres can be granted only in exceptional situations, after assessment (art. 3 lid 2 and art. 12). Wet BRP also lets people in an institution, or people for whom a registered address is unsafe, choose a briefadres (art. 2.40 and 2.41); neither fits a friend who simply lives elsewhere.
If you live somewhere, you register there. A briefadres is not a way to be registered at a friend's address while you live elsewhere; Utrecht's rule ends a briefadres when the holder has a residential address (art. 13).
What it means for the friend whose address it is
A friend who moves in and registers at your address can count for the Dienst Toeslagen as a medebewoner for your huurtoeslag or, in listed situations, as your toeslagpartner. Someone who only uses your address as a postadres, and whom the gemeente knows about as such, does not count as a medebewoner and is not your toeslagpartner (Belastingdienst, "postadres"). The three words are in does a housemate affect my toeslagen. Utrecht also looks at addresses from the other side: one of its own examples of woonfraude is that people live at an address where nobody is registered.
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
Living with a friend: they register at your address, with your written consent, within five days. Not living there: a briefadres, which exists for people with no address of their own. Utrecht refuses it where someone who has an address asks for it because of benefit or toeslag problems, and allows it otherwise only in exceptional cases after assessment.