May I rent out a garden home after the informal care has ended?

Usually not, and that is an answer people would rather hear beforehand than afterwards. The room to live independently in a home in your back garden depends on the existence of an informal care (mantelzorg) relationship. If that relationship ends, the basis for that use ends with it, and renting to someone else is something new in planning terms: an independent home on your plot.

There is a second brake on top of that, and it is at least as firm. As soon as you rent it out, tenancy law applies, and a tenant of independent living space is well protected in the Netherlands. A home you only wanted to let for a while can turn into a situation you can no longer end yourself.

Why the use lapses when the care ends

In many gardens a garden home (mantelzorgwoning) may stand permit-free as an ancillary building. That concerns the building. The fact that someone may live in it independently, with their own kitchen, bathroom and front door, is because the use is linked to informal care as defined in the Wmo 2015 (the Social Support Act).

Those two things are assessed separately. So the building may stay while living in it is no longer permitted. That sounds odd, but it is the core of the arrangement, and it explains why your municipality can ask about the use once the care has ended without anything having to change about the building.

What you can do instead

The first option is underestimated. A garden home is not tied to one person; if a new care need arises in your household or family, the home can take on that function again. What does not work is constructing an informal care relationship to make renting possible. Municipalities know that route.

Renting to third parties

If you still want to rent to someone without a care relationship, you are dealing with three tracks at the same time, and all three have to be in order.

• The omgevingsplan. An extra independent home on your plot must be permitted in planning terms. In a back garden in a residential area that is rarely the case, and a permit for an activity that deviates from the omgevingsplan is then the only route.
• The huisvestingsverordening (the municipal housing bylaw). Many municipalities set rules on adding living space, on creating new homes and on renting out rooms, with their own permit requirement.
• The registration. An occupant who registers at your address or at a new address makes the use visible. In practice, that is where most enforcement cases begin.

Holiday letting, for example through a rental platform, is not a way out. That is a different use from living there, and most municipalities have their own rules and permits for it.

Tenancy law is the second brake

Suppose it is possible in planning terms. Then comes the question that weighs more heavily from a business point of view: how do you get out of it again. A tenant of independent living space enjoys tenant protection, and notice can only be given on the grounds set out in the law. If the tenant does not want to leave, the court decides.

Since 2024, temporary tenancy agreements for independent living space have also only been possible in exceptional cases; the starting point is a contract for an indefinite period. So a temporary arrangement for a few years can no longer be taken for granted, and that is exactly what people have in mind with a garden home.

If you rent to a family member, the same rules apply. A verbal arrangement within the family is legally a tenancy agreement as soon as payment is made on a structural basis for the use of living space.

Charging rent during the informal care

There is another variant that comes up regularly: may I charge the occupant rent while the care is ongoing. That is something different from renting to a third party, and it is allowed. After all, the basis for the use remains the informal care relationship; who pays for the home and whether there is a payment in return is an arrangement between the two of you.

Two things are sensible, though. Put the arrangement in writing, even within the family, including what the payment covers in terms of energy, water and maintenance. And bear in mind that a payment that starts to look like a tenancy agreement also brings the protection that goes with it. If in doubt, get advice before you agree on an amount, especially if it concerns someone who is not a family member.

What enforcement means in practice

Municipalities enforce inconsistently and usually in response to a report. If a report comes in, for example from a neighbour, an inspection follows and, in the event of a violation, an advance warning letter (vooraanschrijving). After that an order subject to a penalty (last onder dwangsom) may follow: you are given a period to end the use, and for every week or month that it continues you forfeit a sum.

The awkward part is the overlap with tenancy law. You can receive an order to end the use while you cannot simply get the tenant out of the home. That is the bind people end up in, and it is not theoretical.

Two scenarios side by side

To show where it hinges, here are two situations that differ on only one point.

Mother dies and the home is empty. You want to rent it to a student from the neighbourhood. In planning terms that is a new independent home in a back garden, and that requires a permit that is rarely granted. If you rent it out anyway, you risk an order subject to a penalty, while you cannot make the tenant leave unilaterally.

Mother dies and a year later your father-in-law needs care. Then there is once again an informal care relationship, and the home can simply fulfil that function again. Report it to your municipality and make sure the justification is sound; what counts is the care situation, not the person.

So the difference is not in the building, not in the neighbours and not in the rent. It lies in whether care is being provided. That is also why the answer on this page is so firm: it is not a matter of interpretation but of the legal basis for the use.

The tax side

If you rent out the home, it remains an asset in box 3 (the tax on savings and investments), and for a private individual the rental income is normally not taxed separately. The municipality may, however, treat the home as a separate property, with its own tax assessment and possibly a second charge for waste and sewerage. You can read about that on the page about the WOZ value (the official property valuation).

What to arrange in advance

The question of what happens when the care stops belongs at the start of the process, not at the end. There are three things you can put in writing now.

• The way out. Agree whether the supplier will buy the home back and on what terms. We buy back our own homes, refurbish them and offer them again.
• Relocatability. A home that can be moved is a solution; a building that can only be demolished is not.
• The agreements with the municipality. If your permit or agreement states that the home will be removed once the care ends, make sure you know the deadline for doing so.

What else can happen to the home is covered in what happens after the occupant dies and in whether it can be converted into guest accommodation. What it is still worth at that point is explained in how much residual value a garden home has.

In short

Renting to a third party after the informal care has ended is almost always a new home in planning terms, and that is rarely allowed in a back garden. If it does work out, you will be dealing with tenant protection that you cannot end unilaterally. The practical routes are a new care situation, a different use, relocation or buy-back.

If you are unsure about your own situation, check with your municipality before you agree anything. And if you are still considering a home, first do the permit check for your address, because it also shows what your municipality has arranged regarding the use.

Sources

• [Act] Omgevingswet, art. 5.1, permit for an activity deviating from the omgevingsplan, consulted 20 August 2026
• [Decree] Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving (Bbl), ancillary buildings and residential use, consulted 20 August 2026
• [Act] Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, title 4, rent and tenant protection for living space, consulted 20 August 2026
• [Act] Huisvestingswet 2014, municipal rules on creating new homes and withdrawing housing from use, consulted 20 August 2026
• [Act] Algemene wet bestuursrecht, order subject to a penalty, consulted 20 August 2026