Scam pattern

Deposit before viewing? Why paying sight-unseen is the classic scam

Last updated: 24 July 2026

No. You never need to pay a deposit, a reservation fee or a 'viewing fee' before you have seen a Dutch rental home and signed a contract. Dutch practice runs viewing first, contract second, money last — and since the Good Landlord Act (Wet goed verhuurderschap, 1 July 2023) the deposit itself is capped at two months' bare rent. A request to pay anything sight-unseen is the single most common opening move in rental fraud in the Netherlands, and it peaks exactly when students and expats are searching from far away. This guide covers what the law actually allows, the pay-first scripts to recognise, and what to do if the money has already left your account.

  1. Contract signedAfter a real viewing
  2. Deposit paidMax. 2× monthly rent
  3. Move inPhotograph everything
  4. Deposit backWithin 14 days of leaving

Key takeaways

  • Money before a viewing has no basis in Dutch renting — no deposit, no reservation fee, no 'viewing fee'.
  • The lawful order is: view the home, sign the contract, then pay the first month plus a deposit of at most two months' bare rent.
  • Pressure to pay sight-unseen is the number-one fraud opening; treat it as a stop sign, not a negotiation.
  • Already paid? Call your bank immediately — a SEPA recall works best within 24 hours.
On this page
  1. 01Is paying before a viewing ever normal in the Netherlands?
  2. 02What does Dutch law actually say about deposits?
  3. 03Which pay-first scripts should you recognise?
  4. 04What should you do instead of paying?
  5. 05Already paid before a viewing — what now?
  6. 06Frequently asked questions

Is paying before a viewing ever normal in the Netherlands?

No. The Dutch rental process runs in one direction: you view the home (in person or on a live video call), the landlord or agency screens you, both sides sign a contract, and only then do you transfer the first month's rent and the deposit. Nothing in that chain gives anyone a reason to hold your money earlier — not to 'reserve' the property, not to 'prove you are serious', and not to unlock a viewing slot.

According to the Fraudehelpdesk, the national fraud reporting desk, rental fraud costs Dutch victims hundreds of thousands of euros a year across all channels — and the pay-before-you-see request is the pattern that makes most of it possible. A scammer's whole business model is collecting money for a home they cannot show you. Getting paid before any viewing is not a detail of their script; it is the script.

What does Dutch law actually say about deposits?

Since the Good Landlord Act came into force on 1 July 2023, the deposit for a standard tenancy is capped at two months' bare rent, and according to the Dutch government's housing rules the contract must state the amount and how it will be settled. The money changes hands when you sign — it protects the landlord against damage during the tenancy, not against you cancelling a viewing.

There is no legal figure called a 'viewing fee', 'reservation fee' or 'application fee' anywhere in the legitimate Dutch process. A professional landlord or agency earns from the rent. Someone who wants to earn from the process before a contract exists is telling you what their real product is: your transfer, not the tenancy.

The requestWhat it really is
"Transfer the deposit and the home is yours — viewing comes after"The classic advance-fee scam; the 'home' is usually a copied ad
"Pay a small viewing fee — too many candidates"No such fee exists in the Dutch process; genuine agencies never charge to show a home
"A refundable reservation while you decide"Refundable only in the message; chasing that refund later is the actual scam
"Confirm via Western Union or crypto"Untraceable channels, chosen precisely because recovery is near-impossible
Deposit at contract signing, at most two months' bare rentThe one legitimate payment moment in the process

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Which pay-first scripts should you recognise?

The wording varies; the shape never does. These are the versions that reach renters in the Netherlands most often:

  • The absent landlord: they are 'working abroad', the keys sit 'with a courier service', and your payment releases the delivery. Real owners with real homes arrange viewings; couriers do not run tenancies.
  • The queue-jumper: dozens of applicants supposedly waiting, yet the home is yours today if you transfer right now. Scarcity in the Dutch market is real — which is exactly why it is the perfect pressure lever.
  • The filter fee: a small amount, typically €25–€50, to 'filter serious candidates' before a viewing. Small enough to feel harmless, collected across dozens of victims at a time.
  • The too-good listing: rent 20–40% below the going rate for the street, glossy photos, instant availability. The price is the bait that makes the payment request feel like a bargain instead of a warning.

What should you do instead of paying?

Every step here costs nothing and removes exactly the information gap the pay-first script depends on:

  • Insist on seeing the home — in person, or on a live video walk-through where the person responds to your requests on camera. A pre-recorded clip proves nothing.
  • Run the ad through a free red-flag check first: the rent against the local market, reused photos, the payment story, the pressure phrases.
  • Renting from a private landlord? Match the name against the land registry before any money moves — a match / no-match answer no message thread can fake.
  • Keep every payment inside the lawful moment: after signing, to a Dutch IBAN whose name matches the landlord on your contract.
Timeline of a legitimate Dutch rental: viewing first, then contract signing, then the deposit and first month's rent — with the danger zone marked at any payment requested before the viewing.12€34
  1. Contract signedAfter a real viewing
  2. Deposit paidMax. 2× monthly rent
  3. Move inPhotograph everything
  4. Deposit backWithin 14 days of leaving
The lawful order of a Dutch rental. Any request that moves money to the left of the contract is the warning itself.

Already paid before a viewing — what now?

Act inside the first 24 hours if you can. Call your bank and ask for a recall of the SEPA transfer — the odds are best while the money has not been forwarded on. Then file a police report for internetoplichting (online fraud) via politie.nl and report the case to the Fraudehelpdesk, which tracks the patterns and warns the next person.

Keep everything: the ad, the messages, the account number, the name they used. Our guide on what to do after a rental scam walks through each step, including what a bank can and cannot reverse.

Frequently asked questions

Is it normal to pay a deposit before viewing an apartment in the Netherlands?
No. The deposit is paid when you sign the contract, after you have seen the home. There is no Dutch custom of paying to view, to reserve or to 'hold' a property — that request is the standard opening of a rental scam.
Are viewing fees legal in the Netherlands?
No such fee exists in the legitimate process. Agencies and landlords do not charge candidates to be shown a home, and the Good Landlord Act tightened the rules on what may be charged around a tenancy at all. Treat any 'kijkgeld' request as a warning, not a formality.
What is the maximum deposit for a Dutch rental?
Two months' bare rent for standard contracts signed since 1 July 2023, under the Good Landlord Act, and the amount must be written into the contract. Demands above that point to a rule-breaking landlord or a scam.
Can I get my money back if I paid before a viewing and it was a scam?
Sometimes — speed decides. A SEPA transfer can occasionally be recalled if you call your bank within about 24 hours. After that, a police report and a Fraudehelpdesk report are the remaining routes; payments through crypto or cash-transfer services are rarely recoverable.
Is a deposit request itself a red flag?
No — nearly every Dutch rental carries a deposit of one or two months' rent. The red flag is timing and route: money requested before a viewing and a signed contract, or sent to an account that does not match the landlord's name.

Get the listing checked before anyone gets paid

Paste the ad or the landlord's message into the free check — it reads the rent against the local market, the payment story and the pressure phrases in about 60 seconds. Paying a private landlord? Add the land-registry owner match first.

Check a listing free

Dormetrics is a risk signal, not a guarantee. We show you which red flags fired and whether the person taking your deposit legally owns the property. Always view in person, pay by SEPA to a Dutch IBAN, and insist you can register at the address (BRP). The final decision is yours.

Sources

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