Huurtoeslag in 2026: can a student in Maastricht actually get it?
Huurtoeslag is a monthly contribution towards your rent from the Belastingdienst. The rules changed meaningfully on 1 January 2026, and most articles you will find online still describe the old ones.
Here is the current position, and the honest answer to whether it applies to you.
What changed in 2026
- The hard rent ceiling is gone. Previously a rent above the limit disqualified you outright. Now you can still receive huurtoeslag, calculated on the part of your rent up to €932.93.
- The youth threshold dropped from 23 to 21. From 2026, a 21 or 22 year old is treated as an adult, where before they were capped at the lower youth limit.
- For 18 to 20 year olds the calculation runs to €498.20.
- Service costs no longer count. Only the kale huur, the bare rent without service charges, is used.
If you are 21 or 22 and were told you did not qualify in 2025, that advice is out of date. This is the group the change helps most.
The condition that disqualifies most students
You must rent a zelfstandige woning: self-contained accommodation with its own lockable front door, its own kitchen and its own toilet.
A room in a shared student house, with a kitchen and bathroom shared down the hall, is onzelfstandig and does not qualify. This is not a technicality anyone can argue around, and it is why the majority of students in Maastricht cannot claim huurtoeslag no matter what they earn.
A studio with your own facilities does qualify, assuming the other conditions are met. When you are comparing a €700 room against an €850 studio, huurtoeslag can close a good part of that gap. It is worth doing the sum before you decide the room is cheaper.
The other conditions
- You are 18 or older.
- You are registered at the address with the gemeente.
- Your income is not too high. Student finance and a modest side job usually sit well within the range.
- Your assets are below the limit, €38,479 for a single person in 2026.
How to check properly
The Belastingdienst has a proefberekening, a trial calculation, at toeslagen.nl. It takes a few minutes, it is free, and it is the only answer that counts. Anything on the internet, including this page, is a summary of rules that change every January.
You apply through Mijn toeslagen with your DigiD, which means you need your BSN first, which means you need to be registered, which brings you back to the address question again.
A word of caution
Huurtoeslag is paid as an advance and reconciled later against your actual income. If you earn more than you estimated, you pay some back. Estimate honestly, and tell them when your circumstances change, rather than discovering the difference a year later as a bill.
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