I’ve lived in San Diego and thought finding housing there was hard but it’s a cakewalk compared to the hell that is finding an apartment in Amsterdam. I’ve considered leaving the city at times because finding somewhere decent here that’s also affordable seems close to impossible.
Antwerp, Belgium - rents are really reasonable for the 2nd largest city in Belgium. As a renter you have lots of rights and its kind of impossible to turf out tenents.
Rents are increased yearly on an index. My current apartment started at €950 in 2020 and in 2023 we now pay €1025. So, an indexation of €25 per year. This is city center too with a parking space and garden included.
Renting is really straightforward. Im not sure on the actual market because we’re not looking.
Second this. I think we have it mostly OK here in Antwerp (or Belgium in general) as renters compared to the rest of Western Europe, nothing like the horror stories from other cities. And the rents not absurdly expensive, low-quality or scarce, there are options. I’m really glad that there’s such a strong framework for renting with standard contracts, indexation and renter protections.