Moved? Report it to the municipality within 5 days

Last year I moved within The Hague. I thought: I’ll sort out the registration later. That was a mistake.

The rule is simple. You report your move to the municipality. You can do that from 4 weeks before the move, up to 5 days after. I only went to the municipality after three weeks. Then the day of your notification counts as the moving date, not the actual day. The municipality may also give a fine, up to €325. I was lucky and did not get a fine.

Why is this important?

• Without registration at the address, you will not receive rent allowance for that home.
• Letters from the government will then go to your old address.

Bring: a valid ID and your rental contract. Are you renting a room? Then you also need a consent declaration from the main occupant.

One more tip. Do you see an advertisement with "registration not possible"? Be careful. Without registration, you get many problems.

All rules are on rijksoverheid.nl.