We rented a house in Haarlem through Interhouse for over two years. While the check-in process was smooth, our experience declined drastically due to serious mismanagement by both the landlord and the agency.
The first major issue began when our bedroom started leaking during heavy rain. We had to endure water dripping into our room for days before anything was done to fix it. Shortly after, the boiler stopped working, and we were left without hot water for more than a week in winter. The excuse was that no one was available to fix it, but in truth, the landlord insisted on using a specific technician—delaying the repair unnecessarily when plenty of companies could have resolved it sooner.
Then came the first round of renovations at the back of the house. We were informed workers would be on the property, but in practice, they knocked on our door early in the morning and even asked us to pay for their parking—completely inappropriate behavior for tenants to deal with.
Things escalated after we gave notice to move out. The landlord immediately began renovations at the front of the house, and for a week and a half, we had workers arriving at 7:30 a.m. daily, disrupting our work-from-home routines. This was particularly serious, as we both handle confidential information and needed a quiet, private environment. We ultimately decided to leave the house before the end of the tenancy.
More disturbing was that one of the workers was the landlord, who entered the house daily without knocking, using his key—despite us being home. This was a blatant invasion of privacy. When we reported this unprofessional and intrusive behavior, we were accused of inappropriate conduct, with one of the InterHouse employees—a particularly rude and unprofessional person named Cilly—claiming that my husband was walking around with headsets on and smoking when they arrived, as if that somehow justified walking in unannounced. Not only was this a baseless accusation, but it was also deeply disrespectful. We were the ones whose privacy was violated, and instead we were accused of things they had no proof of.
During this period, the workers also used our electricity and water freely, while we were already in the process of moving out. When we returned to collect the remaining items, we discovered that a suitcase and a brand-new €200 Bosch vacuum cleaner had been stolen. We reported this to Interhouse, and were met with mockery and laughter from Mr. Barend, who not only made fun of the situation but also joked during the final checkout appointment.
At the checkout, Mr. Barend attempted to charge us for things like a tilted toilet seat, which had been that way since we moved in, and nitpicked about limescale, while ignoring the fact that we had repainted several walls to improve the condition of the house. Fortunately, the formal checkout report clearly stated there were no damages and no deductions to be made, as the property was returned in good condition.
Despite this, we still had to chase down our deposit, which by Dutch law must be returned within 14 days when no deductions apply.
This experience was incredibly frustrating and unprofessional. Sadly, it's not the first time we’ve had issues with real estate agencies in the Netherlands, but Interhouse has been by far the worst. They showed a complete lack of respect, professionalism, and accountability.
We would strongly advise anyone to avoid Interhouse. If you do rent through them, document absolutely everything, and don’t expect support when problems arise.
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