Country Updates

Belgium

News

Temporary Housing 

Local Immigration

Lead time required for booking 
is 10-8 weeks. 

Low supply in the budget range. Hotels are an option, but more expensive.

Important to note: Non-EU citizens must register on arrival at their address in Belgium. Hotels and Airbnb do not allow this. 

It should be checked beforehand of the temporary accommodation allows registration on the address.

The new housing reform in Belgium is designed to make the rental market more sustainable and fair, with these measures:

• The rental guarantee is limited to a maximum of 2 months' rent in the FR and Bruxelles region and 3 months in Flanders.
• Short-term leases (max. 3 years) can only be renewed once.
• Discussions to improve rent control, stabilise rent prices and offer more security to tenants.
• Plans to increase investments in energy renovations of existing homes. This could lead to higher costs for homeowners, but also to an increase in the value of renovated properties.

In-demand locations

Leases are either 3 years or 9 years long. 

A notice period of 3 months is always required to end a lease and a penalty must be paid if breaking a lease early. 

Exceptionally and depending on the willingness of the landlord, a 1-year lease can be agreed. The 3-month notice still applies, as does the penalty for breaking contract before the end date.

Lease durations (minimum)

Permanent Housing

Pet acceptance

International school application premium application dates

Rolling throughout the academic year.

International year group spaces

Depending on the school

Banking restrictions timeline

National holidays

Country-Specific Nuances

Landlords pay broker fees. 

Expert fees for the check-in are mandatory and need to be covered 50% by the tenant and 50% by the landlord.

For a successful home-finding process in this context, we recommend: 

• Setting a realistic budget, and preparing the application in advance
• Always checking validity of ads (especially cheap options)
• Acting quickly on available properties 
• For young professionals, considering co-living options 

Germany

News

Temporary Housing 

Local Immigration

The housing crisis played a key role in Germany’s recent elections, where the conservative CDU/CSU won the most votes.

That's why the coming months will be crucial in shaping Germany’s future policies.

With rising far-right influence and economic uncertainty, the new government faces major challenges in addressing the housing crisis and stabilizing the economy.

Demand still very high, make bookings in advance.

Availability of furnished apartments with more than 1 bedroom is very limited, especially in smaller cities.

Since June 2024, it's easier for highly skilled workers to connect with German employers, thanks to the Opportunity Card (Chancekarte).

Germany is facing a severe housing crisis, with a shortage of 800,000 apartments and sky-rocketing rents, esp. in major cities. 

Government efforts to build 400,000 homes annually have fallen short due to high construction costs and interest rates. In 2023, only 245,000 new apartments were built, with even fewer expected in 2024.

Furnished apartments with more than 1 bedroom: limited availability, especially in smaller cities.

2025 UPDATE: latest pricing for different categories of housing in the main German cities:

In-demand locations

Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Munich, Dusseldorf, Cologne.

1-2 years. Landlords can put 
4 years as a minimum.

Lease duration (minimum)

Permanent Housing

Pet acceptance

Landlord dependent. 
NO pets in temporary housing.

International school application premium application dates

Rolling throughout the academic year.

Local Schools

Banking restrictions timeline

Registration in Germany must be completed prior to setting up bank account. 

National holidays

Country-Specific Nuances

School vacation time is different in each state. 

Landlord covers exorbitant broker fees in hot market.

Unlikely to see more than 4 properties in a day.

Ireland

News

Temporary Housing 

Local Immigration

Elections in Q4 of 2024 led to the same parties back in coalition. 

There is significant pressure on the new government to review and revise legislation covering Rent Pressure Zones (RPZ's) as these are cited for many small landlords leaving the rental market. 

The new government has made commitments to streamline and connect the work permit and visa processes.                     

After a 6-year break, the Government reintroduced deportation flights for individuals who had been denied asylum in Ireland. This has been read as a message from authorities that there will be stricter controls on asylum seekers arriving in the country.

Supply of temporary housing in Dublin is fair. 

We recommend prior reservation of 4 weeks. 

In other main locations supply is very low, especially Cork, Limerick, and Galway. 

As of January 2025, all first-time registrations for any type of residence permission in Ireland must be completed in person at the Burgh Quay Registration Office in Dublin.

All residence permission renewals (regardless of county) must be processed online via the Immigration Service Delivery portal. 

In February 2025, Ireland introduced for the first time a Seasonal Employment Permit.

The permit – open to non-European Economic Area nationals – allows for seasonal work for a maximum of 7 months per year, from April 14 until November 13.

Open-market rents are 43% higher than before Covid-19, according to Daft.ie  

At the beginning of February, there were fewer than 2,300 homes available to rent across the country, down one quarter on the same date a year previously.

Average open-market rent nationwide in Q4 2024 was €1,956 per month.

The report states that in Dublin, rents in Q4 2024 were 4% higher than a year earlier, while outside the capital, they were 7% higher.

In Cork and Galway, rents rose by 10% during 2024, while in Limerick, market rents increased by 19%.

MUST SEE: latest pricing updates for housing in Dublin:

In-demand locations

After years of high demand and decreasing supply, the whole of Ireland can now be considered in demand, as nowhere is there more than a handful of properties available at any given time.

Particularly hard hit are university towns such as Cork, Limerick and Galway.  

1 year

Lease duration (minimum)

Permanent Housing

Pet acceptance

Landlord dependent. 

Increasingly difficult to have pets approved.  

International school application premium application dates

One international school in Dublin, flexible with application rolling throughout the year, most EE's children of secondaty school age (12-18) go to private Irish schools as day students.

Local Schools

Banking restrictions timeline

Online banks are taking preference due to delays in 'old-school' banks. 

Revolut is an increasingly popular option. 

AIB now offer an online service for opening new accounts, but the account holder needs to confirm a residential address and physically be in Ireland in order to complete the account opening.

BOI has an option for residents of EU and US to open accounts online before relocating to Ireland.

National holidays

Country-Specific Nuances

1. Packimpex liaises with agents and property management companies to have access to properties before they are offered to the general market. 

2. EE should have documents ready before starting home search: proof of funds (work contract, employer letter), landlord references, ID.

3. EE must be ready to make quick decision after viewing a property.

4. Set EE's expectations at an early stage, as rent inflation continues, and new properties become less affordable. 

Italy

News

Temporary Housing 

According to a recent survey by Scenari Immobiliari, these are the top 10 neighbourhoods in Milan: Porta Lodovica-Porta Vigentina, Città Studi, Bicocca, Sarpi and San Siro. 

Demand is still very high. Advance bookings to be made wherever possible. 

Salone del Mobile will take place in Milano between 8-13 April. Lack of availability for temporary options and those available very expensive (double price).

Contratto di soggiorno (which concerns the entry procedures for non-European workers) has not yet been adjusted for online applications.
 
Family reunification: non-EU citizens (with certain exceptions) must have at least 2 years of legal and uninterrupted residence in Italy at the time of application for reunification.

Flow decree (Decretto Flussi) for the year 2025: 

• 70,720 entries for non-seasonal dependent work
• 730 entries for self-employment
• 110,000 entries for seasonal dependent work.

Realtor fees: We are hearing contradictory feedback on this topic. Some realtors deny issuing the invoice to an entity which is not part of the lease, others accept payment from RMCs with no issues.

Flat rate taxation system: cannot be applied to Company leases yet, because of opposition from the Revenue Agency.



Handover conditions for rental homes: A recent sentence of the Corte di Cassazione (Italian highest court of appeal) stated that painting is due only if the conditions of the painting go beyond normal wear and tear.

In-demand locations

Standard 4 year lease, can be renewed for further 4 years.

Increase in '3 + 2' rental contracts, especially in the Milan area.

Lease durations (minimum)

Permanent Housing

Pet acceptance

Landlord dependent

International school application premium application dates

Rolling throughout the academic year.

Up to 1 year waiting list for kindegarten spaces in Italy. Consider that a child may need up to 1 month adaption time before they can attend kindergarten full-time.

International year group spaces

Depending on the school

Banking restrictions timeline

2 types of accounts are available, resident and non-resident. 

Local registration and an Italian ID card are required to open the resident account.

National holidays

Country Specific Nuances

We recommend assignees to:

• accept the first doctor that the health office assigns.
• be cautious about purchasing or importing electric cars. There's no proper infrastructure yet.

The Netherlands

News

Temporary Housing 

Local Immigration

• DBA Act: freelancers must have income from at least 2 different entities, in order to avoid situations of false self-employment when working for a single client and should instead be directly employed by the company. 
• Municipal taxes and levies in 2025: average increase by 4.8%
• The Dutch are European Champions of part-time work.
• Health insurance premiums: basic insurance is rising to an avg. of €158.72 per month €11.32 more than this year. 
• Housing: €5 billion to boost the construction of new homes and neighbourhoods. Target is to build 100,000 new homes/year.
• 30 percent ruling changes: The expat tax break will be reduced from 30% to 27%. The updated ruling allows for a 27% tax deduction for a maximum of five years.  
• Tax reform: To make it more rewarding to work, the rate in the first income tax band will be lowered, and a new second band will be introduced.  
• Support for vulnerable groups: The government will implement a targeted package of measures to address financial difficulties, such as problem debt, and will adjust housing benefits and supplementary child benefits.

10-12 weeks to obtain work permit and visa. V number takes 2 weeks to get and already allows to book appointments for TH registrations. 

Lead time for residence permit appointment is 8 weeks, and can be booked as soon as one has their V number. 

HSM and Blue Card salary thresholds have increased by 6.7% compared to 2024.

MUST SEE: latest pricing updates for housing in Amsterdam:

In-demand locations

The Randstad is the most demanding, urbanised and economically significant region in the Netherlands, with 4 major cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague (Den Haag), Utrecht. 

Outside the region, Eindhoven (tech and innovation hub) and Rotterdam (major port) are also desirable locations. 

Surrounding suburbs and smaller cities are showing growind demand due to difficult housing situation in large cities e.g. Amstelveen, Delft, Leiden, Haarlem, Hilversum, Almere.

12 months fixed period, afterwards indefinite. 

2-year contracts with flexible cancelation policy no longer exist.

Lease durations (minimum)

Permanent Housing

Pet acceptance

Landlord dependent

International school application premium application dates

Banking restrictions timeline

BSN number, proof of identity and employment, and local address are most necessary to provide. 

In general, it is an easy process with possibilities to open bank account in-person or online via mobile application. 

Non-EU citizens must have approved immigration to set up bank account. In case of some nationalities additional checks and specific documentation are required.

National holidays

Country-Specific Nuances

The sooner the initiation the best. 

Work with a local broker: Brokers are valuable in sourcing properties. Broker fees (typically one month’s rent + 21% VAT) must be covered by the employee or employer.

Documentation: Employees should prepare an introduction letter, photo, work contract, and - if salary slips aren’t available - an employment statement from the employer.

Tips for success:

• Flexible and available for viewings.
• Quick decisions to secure properties.
• Budget for overbidding, as it’s common.
• Expanding search to surrounding areas/towns if on a lower budget.
• Consider semi-furnished properties for more options.
• Prepare for additional checks if applying for investment housing.

Switzerland

News

Temporary Housing 

Permit & Visa Processing times

Following the freezing of USAID funds to Swiss NGOs, significant redundancies are expected in the country (especially in Geneva), despite efforts to mitigate effects. This shakeup might have some consequences on the housing market.

Basel and the surrounding cities will have very little availability in May 2025, due to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Little availability expected in major cities between 2-27 July, when Women's EURO 2025 will take place.

4-8 weeks

Agreement between CH and IT for cross-board commuters (from 17 July 2023 onwards): withholding tax rate codes are applied as of 1 January 2024 by Swiss employers.

The Federal Court in Lausanne has ruled that, after renovations to the property, landlords are allowed to raise the rent by a maximum of 2 percent above the reference interest rate for Swiss mortgages.

2025 UPDATE: latest pricing for different categories of housing in the main Swiss cities:

In-demand locations

Geneva, Zurich, Zug

House 1-5 years
Apartment 1 year

Lease durations (minimum)

Permanent Housing

Pet acceptance

Dogs (especially large ones) not always accepted by landlords.

International school application premium application dates

Rolling throughout the academic year but places can be limited.

Local School

According to UBS, Ukranians must also have their permit to be able to open a bank account.

National holidays

Country-Specific Nuances

Quick decision making for housing is key. Only apply for the properties considered a serious option in order to avoid upsetting the real-estate agencies. 

Many things in Switzerland are Canton-specific: immigration process, rental rules and practices can be different depending on the canton. 

Switzerland has four national languages, the language/s spoken depends on the Canton.

United Kingdom

News

Temporary Housing 

Local Immigration

Demand for temporary housing continues to be high in main cities. 

Book in advance wherever possible. 

4-12 Weeks, depending on visa type 

Levels of rental housing stock are low as more Landlords exit the rental market as a result of higher mortgage rates and diminishing returns. 

Given the lower stock levels, competition for available properties is tough. 

Prospective tenants are even having to offer asking price or above to secure a property.

Recent shifts in the housing market have introduced new complexities that make it even more difficult for both residents and newcomers.

Check our recommendations here:

In-demand locations

London, Manchester, Derby, Nottingham, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh

Standard is 12 months minimum.

The ability to negotiate break clauses into a contract is more difficult than in the past.  

Lease durations (minimum)

Permanent Housing

Pet acceptance

Landlord dependent but owning pets does limit property choice.

Tenants can request permission to keep pets (as per the Renters' Rights Bill).

International school application premium application dates

Rolling throughout the year, check for local state schools.

Local School

Banking restrictions timeline

National holidays

Country Specific Nuances

We advise EE to be prepared to decide quickly if they want to offer on a property. On average there are 25 prospective Tenants asking to view a property in large cities.

The proposed new law, the Renters Reform Bill did not make it through Parliament before it ended prior to the General Election at the start of July. Therefore, it won't become law and any new legislation on this topic will need to be introduced by the next Government and start the process again.

© Packimpex Ltd., 2023  All rights reserved. All our transactions are subject to the general terms and conditions of Packimpex. 
These Terms as well as our code of business ethics, our data protection policy and our anti-bribery policy can be found on our website.

Reach out to Benoit Meyer, Sales Director Packimpex Ltd., to understand how these updates may affect your relocation projects. 

Do you need more insight?

New school year starts between beginning of Aug and mid of Sept. depending on the state.

School holidays vary by state.

Local Kindergarten availability is low, with lengthy waiting lists (6+ months) 

Children are allocated to local schools based on catchment area. Private schools in Ireland are popular and are approximately €6000 per annum on average.

Rolling throughout the academic year.

Local School

Due to influx of refugees, there's high demand + long waiting lists in TaalKlass (classes for international children to help them integrate into the Dutch public school system). 

Public school search is only possible once permanent housing is secured. Local schools can accept 4-5 yo children directly without an integration class. 

First, reach out to school nearest to the permanent address.

The school year starts mid-August with an autumn holiday following end of September/ start of October (depending on the canton). Children are allocated the school in their neighborhood based on catchment area.

Children are allocated to the school in their neighborhood due to catchment areas.

All regions

• confirmed salary thresholds for 2025: Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia.
• The new EU Blue card directive has been introduced in all regions. After 12 months, the employee can change employer as long as the new employment meets the same requirements.
• In IT&C, 3 years of experience equals a university degree.
  
• Integration (language) courses will most likely become mandatory for work and residency permits renewals. Still waiting for their enforcement, with variations by region and municipality.

Flanders

• Stricter employment rules for companies that have insufficient economic activity/credit worthiness or newly-founded ones. 
• Obtaining a work permit for non highly skilled workers becomes more difficult. Proof needed that no suitable candidate is found. The vacancy must be published for min. 9 weeks with VDAB and on the EURES platform. 
• Only 29 middle-skilled professions are exempted of the market research.  
  

Brussels

• no yearly compliance check needed
• no longer looking at the yearly salary but the monthly basic salary
• detailed job description and organisation chart needs to be added to the application

Local Immigration

All main italian cities are in demand, especially Milan, Rome, Florence, Turin, Bologna.

Banking restrictions timeline

Since the Affordable Rent Act was introduced in the Netherlands, 3000+ rental homes have left the market.

While the law successfully added more mid-priced rentals as planned, it caused a big drop in the supply of higher-priced homes, making the rental market worse overall.

We analysed the current situation and its effects here:

Latest pricing updates for different categories of housing in London:

NO pets in temporary housing. 

Landlords can't ban pets outright but they can choose a tenant that doesn't have a pet. In a competitive market it makes an application less appealing.

Belgium has got a new government. More right-swung than usual, we expect some changes in labor immigration regulations. These may take time to be implemented, with some possible variations from one region to the other and from one municipality to the other.

Work Permit: 12 weeks (before visa application).
Electronic residence permit (eAT): 8-12 weeks.

IMPORTANT! You need to register your car before entering Brussels.

High-risk countries (listed by each financial institution) nationals may be subject to stricter limitations.

Other than that, non-EU nationals will need a D visa to open a bank account and EU nationals can open one with a passport, work and rental contract. 

When timing is too tight, valid alternatives are: online banks like Revolut for bank account openings and Korfine for security deposits and home insurance.

A lead time of 6 weeks is required for booking. 

The address must allow registration; this should be verified before the booking is confirmed. 

Average prices for a 1-bedroom serviced apartment for 28+ nights are estimated to range between €4,700 and €6,100 (excl. taxes).

Depending on the country of origin and type of account required, an account can sometimes be opened prior to arrival in the UK. 

When this is not possible, opening a bank account is a quick process. Packimpex can arrange for this to be done online in most cases.

Russian nationals are facing longer processing times & more extensive checks.

The Renters' Rights Bill will bring significant changes to the rental market, focusing on tenant rights and stricter obligations for landlords:

• No-fault evictions will be eliminated for new and existing tenancies.
• Fixed-Term Tenancies are replaced by periodic tenancies.
• Landlords will have new grounds to regain possession for reasons like selling or moving into the property.
• Rent Controls and Bidding Ban: Rent increases will be capped and  limited to once per year. Rental bidding wars will be prohibited.
• Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law: Landlords face fines if properties don't meet the new Decent Homes Standard.

From 1st January 2025 VAT will become payable on private school fees at the current 20% VAT rate. 

It is likely that overall school fees will increase by the same amount as schools will not absorb the difference. This will also affect International schools in the UK.

Special mention for school holidays: 

There are differences between French-speaking schools and Dutch-speaking schools.

Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Leuven