Renting on Saba: twenty social homes, a rent committee in the making and your landlord's signature

Yes, as a Dutch citizen you rent on Saba without a permit or restriction. The question is whether there is anything to rent. The Dutch government writes in its policy agenda for the Caribbean Netherlands that the rental market on the islands is out of balance, that Saba gained twenty social rental homes from Bazalt Wonen and that an estimated forty households remain on the waiting list after that, on an island of two thousand people. The find at the source: the rent committee the law prescribes for each public entity does not yet exist on Saba; the Public Entity is now recruiting its members. So what it costs is laid down nowhere, and the trap is not the rent but the paper. A lease in your name is the proof of housing the IND asks for the declaration by operation of law, the proof of address for your registration, and the basis for your electricity connection, which the owner must co-sign.

Why is there so little?

The policy agenda is open about it. There are no up-to-date figures on the housing stock, the shortage and the average rent on the three islands, homes disappear from the stock into tourist rentals, and for low and middle incomes demand is high and supply small. For Saba specifically: the twenty social homes, built with national funding, and a task force with the Public Entity to resolve bottlenecks. The Public Entity also signed a letter of intent with the Ministry of Housing, the Own Your Own Home Foundation and Bazalt Wonen: build more affordable homes, put the island ordinances in order, a working social rental market and a fund for self-builders. That is policy, not yet supply. Whoever moves to Saba searches in practice through their employer and through people on the island, and starts before the flight.

What does the rent committee do, and when?

The Rental Housing Market Measures Act Caribbean Netherlands gives each public entity a rent committee that rules bindingly on the rent, an increase or decrease, the service charges and the termination, and that assesses the quality of the home against a points system. On Bonaire that committee has worked for years. On Saba the Public Entity's site says that the Saba Rent Committee is independent, consists of representatives of tenants and landlords, is funded by the Ministry of the Interior through the RCN, and is currently being established: there are vacancies for a secretary, members and a deputy chair. Information for tenants on how to submit a request will appear on that page once the committee is operational. Until then your rent is what you and the landlord agree.

Only sign when the lease can serve at the IND. A holiday home in an acquaintance's name or a verbal agreement is not proof of housing. Without that paper the IND does not process your application, and without proof of address the Census Office does not register you.

What does living cost besides the rent?

The rent itself is stated nowhere officially; the utilities' prices are. Saba Electric Company only connects after a deposit and a signed contract, and for a domestic connection the company asks for an address with street name and house number, valid identification and the signature of the owner of the property. Satel supplies fibre and telephone at fixed amounts, and asks non-residents for a deposit of $ 100. As the island's price level: the medical university charges $ 3,950 per semester for a private room in its student residence, including electricity, water and internet.

Item	Amount or rule
Social rental homes on Saba from the national programme	20, by Bazalt Wonen
Households on the Saba waiting list, government estimate	about 40
Rent committee Saba	being established; no points system in force
Extract from the population register as proof of address	$ 9
Electricity (SEC): connection	deposit based on estimated use, contract, owner's signature
Electricity: paid late	$ 10 charge, after 10 days a warning and $ 25 disconnection fee
Electricity: terminating on departure	at least 3 working days in advance
Satel: opening an account	$ 50 one-off
Satel: fibre 250/50 Mb	$ 150 installation kit, $ 50 a month excluding tax
Satel: deposit non-resident	$ 100, refunded on termination
Student room medical university, all inclusive	$ 3,950 per semester

What do you arrange around the lease?

Three things that weigh differently on Saba than in the Netherlands. Ask the owner in advance whether they will co-sign for the electricity connection; without that signature the house stays dark. Have the lease ready well before the IND appointment, because the application is only processed when complete. And count in the utilities: the electricity bill has two payment cycles, the beginning of the month for The Bottom and St. Johns, mid-month for Windwardside and Zions Hill, and the meter is read every thirty days.

Whoever wants to buy after a year reads buying a house on Saba; where renting falls in the order of your arrival is in your first weeks on Saba and in the step-by-step plan on /saba.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Saba or go straight to step 4.1 in the open plan.