Introduction
You have found the right person, the business case is approved, and the offer goes out. Then the answer comes back: thank you, but no. If that has happened to you recently, you are not alone.
Nearly half of companies saw more employees turn down a relocation last year. In the Netherlands, the reason is rarely the job.
In this post we look at what the latest relocation survey says about why people decline, why the reasons look different for a move into the Netherlands, and what you can do before the offer goes out to make a yes more likely.
Why do employees decline relocation offers?
The 2026 Atlas Corporate Relocation Survey (its 59th edition, covering 549 mobility decision-makers) found that 46% of companies saw more relocation declines in 2025, and 59% had at least one decline. The top reasons were:
- Family ties: 34%
- Housing or mortgage concerns at the destination: 28%
- Anxiety about the home they would leave behind: 21%
A new reason also entered the top five this year: concerns about moving children into or out of school. Atlas added this option to the survey for the first time in 2026, and it ranked in the top five straight away.
One caveat: the Atlas sample is mostly US companies. These are useful signals, not Dutch findings, and much of the commentary around them is about selling a home and mortgage rates. A move into the Netherlands looks different.
What declines look like for a move to the Netherlands
For most international hires coming here, the worry is not selling a house. It is renting one. For Dutch-bound assignees, the housing search itself has overtaken the visa process as the most stressful part of moving.
Three Dutch-specific factors drive that hesitation:
- Income requirements for rentals. Dutch landlords commonly ask for a gross monthly income of around three times the rent, and some larger corporate landlords apply a stricter four-times rule. With average new-tenant free-sector rents at €1,914 a month in Q3 2026, the three-times rule implies roughly €5,742 gross per month nationally. In Amsterdam, a gross income of about €5,515 a month was typically needed for a standard rental in late-2025 data.
- The partner as co-tenant. When a trailing partner wants to be on the lease, they may need to meet income requirements too. For a partner who has just given up a job to move, that can be a real source of stress.
- School places. If the housing search runs long, children can start the school year late. That links directly to the new schooling concern in the Atlas data.
Relocation support for a trailing spouse in the Netherlands
The human side of a move is what makes or breaks it. In our experience, when an assignment struggles or ends early, the cause is more often the family’s situation than the logistics: a partner who cannot find work, a disrupted school year for the children, or loneliness and culture shock.
Employers are responding. In the same Atlas survey, 56% of companies now offer support for family members with special needs, 42% for extended family and 40% for pets. For a Netherlands move, the partner deserves specific attention: their income situation can affect whether the household qualifies for a rental at all.
How to convince an employee to relocate abroad with family
You do not convince people with a bigger package alone. You reduce the unknowns that make the family say no. In our experience, the support that moves the needle is:
- Family support: a clear plan for each family member, not just the employee.
- Partner support: an early, honest look at whether the partner needs to be a co-tenant, and what that means.
- Schooling support: confirming the children’s ages and needs, explaining Dutch school types and realistic availability, and helping with applications.
- Flexible relocation funds: room for the family to spend where it matters most to them.
A pre-offer checklist for HR Business Partners
Run through these before the offer goes out, not after the decline comes back:
- Who is moving? Partner, children (ages and needs), extended family, pets.
- Can the household rent? Compare the realistic rent for the target area with the household’s gross monthly income, using the roughly three-times rule.
- Does the partner need to be a co-tenant? If so, check their income position now.
- What are the school dates? Work back from the school start date to the latest realistic housing date.
- Which city? Check whether a city outside Amsterdam would make housing easier, and what that means for commute.
- What worries them most? Ask directly. The answer usually points to the support that matters.
When should you bring in a relocation partner: before or after the offer?
Before. Most of the reasons people decline are visible before the offer is made, and most of them are about housing and family rather than the role. A relocation partner involved at the pre-offer stage can test the housing and schooling picture while there is still time to shape the offer around it.
Next step
Get in touch with Jimble before the offer goes out. We’ll help you work through the household’s profile, target city and start date.
