A letter to a whole street in the Netherlands: template in English and Dutch
A letter to a whole street only works if it still reads like a letter to one house: name the street and what ties you to it, say honestly that you are writing to several residents, and ask here too for nothing more than a conversation. This is such a letter, for ten to thirty doors, in English and in Dutch.
Written by Jiri, estate agent in Maastricht and founder of DoorLetter.
Updated on 7 October 2026.
Sometimes it is not one house but one street. You know you want to live there, and the number does not matter. Then one letter to twenty doors is wiser than twenty different letters: you can write it better, and say honestly that you are writing to the whole street.
What I saw go wrong with street letters as an estate agent: they read like a flyer. "We are looking for a home in your area" could be anyone. The letter below stays from a person, even though it lands on twenty doormats at once.
The letter in English
Dear resident(s) of the [Hertogsingel],
My name is [Mark], I am [41] and I live with my wife [Noor] and our two children [in Wyck]. I am writing this letter to all residents of the [Hertogsingel], because this is the street we have wanted to live in for years. [Our eldest starts school around the corner in September, and the trees here are the reason we walk this way every Sunday.] We came to the Netherlands [six years ago] for work, and we are staying.
We are not investors and not estate agents. We are looking for one house, for ourselves, to stay in for a long time. Our mortgage is arranged and we can calmly wait for the right moment.
Would you ever consider selling, now or in a few years? Then we would very much like to be the first to hear, before the house goes on the market. No obligation, no hurry. A conversation at your kitchen table is enough.
You can reply anonymously through the code in this letter at doorletter.nl/inbox.
Kind regards, [Mark and Noor]
In square brackets: fill in your own details.
The same letter in Dutch
Line for line the same, so you know exactly what you are saying. Send this one to an older owner or outside the big cities, or print it on the back of the English page.
Beste bewoner(s) van de [Hertogsingel],
Mijn naam is [Mark], ik ben [41] en woon met mijn vrouw [Noor] en onze twee kinderen [in Wyck]. Ik schrijf deze brief aan alle bewoners van de [Hertogsingel], omdat dit de straat is waar we al jaren willen wonen. [Onze oudste gaat vanaf september naar school om de hoek, en de bomen hier zijn de reden dat we elke zondag deze kant op lopen.] We zijn [zes jaar geleden] voor ons werk naar Nederland gekomen, en we blijven hier.
We zijn geen belegger en geen makelaar. We zoeken één huis, voor onszelf, om lang in te blijven. Onze financiering is geregeld en we kunnen rustig wachten op het goede moment.
Overweegt u ooit om te verkopen, nu of over een paar jaar? Dan horen we dat heel graag als eersten, voordat het huis te koop komt. Vrijblijvend, zonder haast. Een gesprek aan uw keukentafel is genoeg.
Reageren kan anoniem via de code in deze brief op doorletter.nl/inbox.
Met vriendelijke groet, [Mark en Noor]
Tussen vierkante haken: vul je eigen gegevens in. In square brackets: fill in your own details.
Why the letter is built this way
- Say that you are writing to the whole street
- Neighbours talk. If number 12 and number 30 get the same letter and you pretended it was personal, your credibility is gone. So say it yourself, in the first paragraph.
- Tie yourself to the street, not the house
- You cannot write about twenty bay windows. Write about what the street is to you: the school, the trees, the Sunday walk. That is true for every door.
- Mortgage arranged
- In a street letter this may go in, without a figure. It tells the owner you are serious and will not have vanished by next year, which is the doubt a foreign name raises.
- The same rules as always
- No offer, no deadline, not an investor. And a way back that still works a year from now.
What to change before you send it
- Limit yourself to one street or a few adjoining streets. A letter to "the neighbourhood" is a flyer.
- If you have a preference (garden, corner house, ground floor), name it in one clause. Then an owner with an upstairs flat knows he need not reply.
- Write the letter once, well, and send it to every door on the same day; then the letters arrive together and it feels honest.
- In a village or an older street send the Dutch version; in a city street English with Dutch on the back is fine.
- Expect at most one or two replies to ten to thirty letters. That is not failure, that is how this works.
Frequently asked questions
How many letters should I send?
As many doors as the street has where you would really want to live, usually ten to thirty. More than that soon becomes a campaign and with it a flyer. Better three streets in three months than a hundred doors in one week.
Am I allowed to put letters through every door in a street?
Yes. A personal letter by post to a residential address is allowed, also without knowing the name. A "nee/nee" sticker on a letterbox concerns unaddressed printed matter and advertising; an addressed personal letter is not that. Anyone who no longer wants letters through DoorLetter can opt out with one click and then gets no more post from anyone through us.
Is a street letter not impersonal?
It becomes impersonal when you pretend it is personal. Say honestly that you are writing to the whole street and write about what ties you to it. Dutch owners understand that well; many once did the same with a note through a door.
What if several owners reply?
Then you have a good problem. Talk to all of them, be open that you are talking to others too, and choose. Nobody expects you to sign with the first one who answers.
Use this letter as a start.
The letter is already in the text box. Replace what is in square brackets, choose the address and send it. The first letter is free, printed and delivered by PostNL.
Open the English letter in the send form